Vermont Casting 1990CE Floor Protection for Fireplace Installations, Clearances

Intrepid II Woodburning Stove

					Costructional Hearth
					Dimensions as below				At least 150 mm
									or to a suitable
			Appliance						heat resistant wall
								Appliance
				Doors				Doors
						Hearth Surface
At least						Free of Com-
						bustible Material
150 mm								Perimeter should be
	Perimeter should be
								clearly marked e.g.
	clearly marked e.g.						At least	edge of superimposed
	edge of superimposed							hearth
	hearth						300 mm
		a) Fireplace recess						b) Free standing		ST912
Fig. 10 Noncombustible hearth surface dimensions.

Floor Protection for Fireplace Installations

Do not assume your fireplace hearth is completely noncombustible.

Many fireplace hearths do not satisfy the “completely noncombustible” requirement because the brick or concrete in front of the fireplace opening is supported by heavy wood framing as in Figure 9. Because heat passes through brick or concrete readily, it can easily pass through to the wood. As a result, such fireplace hearths can be a fire hazard and are considered a com- bustible floor.

Keep in mind that many raised hearths will extend less than the required clearance from the front of the heater when it is installed. In such cases, sufficient floor protection as described above must be added in front of the hearth to satisfy the minimum floor protector requirement from the front of the stove: 406 mm (16”) from the front. Fireplace hearths must also offer the required protection of 152 mm (6”) on either side.

Optional 76 mm (3”) short legs may be used only on such hearths that meet the width and depth require- ments outlined previously under “floor protection.”

Hearth rugs do not satisfy the requirements for floor protection.

Fireplace installations also have special clearance requirements to the side walls, side decorative trim, and fireplace mantle. Refer to the information on fireplace and mantel trim shields in this section.

Keep the Stove a Safe Distance from

Surrounding Materials

Both a stove and its chimney connector radiate heat in all directions when operating, and dangerous overheat- ing of nearby combustible materials can occur if they

are too close to the heat. A safe installation requires that adequate clearance be maintained between the hot stove and its connector and nearby combustibles.

Clearance is the distance between either your stove (measured from the back edge of the stove’s top plate) or chimney connector, and nearby walls, floors, the ceiling, and any other fixed combustible surfaces. In addition, furnishings and other combustible materials must be kept away from the stove as well. In general, a distance of 1220 mm (48”) must be maintained between the stove and moveable combustible items such as dry- ing clothes, furniture, newspapers, firewood, etc. Keep- ing those clearance areas empty assures that nearby surfaces and objects will not overheat.

Clearances

As with any solid fuel heating stove, extremely high surface temperatures can occur, particularly in the event of uncontrolled operation, e.g. if the doors are inadvertently left open. It is crucial that suf- ficient clearances are allowed to any combustible surfaces, e.g. wooden mantels or lintels, and to timber framed (studded) walls even if they are faced with noncombustible board. Detailed information on fireplace and hearth construction is provided in section 2 of Document J, all installations must comply with these requirements or with the relevant National or local building standards.

Clearances to timber framed (studded) walls are includ- ed below. There are no specific minimum clearances to solid noncombustible surfaces (e.g. the sides and rear of Inglenook fire openings constructed from solid masonry) other than to allow safe access to the controls of the stove. For this reason minimum side clearances of 125 mm, and a minimum rear clearance of 50 mm are recommended.

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