Fireplace Inserts and Repairs in Greater Victoria BC

W.E.T.T. Certified Installations, Wood Burning System Advisor, Chimneysweep, Inspections

Firebox Repairs for Masonry and other Fireplaces

Repair or replace broken Firebricks
Re-point Firebox with fireclay
Chimney Sweep and remove Creosote Buildups
Clean and repair Chimney smoke shelf and flue
Reline and re-point chimneys
Clean fireplace door glass
Video camera inspections
Replace metal chimney sections, caps, flashings and other fittings
Chimney Stack and Fireplace removal or demolition

Fireplace Insert or Hearth mount Stove Installation

Installing a fireplace insert is a wonderful way to convert that old drafty masonry fireplace into a useful warm center of your home. The most important things to consider are:

An EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Certified Wood burning insert or a Hearth Mount Stove may be installed in a "code compliant " fireplace and chimney. This means the fireplace has to be properly constructed and in good condition to be able to have an insert installed. Repairs can usually be done to accomplish this.
- British Columbia law requires EPA certification label for all 'new' woodstove and fireplace insert installations. EPA appliances reburn their smoke as fuel and provide much better heat as a result as well as minimizing harmful smoke in the atmosphere. So before you buy that woodstove or insert from Craigslist or the newspaper look on the label and check for the EPA logo as well as any other Warnock Hersey, ULC or other certifications...
A continuous Stainless Steel liner is required inside an existing Clay flue liner.. If your fireplace has no liner at present a zero clearance rated liner must be used. Also the existing chimney must be creosote free to prevent fire between the liners from occurring, if you have an existing insert without a continuous stainless steel liner, one can usually be added.

Usually a thorough WETT inspection of the existing masonry fireplace and chimney is a great investment prior to purchasing an insert. We are system advisors and can give you an understanding of what to expect from a installation point of view... What repairs will be needed in order to accomplish the project... We can also assess the performance quality of the unit in advance in terms of draft and house depressurization issues.

Having said all that a properly sized and installed fireplace insert can be a great investment and heart warming experience,

Rebuilt the firebox in gorgeous Victorian Fireplace that had a Coal Box in it so it would allow installation of Wood burning Insert.

The old Victorian Fireplace with nice Regency Insert in it to allow for effective and safe heating. Note the existing hearth extension was extended with contrasting tiles to maintain new firecode clearances. With these old Victorian Fireplaces framing clearances must be checked. In this case a zero-clearance chimney liner was also used to ensure safe efficient operation.

New chimney crown on top of a Fireplace Chimney with Sheet Metal Drip edge, unused flue was capped and Metal Raincap was added later to operating flue.

Metal raincap added to existing Concrete Chimney pot. Raincap prevents further deterioration of chimney interior.

Concrete Chimney Rain Cap on Fireplace Flue and smaller Concrete Cap on Furnace flue, Sheet Metal drip edge prevents water from deteriorating brick face of Chimney..

Sheetmetal Caps on unused Flues to prevent warm air from being drawn out of home. In this case a seagull family had used this nice location for nesting in previous breeding seasons.