Direct venting fireplace between windows

Direct vent gas fireplaces are unique because they can be vented through an exterior wall or through the roof. Whereas a traditional B-vent gas fireplace must vent up a chimney and draws combustion air from the building envelope, direct vent gas fireplaces pull their combustion air from the outside into a sealed firebox. This not only leads to greater installation flexibility but also much higher efficiency rates over the life of the fireplace.

This diagram illustrates basic direct vent fireplace technology. Outside air is pulled in for combustion and then vented out through a secondary pipe or via a pipe-in-pipe vent as you see in the drawing above. A huge benefit of direct vent gas fireplaces is that they can be terminated through an exterior wall or through the roof.

Thinking about a direct vent gas fireplace for your home? Unlike traditional B-vent fireplaces, direct vent fireplaces do not necessitate a chimney for venting. Simply run a direct vent pipe through your walls and terminate through the roof or an external wall.

This allows for much greater flexibility in positioning your fireplace. Besides venting, are there any other building requirements to consider for direct vent fireplaces? You will have to run a natural gas or liquid propane LP gas line to the fireplace location. Fireplace manufacturers will specify exact requirements in their fireplace installation manuals. Direct vent gas fireplaces are always enclosed in glass. Regulation dictates that all glass-enclosed fireplaces must have a safety barrier and for years that meant bulky screens that detracted from otherwise clean designs.

Today, higher-end direct vent gas fireplaces offer a choice between a fine stainless steel mesh screen or a double glass solution known as a glass screen barrier. Check out the comparison for yourself in this short video featuring the Lucius peninsula fireplace by Element4.

What are my options? A lot of heat from your fireplace may be unwanted if you are in a climate that is already hot to begin with. Most gas fireplace products have adjustable flames and heat outputs. A select few, including Element4 fireplaces , even have built-in thermostat settings. This allows you to set the perfect room temperature and the fireplace will maintain that temperature by automatically modulating your flames.

Electric fireplaces produce beautiful flame effects and their heater function is completely optional. Can I place a TV, artwork, or other items above my fireplace? Darrel Hood Guest Re: Direct Vent under opening window If your client is a buyer, make very sure they understand that you can smell the exhaust coming into the home, and that is a dangerous condition.

It does not matter what the manual and codes say in this case. If your client is the builder, go to the Superintendent's boss and recommend that the company establish a cash reserve for the legal settlement after an occupant dies from CO poisoning. Make sure he understands that the cash reserve should be a big number since, because of your efforts, the company is making an informed decision to kill an occupant.

There is really not much more you can do.

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A direct vent fireplace can best be described as a vented gas fireplace with a sealed glass firebox. Because of its venting and setup, it is super efficient for heating. Coaxial pipes draw air from the outdoors for combustion instead of sucking air, and heat, out of the room you're sitting in. Direct vents can be made vertical, horizontal, or a combination of the two.

As of , all manufacturers were required to put a barrier screen on all direct vent fireplaces to act as a shield between the viewer and the glass. This safety measure helps prevents unnecessary burns for children, pets, and the occasional clumsy guest. Though, if you're feeling risky, the barrier screen can be removed. Is it expensive? A direct vent fireplace can be less expensive than a B-vent fireplace.

Coaxial pipes are more expensive than galvanized piping found in B-vent. However, B-vent chimney systems require vertical venting through the roof that ends along the roofline. Since direct vent piping can terminate horizontally on an outside wall, you may end up spending less on more expensive materials because you use less of those materials than you would if you installed a B-vent system. Will it heat as good as other gas fireplaces? B-vent fireplaces may appear to heat better because the open firebox allows for more flame visibility.

Though, it is actually worse than a direct vent gas fireplace because it sucks the air out of the room for combustion. So, with a B-vent fireplace, all you end up with is radiant heat that warms up the objects in your room. The other option, vent free fireplaces, heat efficiently and release limited by-product into the air around you.

Though, they have limited output and are banned in many states due to concerns about exhaust fumes being released into the room. So, direct vent fireplaces are a great happy medium where you get heat efficiency and good air quality. Is there more than one style? While some consider fireplaces fueled by gas to be fake fireplaces, the benefit to the artificial flame models are a wide variety of styles. So, if you have to give up the authentic look of a wood burning fireplace, you won't have to scrimp on the overall aesthetics of your appliance.

Traditional: Like the Empire 35 inch Tahoe the traditional fireplace style usually has a square opening with a cement log set and the appearance of real flames. They range from 32 to 60 inches in size. Watch out: "ventless" fireplaces can produce dangerous or even fatal carbon monoxide.

