From:
"John VanCamp" <jvcstnwrks@zzzzzzzzzzzzz>
Date:
Sat, 21 May 2005 19:26:58 -0500
Subject:
Using stone in the presence of fire
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dawn Husemann" <dawn@-------------- >
Sent: Saturday, May 21, 2005 7:35 AM
Subject: [stone] Re: Using stone in the presence of fire
Quoted text begins.I would very much like to be able to offer my clients an
unbiased pros and
cons of the different types of inserts and the effects they
may have on the
surround, possible problems and solutions/remedial actions. So
they can make
an informed decision as to whether or not to have a real stone
surround.
Any information you can provide to help me with this would be
greatly
appreciated.
End of quote.
Hi Dawn. Welcome to the group. I'm sure if you have lurked
around here much you are aware that we have many and divers
opinions on just about everything,.
My two cents on what your are asking, and since the thing that
pays the bills these days is the carving of solid limestone
fireplace surrounds ( among other things) I do have an opinion.
Real honest to goodness masonry fireplaces ( those built with
fire brick, smoke shelves and chambers and masonry flues) should
have no problem with what ever material is used to face them.
When I was building fireplaces, we would use whatever stone or
brick that the client wanted, and while most were limestone,
some were sandstone and one was faced with granite boulders.
The only cracked lentil stone I have ever seen was the result of
some idiot building too big and hot of a fire, and the cracked
lentil was not the only resulting problem. This is assuming
that the fireplace was constructed correctly in the first place.
Many of the surrounds I carve today go on true masonry
fireplaces.
The ever popular "zero clearance" fireplace is essentially
nothing more than a pretty picture on the wall. No heat to
speak of excapes thus they can be framed right up to and
sheetrocked to within a few inches of the opening.
A lot of our carved surrounds dress these things also but we
often have to "picture frame" the opening with some thin slab
stock to get any decent height for a mantle. I much prefer to
work with the real fireplaces.
I'm assuming that it is these zero clearence units you mention
as inserts. However, there are cast iron inserts also, and some
of these can get rather hot. I have fond memories of the old
box heater glowing a nice dull red on those cold jan. nights.
Kept a kettle of water boiling on top. An insert of this type
could crack a lentil stone, but I suppose if care was taken to
insure a good air space between the iron and any other material,
the likely hood of this happening is rather remote also.. Here
in my part of the world we do not use coal, and wood usage is
being restricted in a lot of communities. But the surrounds you
speak of are only ornament--trim pieces if you will, and should
not be effected by whatever they surround--if the fireplace or
stove is built right and used right.
Sure you will get other feed back, but I don't think there is a
problem to be concerned with.
JVC
John VanCamp / jvcstoneworks.com
- Follow-ups
- message 00314: Using stone in the presence of fire - Dawn Husemann (22 May 2005)
- message 00313: Using stone in the presence of fire - Dawn Husemann (22 May 2005)
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- message 00302: Using stone in the presence of fire - Dawn Husemann (21 May 2005)
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