A Not-So-Open Fire: The Benefits of Glass Fireplace Doors

Some Reasons Why Glass Fireplace Doors are Needed - Guest Post

Fireplaces are major fire hazards so safety should be your primary concern. Aside from regularly cleaning the fireplace and the chimneys, you should also install glass fireplace doors to contain the embers and prevent small fingers from getting burned.

Fireplaces are essential fixtures in some homes, especially those that are located in areas with harsh winters. However, fireplaces are also major fire hazards and they have caused a lot of household fires in the past. This is why fireplace safety should be a top priority; this is to prevent accidents and other untoward incidents from happening. 

One way to keep your fireplace safe is by installing glass fireplace doors. These doors are not just mere accessories for fireplaces. There are plenty of advantages in installing these doors for your fireplace. Here are some of them.

Protection

The primary benefit of installing glass fireplace doors is it offers protection for you and your family. These doors reduce the risk of damage to your home. They keep logs inside the fireplace and prevent them from tumbling out. They also prevent embers and sparks from escaping the fireplaces. Burning logs, sparks and embers are dangerous and can cause significant damage to rugs, carpets, tiles and wood flooring. These hazards can also melt linoleum or burn people and pets that are standing too close to the fireplace. Glass fireplace doors also prevents small children and pets from burning themselves on the flames of an open fireplace. These doors also serve as a pest control method because they keep out the pests that can enter the house via the chimney.

Energy Efficiency

Having fireplace glass doors is also an excellent way to make your home more energy efficient. Your fireplace will work better because the glass fireplace door will serve as a barrier between your home and the chimney. The glass fireplace doors keep the warm air inside the fireplace and prevents it from escaping; they are a big help in minimizing the amount of warm air lost so you do not have to crank up the heater or thermostat during the cold winter months.

Aesthetics

Aside from their functionality, glass fireplace doors also provide some aesthetic value to the home. You can choose to have decorative glass fireplace doors that come in various designs, sizes and shapes to match the décor of your home. You can also have your glass fireplace doors customized to make sure that yours is one-of-a-kind.

Easier Fireplace Cleaning

Fireplaces require regular cleaning which can be a tiresome chore. Glass fireplace doors can help reduce the amount of work that you have to do because the ash, cinders and other fireplace debris are contained within the fireplace. With glass fireplace doors, you never have to worry about doing heavy duty cleaning in the areas around your fireplace again.

Steel Buildings Design offers high quality bespoke steel buildings for clients all over the U.K. This article is written by one of their regular contributors.  

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Easy Fireplace Door Installation Tutorial

Okay, so the last nine days or so I have had a ton of request's to give a little more insight into how easy it is to install a fireplace glass door so I pieced together a little bit of information that I was given permission to use for those of you who think that you can't do it yourself. Here is what you need and here is a step by step on how you can have a beautiful glass door for a fireplace and install it yourself. 

What Tools Do I need?

You will need a Phillips screwdriver, an electric drill, and masonry drill bits. Masonry drill bits are drill bits that can go into stone. That's it!

Getting Ready

Unpack your fireplace glass doors and do a quick inventory. Make sure and keep all packing supplies as you will need these in the rare event your fireplace doors are defective or do not fit. Use this video as your guide.

Installing the Fireplace Doors

1) You want to make sure your fireplace glass doors go in the right way - not upside down! Look for two spacer brackets - these indicate the bottom of the doors. It is important that the frame be installed with the correct side up to insure smooth operation of the doors and proper flow of cooling air.

3) Remove the four Phillips screws from these tabs. Now you will get out the four mounting brackets, which are packed with your fireplace door. Using the four screws you just removed, attach the mounting brackets to the sliding tabs. You can loosen these tabs to move up and down for fine tuning the location of the mounting brackets. This ensures you will be able to affix the mounting bracket to a solid mounting service. For instance, you want to affix the mounting brackets into brick versus mortar, as mortar crumbles easily. 

4) Next, you will make pilot holes for the mounting brackets. Center your glass doors and hold them in place where they will go - Once again, make sure they are right side up. Through each of your four mounting brackets, mark a hole for drilling. Make sure and use something very visible like a sharpie. Also make sure you are marking on solid brick and not mortar. This will ensure that the doors are held securely. Now, take the doors back out of the fireplace and get ready to drill! 

5) On the four spots you marked with a sharpie, drill the pilot holes. You will want to look at your particular model's instructions* to find the right sized pilot hole for your doors. 

6) Now put your doors back in place within the fireplace. Find your sheet metal screws, which are packed with your fireplace doors. Using a drill driver, snug each screw through each corresponding bracket and into each corresponding pilot hole making sure not to over tighten. 

7) Centering the Doors - You are almost done! If you need to fine tune the centering of the doors, you can loosen the screws through the mounting brackets on one side, and then tighten them on the other. This will be very intuitive once you have the doors installed.

8) Putting the Doors into their Frame - Fold the glass panes together or slightly open with the handles up. Tilt the doors at a 45 degree angle and insert the bottom pivot pin into the retainer clip located in the bottom corner of the door track. Stand the door up vertically and snap the top pivot pin into the retainer clip located inside the top corner of the door track. Repeat the same procedure for the other pair of doors. You're done!!!

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