On by Martha We currently have a ventless fireplace. The fumes that come back into our home irritate my asthma. Is it possible to buy a vented unit which can be vented downward below the house and then turn to run out the side of the home? We have a 3 foot clearance below the main floor of the house. On by Inspectapedia Com Moderator Doug Pirie, It can depend on where you live as regulations can vary by country, for example.

In the US, a minimum of 24" is required as noted in the table above on this page. But we don't have enough information from your short message to make any definitive answer. Of course, your specific question on a different page you referred to a neighbor building a fence may depend on property setbacks and local ordinances. In other words, is your vent too close to the property line vs. Please let us know if you have additional questions. On by Inspectapedia Com Moderator Ramiro Ruiz, those clearance distances are given in the table above on this page.

Please take a look, and be sure that any vent elements marked HOT by the manufacturer of your specific vent are not touched when in use. On by Ramiro Ruiz We have a new home build that is a full walkout so the deck is on the main floor. The natural gas fireplace vent goes to the side wall facing the deck and it is about 3. Thank you On by danjoefriedman mod Melinda, A direct-vent gas appliance wall termination like that in your photo, provided you used all of the parts and installed it following the manufacturer's directions, is intended to be able to be exposed to the weather.

In your photo the installation is improper - lacking clearance from what looks like wood combustibles - until you remove the remains of that old chimney and its brackets. The old contraption above it will be removed and serves no purpose currently On by danjoefriedman mod Kathy, You will want to look at the manufacturer's requirements for venting your gas fireplace. If you put it on an interior wall, venting may be more difficult.

On by Kathy We are thinking of putting a gas fireplace in. Is this allowed or does it have to be an exterior wall? The concern would be more-immediate than a re-sale issue and is rather one of safety and possible admission of flue gases into the building interior. Remember that it's your local building code official who is the final legal authority on this question; ask her for an opinion and let me know what she says.

On by Brian Hello we are currently building a covered patio and the edge of it is getting pretty close to the fireplace vent. Would this fail any home inspections if we decide to sell the home in the future? On by danjoefriedman mod Stephanie, all of those clearance distances are given in the table above on this page. Please take a look at those clearances and compare them with your pergola options.

On by Stephanie We have an existing direct vent FP with the vent mounted on an exterior wall. We want to put a steel pergola against the house. How far from the vent do we need to be if the vent is above the pergola or if we make the pergola narrower, how far away from the side of the vent does it need to be.

Is there a minimum distance between brick houses in Toronto for venting termination of a fireplace using direct vent? It seems likely that your local building code inspector would agree that the clearance requirements for the building in which the fireplace is installed would set the minimum acceptable clearances that would then apply also to a nearby or adjacent building.

If the fireplace vent distances and position relative to your own building windows and doors is GREATER THAN those to the windows and doors where the fireplace is installed, and presuming for a moment that the fireplace was installed properly, meeting local building permit and code requirements, then a violation probably does not exist. Take some some sharp photos of the installation that concerns you, or make a sketch and send those along and we may be able to comment further.

On by mod - direct venting of a conventional "gas log" fireplace to eliminate the chimney Above: a gas log fireplace operating in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The chimney was removed and its bottom opening blocked-off by previous building owners when an upper floor addition was constructed.

Watch out: At least some, but depending on where you buy them, not all gas log fireplaces now include an O2 depletion sensor intended to shut down the fireplace should the indoor oxygen level fall too low. Photo above: covering the gas log fireplace during cutting of an exterior vent opening.

But a best installation of an indoor gas fireplace heater or gas log fireplace will include provision for outside combustion air as well as for exhausting the combustion gases to the building exterior. Providing plenty of outdoor combustion air helps reduce the risk of both dangerous CO carbon monoxide production and also the risk of oxygen depletion that could kill building occupants. Photo below: exterior view of an opening cut to exhaust the gas log fireplace shown above.

Watch out: do not even think about modifying or using a gas log fireplace without being sure that you have properly located, installed, and tested carbon monoxide detectors as well as fire and smoke detectors in your building; otherwise there is risk of fatal carbon monoxide poisoning.

We have observed that even when running supposedly safe gas log fireplaces that did not have a direct powered vent to the building exterio,r the building CO detectors sounded off, telling us that there was dangerous carbon monoxide accumulating indoors. Photo below: at a similarly vented gas log fireplace we illustrate using a conventional screen to prevent insects or other pests from entering the buildling through the vent opening.

