How To Upgrade Your Old Fireplace
An older fireplace is rated at about 10% efficiency. A lot of air from the house is wasted up the chimney. The air moving up the chimney through the fireplace will be replaced from the outside through leaking windows, doors, etc. This cold air will cool the house and leave you with a very poor heating system. The fireplace can be upgraded to produce an efficiency between 60 and 77%. The easiest way to upgrade, is to add an insert into the existing fireplace.
The existing hearth was busted out with a heavy ball peen hammer and sledge hammer. Before you do this, place cardboard and some blankets to cushion the falling pieces. A good clean-up is needed in the room when you have completed removing the old hearth. If there is rebar in the concrete; try tapping on the rods to loosen them. If you are unable to remove them this way, then cut them off flush with a hacksaw. Any metal in the upper portion of the fireplace in the way of the new stainless steel pipe placed in the old flue was cut out of the way, so there would be no kinks or flattening of the pipe. The new fireplace insert was put into place and a 5 inch stainless steel pipe was lowered in from the chimney and connected to the insert complete with weather cap on the top of the chimney. The insert adapter edging is also placed on the back of the insert, sealing off the opening. This was done professionally by the people who sold the fireplace insert stove.
Next make a cardboard outline of what you want the new hearth to look like. With this template you will be able to visualize what the hearth will look like. You can try different shapes. You can also draw out how the tiles will position, and you will also know how many tiles you will need. Add 10% more to cover error and breakage. Use the template to build your Frame on and you will end up with the exact shape. The frame is built to extend 18 inches past the door opening.
Now that you have decided on the shape and have made a template, you can now build the frame for it. I have used 2x8's for strength. The curve is made up by using 2x2's with a 3 degree cut on one edge of each piece. I used two pieces of 3/4 inch plywood to wedge the 2x2's between as a separate unit. The separate unit is then incorporated into the 2x8 construction frame. The frame is held into place with a few well placed screws into the floor. The height for this particular frame came in at 7 and one-half of an inch. This is allowing for 1/4 of an inch for the tile cement and 1/4 inch for the tile thickness. An option at this point is to make allowances for the power cord. If you don't want to see the cord going to the power outlet along the wall, then you may be able to drill a one inch hole in the floor, cement board and 3/4 inch plywood top. You will be able to drop the power cord down this hole into the basement and plug it in there.
A 3/4 inch plywood top plate was cut, using the template for exact size, and nailed into place. A 1/2 inch thick cement board was also cut with a jigsaw, using the template as a guide and screwed down onto the plywood (use proper cement board screws).
On the front edge all the tiles locations were marked on the wood with a pencil, allowing for 3/8 inch spacing between the tiles. Next all front tiles were cut to width and height on a wet saw. One quarter inch was allowed for the tile cement on top. The tiles around the curve were cut to 3 and 3/4 inch in width and 7 and 3/4 inches in height. The tiles were put into place using Mapei Ultralite Mortar. This mortar has a very sticky adhesive quality and is perfect for holding upright tiles. It will also be used on the horizontal top. The mortar will be left one day to dry completely before completing the top.
The tiles on the top are cemented into place. I cut some 1/4 inch thick wood shims to help level out the tile as they are laid. Staring from the center, I worked outward to each side to get the proper balance.
The grout was applied, using a gray Premium Grade Polymer-modified Sanded Grout. It is very important to throughly wash the tiles, many times to remove any haze left from the grout as it is very difficult to remove if left to dry. There is a special spoonge for washing tile, it is a bit more dense/coarse than a regular spoonge; it can be purchased at a tile store. The masking tape around the bottom of the frame was cut away and removed. The blower fan assembly was put in place and plugged into an electrical receptacle in the basement and tested. Final inspection by the city. Job Complete!
To season the fireplace insert, start with 4 or 5 small fires and clean the haze off the inside of the glass each time. Most of the time, you can clean the glass with a damp cloth, but some times you need a little help with a chemical spray cleaner. If you don't clean it at this point, it will be difficult to clean later. Never attempt to clean the glass when it is hot. The first couple of times you start a fire will produce a stink and will set off any smoke alarm, so be prepared. Open a couple of windows.
Before you start on your project, check local city codes for your area!
Add to Bookmarks
More How To Tips
Shopping Find N choose Home Page
Sitemap
© copyright 1998-2008 Find N Choose, How To Upgrade Fireplaces, Serving the Global Community - All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer
You resume all responsibility for any problems, damage, injury or loss,
you may have resulting from these instructions!
Todays Valued Visitor
How to upgrade your fireplace and heat your home with greater efficiency, saving you money on your heat bill, for the average person