How to Install a Free Standing Fireplace
Building a freestanding fireplace is fairly simple and can be done by anyone, not just master woodworkers. Building a freestanding fireplace eliminates the hassle of having to cut holes in walls, trim built in cabinet boarders and fixing the cosmetic damage when finished.
Materials Needed
- Woodworking tools
- Freestanding fireplace
- Venting material
- Heat resistant compound
- Choose the location within the home to place the freestanding fireplace. Choose an area of the house that has good ventilation. Great locations to place a freestanding fireplace in the house include against an outside facing wall and or diagonal in the corner of a nice sitting room.
- Build the base for the freestanding fireplace to stand on. For safety purposes use a non-combustible material to build the fireplaces base. Suggested materials include heat resistant tile, brick and stone. Build the base or “hearth” to extend 15 to 20 inches in the front of the freestanding fire place and ten inches around all other sides of the fireplace. Construct the hearth at least three feet away from any of the surrounding walls. This will help decrease the chance of combustible materials being anywhere near the freestanding fireplace.
- Construct an air inlet pipe that leads to the exterior of the house and is higher than the snow line in the case of in climate weather.
- Design and cut a hole in the roof above the freestanding fireplace to extend the stovepipe located on top of the fireplace. The stovepipe is essential for ventilation. Be sure to surround the hole created with a heat resistant compound on both sides of the roof.