Design and installation of Fireplace And Chimney -excerpt from book Working for Subs

Fireplace And Chimney:

Framing The Fireplace Enclosure:

The framer will build a chimney chase and enclosure (see Chapter 8) for the direct-vent or ventless firebox if it is a prefabricated metal one and not brick. You will have to call the supplier for the rough opening dimensions at the face of the firebox, and be sure to add to the vertical dimension for any raised hearth. Give these dimensions to the framer. Also be sure the chase dimensions will clear the chimney by 2” on all sides even though rated for zero clearance. Many prefabricated fireplace manufacturers only require a zero or two-inch clearance to combustibles, like wood studs. Try 25 gage interior steel studs to perhaps save some money over wood, and to allow zero space around a firebox. Our floorplans usually called for a seven-foot wide face on the chase that allowed for a tile surround and mantel legs on each side of the opening for up to a forty-two inch model firebox.

Setting the fireplace in an outside corner seems to be a desirable design feature, since it allows a view out the windows from the same vantage point (the sofa,) gives easy access for outside air ducts, and facilitates efficient furniture placement. The windows, TV, and fireplace can all be seen from the area's seating arrangement with this design scheme, as shown in Photo 13. The third focal point from the viewing location is the TV, so try to group these three in your room design.
Chapter 8 carries more discussion on masonry work for fireplaces. You will need to consult a brick yard for components used for a masonry fireplace. Be sure to buy a log starter with other iron implements to avoid forgetting this later, but the plumber, not the brick layer, will be installing it. 

Brick fireplaces are heavy, massive monuments that require substantial foundation support and are not easy to remove, like prefabricated fireplaces, if you later decide you made an error in location. It is excessive overkill to construct a masonry fireplace and chimney just to insert a gas log set. Only build a brick fireplace to burn wood. The gas starter (perforated pipe set below a log grate with a valve) may be installed by a licensed company. In Tennessee a plumber needed a separate license other than plumbing to install gas piping and equipment for a fireplace.

Photo 13: Note corner fireplace, window, and TV accommodate one viewing direction. Observe 12 ft. vaulted ceiling, using traditional 8 ft. exterior stud wall.

The trim sub can build a mantel (see Photo 13 & Chapter 15, Photo 21 ) on site and save a great deal of expense over a manufactured model. Chapter 15 contains more information about the mantel and bill of materials.

After the chimney chase is constructed by the framer and the roof is decked, prior to installing sheetrock, you should call for installation of a metal firebox and chimney. The fireplace supplier, usually required to be licensed with a permit for your project, will normally have crews who will do the installation also. A diligent builder will have gotten a price on the installation well in advance. The gas logs or starter for the prefab fireplace will be delivered by the supplier much later in construction once the gas is turned on.

Other Fireplace Accessories:

Call the plumber to roughin the gas lines and run a capped gas supply line to the firebox at this time, before the walls are closed. This requires a separate permit that the plumber must be licensed to pull. Show the plumber where to put the manual wall shut-off valve. You may want an electric wall switch or handheld remote that controls an automatic gas valve for gas logs, both provided by the fireplace supplier. Tell the installer and the plumber where to place their accessories away from the mantel and surround, or you will find the valve and switch have been placed where your tile surround and mantel leg appear. A two-foot clearance to the edge of the firebox rough opening is usually ample.

The framer will have to insert a firestop that the chimney will penetrate at the attic or next floor plane, consisting of plywood of thickness rated to retard flame spread for the code required period. Usually two layers of 1/2” plywood laid horizontally provide the required fire rating, but verify this.

If you want a raised hearth you will have to tell the fireplace supplier to set the firebox on eight inch or twelve inch concrete blocks. This also affords a more prominent mantel and elevated firebox viewing angle. He will strap the unit to the framed opening and may run a four-inch pipe to a through-the-wall vent cap for outside makeup air to the firebox, discussed earlier in this chapter. This pipe will be always opened to the outside and may need insulating to prevent condensation on its surface in winter. This is rarely done, however, since the minor drip usually evaporates readily.

Types of Fireplaces:

If you spec (specify) a direct-vent fireplace, a small flue will be required through the wall or the roof. These are factory-built, metal prefabricated fireboxes that contain gas logs and sit on the concrete floor slab or elevated on cinder blocks. They do not require the more elaborate and larger flues through the roof that a conventional gas fireplace needs, because they burn more efficiently. Propane can be used instead of natural gas, however this LP (liquid petroleum) gas is heavier than air, and creates a hazard when igniting the gas logs. This is because LP gas can possibly linger at the floor level in an invisible gas cloud, unknown to the inhabitants,. Natural gas is lighter than air and dissipates quickly into the atmosphere and therefore avoids the hazard.

