How to Remove Wood Burning Inserts from a Fireplace
When you want to clean your fireplace or chimney you have to remove the wood burning inserts. This is not as hard as removing a gas insert which requires that you disconnect all the gas lines. However, the wood burning inserts are usually heavy and in most cases they are screwed to the fireplace.
Items Needed:
- Gloves
- Rags
- Putty knife
- Metal scoop
- Dustpan
- Garbage bag
- Broom
- Drill or Socket Wrench
- Open the doors to the fireplace if the insert to the fireplace has a door. If a glowing coal shield is what your fireplace insert uses then just fold up the shield and put it aside.
- Remove the metal grate that you use for the wood.
- Remove the soot that has accumulated at the bottom of the fireplace and put it in a dustbin or a container. You can do this using a metal scoop and empty the bin once it is full. When doing this, be careful that the soot does not get to your clothes especially bright ones.
- You can then clean up any remaining soot and rubble left at the bottom of the fireplace and a long broom would be very useful in doing this. You can put this dust into a dustbin or where you are putting your trash.
- Look for the screws or bolts that secure the fireplace insert to the chimney and remove these screws using a power drill but if they are bolts then use a socket wrench.
- Remove the decorating caulk on the edge of the fireplace if there is caulking. This is done by cutting it using a sharp knife.
- Pull out the fireplace insert by holding it at the bottom and sliding it out of the enclosure.