DIY guideFireplace
Wood, gas or insert? Identify your fireplace
An open firebox, a metal insert or a sealed glass front: what each looks like, and what that means for its care.
- 5 to 10 min
- 6 steps
- Every step animated
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Brick or metal walls, ash and a grate inside, open to the room: a wood-burning fireplace.
A metal box set into the fireplace, with a glass door: an insert. It burns wood, pellets or gas.
A sealed glass front, ceramic logs and a switch or a remote: it runs on gas.
Behind the bottom grille or on the side: a metal plate with its model. Photograph it.
Wood: the flue swept every year. An insert or gas: a service by a pro every year.
A gas smell, smoke into the room, or cracked glass: don't light it. A gas smell means leave and call from outside. Ask Handyman for a fireplace pro.
What you need
- A flashlight
- Your phone
Call a pro if
- A gas smell: leave, and call from outside
- Smoke comes into the room
- Cracked glass, or it's time for its yearly service
Handyman says: Don't light it. I'll find a fireplace pro.
Free for every home. Handyman asks a few questions, then books a pro it trusts.
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