An even more efficient gas log, prefabricated fireplace is available in the ventless model.
(continued in book Working for Subs)

Design of the home -an excerpt from book Working for Subs, Ch. 3

Design Considerations:

Facade design by author in Tennessee

Covenant minimum square footage requirements for homes built in a subdivision are usually very low. You will find that the cost of the lot and character of neighboring housing usually determine the size of the structure and not the covenants, unless there are severe changes in market conditions once the development is completed. The cost of the lot usually necessitates a much larger home than covenants do in order to recover maximum value upon an eventual sale. Refer to Chapter 2 for a discussion of estimating the cost of the lot.

Your design will be critiqued by all of your neighbors and other builders in the neighborhood once construction begins. Many will approach you on the site and ask the size and style of your proposed home, so they can assure themselves that you are not bringing down values in the area by constructing a lesser dwelling. These self-appointed critics are not normally your friends, and most will confront you later with additional issues. Just smile, and tell them your design will not disgrace the subdivision, giving as little information as possible. You only have to appease the code authorities, yourself, and the lender, not curious passers-by or self-appointed neighborhood architectural police, unless on an HOA architectural committee.

If your project is located in a PUD or subdivision with a homeowner's association (HOA) your plans may be subject to review by an architectural control committee. This is just to assure the other owners that your home will not reduce property values or detract from the cohesiveness of the neighborhood. In other words your design must fit and not be too radically different from other homes in the area. HOA's do have the power to place liens or other encumbrances upon the property, so you must appease them. This modern trend of unification of design is thought by many to degrade the charm previously seen in the neighborhoods of your grandparents with their variety of styles, architectures, and colors.

When building in states like Florida with high wind, flood, and hurricane surge requirements a design professional, architect or engineer should be hired to determine code mandates and recommendations. There are many stipulations for elevation of the structure, enclosures below the base flood elevation, decks, pools, “V” and “A” zones, ⁱ etc., that are beyond the scope of this book, which is mainly devoted to construction scheduling and dealing with subcontractors.

Consider not building a separate living room in addition to a family room to save construction costs; instead look at a study or office just off the entryway that might become an additional future bedroom. Living rooms are seldom used and require expensive unused furniture. They consume the limited living space and budget of other rooms, and are an evolution of the parlor of old for greeting guests.
The modern home is becoming less formal with a hearth room open to the kitchen as well as an eating area. This allows families and friends to gather in one larger place more easily, rather than expecting them to scatter throughout the variously labeled rooms added to the house for specific purposes. Congregating is the natural tendency of groups regardless of your design intentions, and to ignore it will leave you with empty rooms while people are crammed into a smaller space. Everyone at a party groups naturally in or adjacent to the kitchen where the hosts, food and drinks are.

The dining room has remained as a permanent staple of our society that is fortunately slowly becoming extinct. It is a room that might be used two or three times a year, Thanksgiving and holidays, like Christmas, but otherwise ignored except for dusting. Your grandmother, your mother, and most everyone else in America has always had a dining room table under a hanging light fixture with a sideboard or china cabinet and a window. If you insist on a dining room, you will want a nominal twelve by fourteen foot space of about 170 sqft, unfortunately costing $20,000 or more in construction and furnishings. It must be adjacent to the kitchen for ease of access and separate from it for formal dining. This room will probably be best located off the foyer, since it can be an impressive entry feature, and uncluttered due to non-use. Don't omit the cost of conditioning and cleaning this vacant space year-round in your budget.

Rear porches and covered outdoor rooms with low ceilings should be no deeper than about ten feet, since they will darken the adjacent rooms, and to make them larger reduces their intimacy. The deeper the porch, the higher the ceiling should be, in order to avoid a low tunnel appearance. Locate the porch, patio, or outdoor room adjacent to the kitchen and family room for food service and clean up as well as to extend the common living area to the outside. Be sure to allow space for a grill, counter or bar, eating area, informal seating, and a possible outdoor fireplace. You may want to add a small patio off the master bedroom, obscured for privacy from the main living area. A large glass door could replace the master bedroom window adding natural lighting.

The front porch in most urban and suburban settings has become only useful for entry shelter from the weather or as a design feature. It is rarely used for extended living space as in days past. For these reasons its depth might be reduced. The entry porch should be covered, since this will not only give shelter from the elements, but also protects your door and other accoutrements from weathering. In a country or rural setting the front porch may be larger, since it could be used for a seating area due to less concern about privacy.

When arranging rooms and spaces in your design, strive to place a window in every room, or try to open the outside room walls to interior rooms for natural lighting with large passageways. Open passages may be attractively enhanced by  [continued in book, Working for Subs -amazon.com]

i FEMA “Homebuilder’s Guide to Coastal Construction.” http://www.toolbase.org/Home-Building-Topics/Natural-Disasters/coastal-construction-guide

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