Fireplaces-Installation

Solid groundwork, chimneys and air intake

The fireplace itself is always a part of a certain environment, with which it must form a union of function and shape. Various placements in space, as well as the choice of the type of fireplace you desire facilitates its various shapings.

What do we have to know prior to installing the fireplace?

It is our task to design the type and shape of the fireplace, and to determine its position, size and material of which it will be made. During that process, we must start with the entire environment in which the fireplace will later be placed. The fireplace itself is a part of a certain environment, with which it must form a union of function and shape. Various placements in space, as well as the choice of the type of fireplace you desire facilitates its various shapings. Fireplaces can be simple, built into walls or leaning against it, made with modern materials, or various combinations of traditional materials with designs adjusted with the interiors or the climate of the area where you live. When you are choosing the model, it is important to emphasize the difference in visibility of the fire from the fireplace, because this difference is provided by the same type of fireplace, if it is differently shaped. Taking the purpose, style and shape of the fireplace into consideration, an ambient of an intimate gathering place must be created.

What are the prerequisites for the installation of a fireplace in your space?

Solid and bearing groundwork

A solid (concrete) groundwork must be made below the future fireplace. If you are still in the process of building your house, then the solution is simple. All you need to do is to fill the position of the future fireplace (marked by the architect or the contractor) with solid concrete. This means that there must not be any thermal insulation in that place (like, for example, mineral wool or styrofoam), no floor heating, pipes or any materials that could weaken the ground where the future fireplace will be installed.

If you have prefinished floors, and you have decided to install a fireplace, the floor (parquet, tiles, etc.) must be cut according to the blueprint, the screed must be cut out, and the thermal insulation (or the material which covers the concrete plate) must be taken out. If the blueprint stipulates it, the floor should be filled with concrete at the level of the finished floor, or the level of any anticipated stone or granite socket around the fireplace.

A chimney as a smoke-opening

These can be made of bricks, fireclay, prefinished mantled fireclay cartridges, or fireclay cartridges made of metal. The chimneys must be properly insulated and correctly built, in order to avoid any malfunctions during the functioning of the fireplace. The lowest height of a chimney can be 4.5 m regardless of its diameter. If the chimney is taller, the draught is better, but in the case of open furnaces it is much more important to have a sufficiently large chimney diameter in regard to the size of the furnace.

Most of all, we have to be careful not to build a chimney in an inappropriate pressure zone. It is always best if the chimney is somewhere below the rooftop. It should be built some 40 to 70 cm above the top of the roof, thus avoiding the inappropriate pressure zone. If the house is close to a taller object, it would be good to have a knowledge of the area covered by the pressure zone. You should discuss it with the draughtsman, who can determine the correct position and height of the chimney. This is particularly important in windy areas. We must protect the chimney with an appropriate chimney cap, which can be designed in a way that improves the draught (with special attachments that work according to the injection principle). For the optimal use of the fireplace, the temperatures of the smoke gases from the furnace should be between 200 and 250°C, which can be achieved by insulating the chimney. When it comes to proportional shapes of chimneys, a round one is always better than a square one. Smooth surfaces are always better than coarse ones. The smoke duct must be properly insulated, and mineral wool is the best choice.

The tap that leads into the chimney should be designed with an angle of 45° in regard to the chimney’s vertical line. The height of the tap should be at a height of 180 to 200 cm above the finished room floor. If it is impossible to follow any of the aforementioned guidelines, you should discuss it with the person installing the fireplace.

Fresh air intake

During fuel combustion inside the fireplace, the gases that are leaving the fireplace also include a certain amount of air from the room itself, and not just the waste gases that are a byproduct of the combustion itself. This way, we are always losing some air from the room, and so we must take some fresh air in, in order to maintain the pressure. Basically, the fresh air intake can be solved in two ways – the first one is the intake of air from neighboring rooms, and the other is to bring fresh air through pipes from the outside, or from the lower floor. The diameter of the fresh air intake should be at least 10 cm, and 15 cm are generally recommended. Such a fresh air intake is required for proper combustion.

Fireplaces shouldn’t be at all installed in rooms whose surface area is less than 12 m2.

Open furnaces require even more attention as far as fresh air intake is concerned, because the open fireplace sucks the air from the room in with its whole opening. In such cases, the minimum diameter of fresh air intakes should be 15 cm. With open fireplaces, it is also best to bring the air in from another room, in order to avoid cold air (especially during winter), because it lowers the temperatures. In such cases, an open fireplaces is more than just a source of warmth; it is also a natural way of aerating, which is particularly suited for weekend houses and vacation houses which aren’t constantly used.