Valcourt St-Laurent Linear Wood Burning Fireplace

It needs an 8" chimney and none of it ships with the fireplace — not even the 8" anchor plate the chimney starts from. Use a factory-built metal chimney listed to UL 103HT (USA) or ULC S629 / S-604 (Canada) from the approved list — Olympia/SBI Ventis and Nexvent, Selkirk CF Sentinel, Super Pro 2100 and Super Vent 2100, Security S-2100+, DuraVent DuraTech, DuraTech Canada, DuraTech Premium, DuraPlus HTC and DuraPlus AC, Metal-Fab Temp Guard, American Metal HS and HSS. The system runs at least 15 feet from the bottom of the fireplace (20 feet with two or four offsets), ideally with 18" of straight chimney before any offset, keeps 2" from combustibles, extends 3 feet above the roof and 2 feet above anything within 10 feet, and vents nothing else. Some brands carry mandatory extras: a ventilated roof flashing for Ventis, Nexvent and DuraTech, an attic radiation shield for Security, and no attic enclosure for American Metal. An existing masonry chimney works too once a sweep has inspected it and it is relined with an 8" stainless liner.

Keep anything combustible 48" from the front of the opening. A combustible side mantel can sit 8-1/2" from the door opening as long as it projects no more than 3", and a combustible side wall 24" from the door opening; the enclosure itself may touch the back, sides and floor of the fireplace. Above the fireplace nothing combustible sits within 84" of the base — that space is framed in steel studs — and a combustible shelf 6" deep goes 48" above the bottom of the fireplace (8" at 50", 10" at 52", 12" at 54"). The facing itself is non-combustible cement board finished in tile, brick or stone. On the floor, lay non-combustible protection at least 20" in front of and 12" past each side of the door opening — 69" by 20" minimum, no R-value required — never over carpet, and join it to the fireplace with sheet metal.

• Included in the box: Guillotine ceramic-glass door (42" x 13-13/16", 5 mm) and sliding firescreen with the removable handle; Two painted cast-iron andirons; Two top standoffs with screws, in the firebox and manual kit; 4" fresh-air intake adapter for an optional outside-air connection; ULC-S610 / UL 127 safety listing and the Valcourt limited lifetime warranty.
• Required to complete the installation, purchased separately: Facing Trim - a straight narrow overlap for tile and thin facing, or a straight masonry trim for a flush brick or stone finish; one trim must be installed to complete the fireplace, and none ships with it (choose above); Refractory Panels - the contemporary moulded brick panels that line the firebox; the fireplace is not used without them, and they do not ship with it (choose above); Venting - an 8" listed factory-built chimney from the approved list (see pg 37 in the installation manual) or a lined masonry chimney; Non-combustible facing - cement board around the fireplace and the brick, stone or tile finish that the trim you choose is made for; Floor Protection - a non-combustible surface at least 20" in front of and 12" beyond each side of the door opening (69" x 20" minimum), no R-value required, joined to the fireplace with sheet metal.
• Optional: An outside-air connection (4" insulated pipe, wall termination and clamps, plus the fresh air intake register with airtight damper) and a gas lighter or gas log set within the tested inputs — the fireplace burns wood fully without any of them.

It depends on the wall you are building, which is why Valcourt sells the trim apart from the fireplace: a narrow overlap for thin facing material such as tile, or a masonry trim for a flush finish with brick or stone — both black, both straight to match the linear opening. The narrow overlap goes on last, pushed against the finished facing and screwed to the fireplace with four screws. The masonry trim goes on first — screwed to the fireplace with 16 screws before the cement board and the brick or stone are built up against its edge, and if that non-combustible material is thicker than 3/8" the trim is fitted before the fireplace is even set in place. Whichever you choose, check that the doors still slide freely, and keep mortar, acid and abrasives off its face.

Valcourt strongly recommends one, and some local authorities require it. A wood fire pulls combustion air out of the house, which in a tight home can starve a gas or oil furnace, lose to a range hood and push smoke back into the room. The fireplace already carries the 4" adapter for its left side (or the back, on the left); you add 4" insulated HVAC flex pipe (6" beyond 20 feet or more than two bends, 30 feet maximum) with an insulated P-trap, two clamps and an outside wall termination that draws from outdoors — never an attic, basement or garage — no higher than half the chimney height or 10 feet above the base and no lower than 3 feet below it. The optional intake register with airtight damper lets you close that duct when the fireplace is cold.

Yes to both, within the limits Valcourt tested. Once the kindling fire is established you can run the fireplace behind the glass door or open behind the closed firescreen, as you prefer — never with the glass door partly open — with the chimney damper fully open the whole time it burns. Valcourt has tested the fireplace with a gas lighter of up to 27,000 BTU/h — with the lighter burning, close the screen and keep the glass door open — and with a gas log set of up to 39,000 BTU/h; the lighter or log set carries its own code requirements for the gas connection.

No. The warranty is Valcourt's and applies whichever trim and panels you choose; it runs from your dated sales invoice, so keep it and register the fireplace online at valcourtinc.com with the model name and serial number from the nameplate on the back. Coverage is a limited lifetime on the combustion chamber welds, castings, convector air-mate and ceramic glass (4 years labour, one replacement), 5 years on the stainless components, trims and baffles, 3 years on carbon-steel firebox parts, glass retainers and the handle, and 1 year on paint, gaskets, insulation and refractory panels. It covers the original purchaser only and requires installation by an authorized qualified technician.