I searched the archives, and found some good discussion, but not the answer to my question. I inspected a new construction home today, and the gas fireplace in the living room vented straight through the wall, out to a patio area. The vent is only a few feet off the ground, and a few feet from the living room windows. I only had it on for a short time, and the vent outside got extremely hot. My questions are, is this proper venting due to the safety hazard of the hot vent (ie. children touching it), will it damage the siding over time, and is there a CO2 danger with this thing venting that close to an interior window? I couldn’t find installation directions on the Lenox website. Any input would be greatly appreciated, any diagrams or code reference would be even better!
I am unaware of any fireplace manufacturer that would allow such a small clearance to that side wall. It looks to be about 6" from combustibles (ouch).
Check with the manufcturer requirements as most of them will have installation guides to download.
I finally found it! Lenox says the minimum clearance to a door or window that opens is 12 inches. Minimum clearance above grade, a deck, porch, etc. is 12 inches. That is what I was looking for. I think I will just point out to use caution when on the patio when the fireplace is operating, due to the hot vent. Looks like it was installed within recommended guidlines.
A family died of Carbon Monoxide poisoning when the vent got clogged with snow, these have some problems, mostly a lack of understanding from the installer. The best thing to do is look under the unit in the control panel, and see if you can pick up info there, or do what everyone els has, and get the model number etc… and go look it up. Dale Febbs class F.I.R.E. is a great class to get certified to inspect these and add $100.00 bucks to your inspections.
