Fireplace Installation and Tongue and Groove Walls
We began this week by building the fireplace chase. There are several kinds of fireplaces one can choose for a
new home, everything from a conventional masonry unit to wood burning zero clearance units to gas burning
sealed heating units. We chose a gas burning sealed heating unit large enough to heat the majority of the house
if the power goes out. You never know during the depths of winter when the power may go out and having a
secondary source of heat is important at 6300 ft.

With our unit the chase is basically a box that encloses the unit itself and the flue.
The only difficult thing about building the chase is that it goes all the way up to the highest point in the vaulted
ceiling. Two 3/4" fire blocks were installed per code, one at the 8' level and the second at the 16' level. From
there the chase was extended up to the 21' level where it ties into the existing ceiling and chimney box we
previously built.
This is the fireplace unit set in place in the chase. This unit only requires 1/2" clearance to combustible
materials which makes it ideally suited to this type of installation. Once completely set up and running this unit
will put out 40,000 BTU which will be enough to heat the great room, kitchen, dining room, and loft area. If the
power goes out the ignition system has a backup which uses a couple "D" sized batteries. It can't get any
easier than that.
This fireplace also uses a direct vent flue. Because it will be sealed the flue contains two separate stainless
steel pipes. The inner carries the exhaust gasses out while the outer carries the combustion air into the unit
from outside. The total diameter of the flue is about 8".
While all this was going on the "boss" began the installation of "Rafter Mates". These molded Styrofoam
sheets serve to maintain airspace between the insulation which will be installed between the rafters and the
OSB roof sheeting material. This allows for proper ventilation and keeps moisture from damaging the roof. Our
building inspector had never seen this material before which was a little surprising. In this climate with an
average humidity of around 10% I guess they're not used much but in most parts of the country they are
required.
On Tuesday we had our framing and rough in electrical inspections. We passed both which meant that the
"Boss" could get to work installing insulation and sheeting the interior walls. Her first priority was installing
insulation between the crawl space and the interior of the house.
Both sides of the stairs had to be insulated. This will be one of the master bedroom walls and no one wants a
cool spot in their bedroom wall.
The next item on the "Boss's" list was to install the tongue and groove on the master bedroom walls.
The installation of tongue and groove on the walls is pretty easy. She did need help when some of the more
complicated sections were reached however. Here I'm cutting out sections around the ceiling beams with the
help of our neighbor George.
Here we are installing the piece we cut to fit around the beams. This is as difficult as it gets. All it takes is a
little patience and following the rule, measure twice and cut once.
After spending two days in the master bedroom the walls were finally sheeted. We have not installed any trim
as yet. That will come later. Right now our main concern is getting this place livable as quickly as possible.
While the "Boss" was completing the master bedroom walls I busied myself installing 5 telephone lines and
another 5 satellite TV lines. We used 500' of TV cable and about 700' of phone line. Not much to take pictures
of there, unless you want to see a wire sticking out of a box in the wall.
Check back soon.


That’s it for another week. Next week we'll be finishing the sheetrock in
the utility room as well as getting a good head start on the plumbing.
Yes I know I've said that for a couple weeks now but I really mean it
this time. The heater will be installed on Tuesday so the sheet rock will
have to be completed on Monday. The "Boss" will continue with the
installation of the tongue and groove on the walls.