Because this vent is in a sheltered location, protection from wind and rain were not necessary. Other photos and text on this page illustrate using a listed, manufacturer-supplied direct vent exhaust termination cover for other gas fireplace products. Watch out: even with an adequately-sized vent opening you may find, as this installer did, that a small exhaust fan was needed to assure that combustion gases from the gas log fireplace vented to the outdoors rather than back out of the fireplace front opening into the occupied space.

That's because when you eliminate the chimney you remove the source of updraft and thus natural venting that a chimney provides and that a hole in the side-wall does not. Watch out: have your gas log fireplace and any venting changes you or your contractor design inspected and approved by your local fire and building inspectors to be sure the vent system and combustion air provision are safe and adequate.

On by Judy S Gack We have an existing wood burning fireplace that we do not use. Have propane connection and only use our gas logs. How can we get rid of chimney and thus have gas only fireplace? On - by mod - Thanks for the gas fireplace vent clearance question Dwight; You'll see in the table above that the vent needs to be at least 24 inches away from any vinyl surface.

On by Dwight How close to vinyl siding on a inside corner can the vent be. I want to add a fire place but my garage all extend out put my house so the direct vent be close to the vinyl. Plenty of room above and below just to the one side will be tight. On by mod - never obstruct the gas fireplace vent outlet Vinny: Watch out: I can see why someone may have installed that little "cap" over your direct vent gas fireplace exhaust outlet, but in my opinion you are right to question the safety of that detail.

Keep the front of the appliance CLEAR of all obstacles and materials for servicing and proper operation. So if that add on is one that the manufacturer would consider an obstruction of the gas exhaust the system could be unsafe. Let's start by identifying the brand and model of your gas fireplace and then you should, in the manual for your fireplace, find the manufacturer's technical support telephone or email. Give them a copy of your photo and ask their advice.

Do let us know what you're told as that will help other readers stay safe and reduce the risk of dangerous, even fatal carbon monoxide gas hazards. On by Vinny Hello i had a metal flashing installed above my vent will this be okay? Doing so is unsafe and could risk fatal carbon monoxide poisoning. Can I leave the exhaust at a downward slope or do I have to cut into my exterior wall and raise the exhaust vent to keep the exhaust pipe level? On - by mod - Aha Thanks for that clarification.

I'd be a little worried about interference; the manufacturer probably has a separation guideline as they've probably had other installations where multiple fireplaces are installed close to one another. Please let me know what they suggest as that will help other readers. On by Scott Thanks for the input. I was using this referenced code since both of the direct vent fireplaces are using coaxial pipes for the intake and exhaust air from the fireplaces.

There would, therefore, be an intake at the locations along with the exhaust. On - by mod - I don't think so, Scott as you are describing two outlet vents, not an air intake vent next to an outlet vent. As both vents are outlets I have not seen a specification for how close they can be together.

However you might want to consider increasing, even doubling, the clearance distance from your pair of outlet vents to any building air inlet as you've doubled the outflow volume. I hate having to duck and weave on a question for which we can't find an authoritative answer, but in such cases we're left with "Check with the manufacturer of your specific direct vent fireplace - as their customer support or engineering department may have an additional specification for your case.

And none of the installation guides I've reviewed discuss juxtaposition of two or more direct vent gas fireplace or other fireplace exhausts. So we don't know if simultaneous operation of your two or more direct vent fireplaces will cause interference between them and thus a safety hazard.

Beyond "check with the manufacturer" it also makes sense to double check that fire, smoke and CO detectors are properly installed and tested. Tell us the brand and model of your fireplaces and perhaps we can find more specifics. On by Scott What is the minimum vertical distance I can install a direct vent fireplace vent below an existing direct vent fireplace vent? From the table provided, it states "Clearance to non-mechanical air supply inlet to building or the combustion air inlet to any other appliance" is 9" in US.

I see the same information in the fireplace manual. Is this the correct code I must follow? On by mod - direct vent gas fireplace terminations may be very hot Yes, John some caution is in order, though I think that not all side vent terminations get burning hot. At least some fireplace vent caps are embossed with a"HOT" warning. An example is this Pro Square direct vent cap shown here, and plainly marked HOT On by John You mentioned that side vent caps can get very hot while fireplace is in use.

How hot? Do I need to worry about my children burning their hand if touched? On - by mod - KB You will see the required clearances in the top lines of the table above on this page in the section titled: Minimum Clearance Distance Requirements for the Exterior Vent Termination of a Gas Fireplace Heater On by k baksi What distance must a neighbor's wood stove vent be from a neighbors home.