Fireplace doors: selection and installation

Since ancient times, much attention has been paid to the arrangement of the hearth. He performed several functions at once: he was a source of heat, light and an assistant in cooking. Everyone tried to make their hearth unique. Therefore, today on the market there is a wide variety of all kinds of fireplaces.

To protect the fire blazing inside the device, special doors are used. They are installed in the front of the structure. Increased requirements are imposed on this element.

Regardless of whether you purchase a finished product for a fireplace or make it yourself, it must match some parameters:

• The door should be made of natural heat-resistant material (fire-resistant glass, natural stone, steel, ceramics).
• To ensure fire safety, it is necessary to ensure the tightness of the door. Often, it is a faulty fireplace door that becomes the cause of a fire. Therefore, during installation, special attention should be paid to checking for cracks and cracks.

Also, when choosing a door, it is worth considering the type, design features and size of the fireplace.

The doors themselves are approximately the same by design type. They are subdivided only by the materials from which they are made.

Glass doors have become very popular in the market. This material allows you to observe the combustion process in the furnace. The sight of a measuredly blazing fire gives aesthetic pleasure, gives a feeling of peace, warmth and comfort. At the same time, reliable heat-resistant glass ensures absolute safety. In addition, it is easy to control the processes taking place inside the fireplace through transparent doors.

Thanks to a special treatment, the glass from which the doors are made acquires heat-resistant properties. Such a product can withstand high temperatures for a long time.

The biggest disadvantage of glass products is their fragility. Despite being made of impact-resistant glass and resistant to high temperatures, the material is very sensitive to mechanical stress. Therefore, it requires careful use and careful maintenance.

As for design, glass goes well with many materials: marble, natural stone, metal. Therefore, such a door will be an excellent addition to any fireplace.

Metal doors for a fireplace are of several types:

• steel;
• forged;
• cast iron.

These doors are considered the safest. They are widely used due to their relatively low price. Today, the most popular are steel doors with glass inserts.

Ceramic products are rarely used to decorate heating devices. However, if, according to the designer's project, the entire structure has a ceramic surface, the doors should not stand out. In order for the product to withstand exposure to high temperatures, it is fired. This type of door is quite expensive. In addition, it is impractical to operate.It is possible to make a choice in favor of such an element only for the sole purpose of aesthetic harmony of the appearance of the fireplace.

To choose the most suitable door option, you need to take into account all the nuances. To achieve safety and visual harmony, the door must match the design of the fireplace. So when choosing a glass element, you can purchase a model with flat or convex glass. It can also be a single-layer, segmented or rounded panoramic version.

It is necessary to choose the correct thickness of the glass. Its heat-resistant properties will depend on this. It will also affect the warranty period declared by the manufacturer.

Casting and forging are used to frame the glass window in the door. As a result, the door is heavy. To increase the ease of opening, auxiliary mechanisms and devices are being developed.

It is also important to remember that when selling glass elements for fireplaces, Russian manufacturers provide a spare set of heat-resistant glass (in case of replacement). Imported manufacturers sell only piece copies, which is not very convenient. If you need to replace in this case, you will have to spend a lot of time and money.

When choosing, it is worth considering the method of warming up the device. If the fireplace is heated only with wood, then metal doors or models with glass inserts are used. When using coke or coal, the cast iron version must be installed.

If you take into account all the recommendations, your fireplace will serve you for a long time. A properly sized door must be able to withstand temperatures ranging from 600 ° C to 1000 ° C.

Making a door for a home with your own hands is a job that does not require special knowledge and skills. It is necessary to make the product before starting the construction of the fireplace. In this case, the finished door is simply inserted into the masonry, there are no problems during installation.

For the manufacture of a fireplace door, a number of sequential operations must be performed:

• From the corner, make blanks according to the dimensions of your drawings. Assemble the blanks into the desired shape.
• Check all the joints of your product with a square.
• On a sheet of metal, mark the inner outline of the corner frame. The outer contour should be made slightly larger than the size of the frame. This will ensure the tightness of your product during installation.

• Using an angle grinder with an abrasive disc, cut the workpiece out of the steel sheet.
• Assemble the structure and grab the awnings. Check the correct position of the awnings. If everything is done correctly, scald them.
• All welds should be cleaned. Then install the bolt and handle.

The complexity of product installation is directly related to its design and model. To install the door yourself, you need a set of special devices and tools.

You will need:

• angle grinder;
• cutting disc;
• sealing cord;
• hammer drill or hammer drill;

• set of drills;
• screwdriver;
• self-tapping screws;
• permanent marker;
• heat-resistant oven mixture.

To complete the installation, you need to perform a number of sequential steps:

• Place the door against the fireplace opening. Make sure that the body of the product matches the design of the fireplace. Use a permanent marker to make marks on the surface of the firebox through the mounting holes in the housing. Remove the product carefully.
• To make grooves in brickwork, you need a grinder with a diamond wheel. This work requires a lot of attention and additional equipment. You will need special goggles to protect your eyes and a respirator to protect your respiratory system.After sawing out the grooves, it is necessary to chop off pieces of brick with a chisel and a hammer.

• With a perforator or an impact drill, holes must be made according to the marked marks for mounting the product body. Try on the frame and make sure the holes in the frame and the masonry match up.
• The heat-resistant oven mortar must be diluted according to the manufacturer's instructions. Soak the asbestos sealing cord in the oven mixture. Wrap it tightly around the frame. Insert the prepared product into the structure by tapping with a rubber mallet. If gaps remain, they must be filled with an asbestos cord and leveled with a heat-resistant oven mixture.
• Screw the frame to the fireplace with the screws.
• After the solution has dried, insert the glass into the door.
• The control firebox can be made in 3-4 days.

If the door is selected for a fireplace under construction, problems with selection and installation are usually avoided. It is much more difficult to complement a ready-made fireplace with a door. In such cases a number of problems may arise that can be avoided by following the advice of experts:

• When choosing a model, you need to decide on the dimensions of the door. Measure the prepared fireplace opening. The frame should match it or be slightly larger. This will ensure the tightness of the product during installation.
• It is better to purchase one-piece structures rather than collapsible ones. The second type is more difficult to mount with uneven fireplace walls. The tightness also suffers.

• When installing glass in the door, it is necessary to leave thermal gaps. This is to ensure that the glass does not crack when it expands under the influence of high temperatures.
• Before installing the glass model, you must remove the glass from the door. This is a simple operation. The glass is usually secured with two screws.
• All cracks and crevices around the frame perimeter should be sealed with an asbestos sealing cord and lubricated with a kiln mixture. This ensures the tightness of the door assembly.

• It is important to remember the conditions for the correct operation of the fireplace. The installed door should not heat up from the outside more than 40 ºС. It is worth choosing those models that are made of several layers of various materials with an air gap.
• The safest type of door is double-leaf. Due to the presence of a gap between the shutters, the optimal amount of air, required to maintain the combustion process, enters the fireplace insert.

For information on how to install the fire door, see the next video.