For homes that have fireplaces, one of the main objectives is to keep people in the house warm. The other important objective is to ensure no one gets hurt or is exposed to direct heat coming out from the burning logs. Therefore, one of the significant additions created for these reasons and others has to be the doors and enclosures that make up an essential criterion of their structure.
These enclosures can either be for aesthetic purposes or as a fully functional piece and can be installed using a few basic tools such as those mentioned here. The doors that come with these need to be approved, and not all types can be fitted with the same ones. An example would be the zero clearance and air-cooled ones that require specific types of enclosures. Then there are the masonry fireplaces which can be fitted with most types of closures.
For the gas heating structures almost, any insertion can be used. So we look at these and the other options that you can get installed into your homes.
The Air Cooled, or Zero-Clearance Fireplace Doors
These are mainly referred to as pre-fabricated structures and would typically use wood to burn and produce heat. They are usually found in homes that were constructed in the 90s. They use an air-cooled chimney system, and the wood is kept inside of a firebox to avoid the frame and surrounding walls from becoming too hot.
For these constructions, a safety clearance is required to help from over-heating and fire hazards.
They extract air in a circular motion both from the inside of the house and the outside. The accesses used are mainly made of aluminium material and are usually installed throughout the house’s initial construction. These, in some cases, can be customizable. Things such as their color, trim shape, frame texture and glass can be changed or modified to suit the rest of the interiors as needed.
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Only Gas Fireplace Doors (Vent-free or B-vent or Direct vent)
In modern-day homes, radiators are being used less and less, and natural heating options such as gas burners are being used more. There are plenty of benefits of installing these into your home as opposed to many others. For the most part, it is efficient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly. There is minimal wastage with using these and less of a hassle to clean up once the fire is doused.
These, however, need a professional to install them as they are specifically manufactured ready to fit the custom space in your lounge or bedroom. They operate in a specific manner, and when fitting them, they come with incorporated systems for insulation, self-cooling, maintenance access and blowers. Because of this, the main types of doors used are created using glass.
Before certifying, they need to be thoroughly tested because the glass installed in these units needs to originate straight from the original manufacturers of the design and have to be of a specific model. An example is the tempered glass fireplace doors.
They are different from the ceramic ones and are made with safety as their main priority. If it breaks, it will not be shattered but will break into small, safer pieces where the ordinary non-tempered glass breaks at about 6,000 pounds per square inch or psi, these break at over 23,000 psi. These are also created to be more durable.
The ceramic glass is usually left for the wood or coal burners. These start with a small crack and then break further as time goes by and in large pieces. With a gas option, the heat is more intense, so the safety of its people is the first item on the agenda when manufacturing them.
Masonry Fireplace Doors
The easiest ones to have are the Masonry types, and these have few restrictions when getting them installed in your home. Their enclosures are made of heavy steel material and can be of any colour of your preference or any texture you like.
However, these would only be used in cases where you will be burning natural wood. Once you are done burning it, there is a damper similar to a latch on a door, which needs to be left open for the remaining coal to cool down. However, because of this latch which faces upwards towards the chimney, when you leave it open, chances are, all the heat from the room will also escape, leaving you with a cold room once again.
When making the conscious decision about which doors to choose, it depends on what type of material you will be burning. Choosing the right one is essential to safe living and will give you peace of mind knowing that you and your family are protected from the flames.
