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Your Experts for Adding
A Beautiful Gas Fireplace to Your Home
Gas Fireplaces–Clean-Burning & Fuel Efficient
Nothing changes a boring wall into a great focal point like a gas fireplace! Manufactured gas fireplaces can be installed in as little as a day or two and provide a heat source that warms you from across the room, as well as providing an opportunity for a design element that anchors the space. There’s nothing quite like basking in the warm glow of a beautiful fire.
Manufactured fireplaces come in a wide variety of styles and sizes – from traditional shapes to contemporary linear models. Sometimes manufactured fireplaces are also called ‘zero-clearance’ fireplaces, because typically 2X4 stud walls can safely be placed in close proximity to the unit. A new fireplace can be placed on any wall, or even floated in the center of a room. Most gas fireplaces today are very efficient heaters – this is primarily due to the bi-directional venting technology they use called Direct Vent. Direct Vent flues typically are ‘coaxial’ – i.e. there is a ‘pipe within a pipe’. The outer pipe brings outside air into the unit to provide air for combustion, ‘make-up air’. The center, inside pipe is used to exhaust the by-products of combustion to the outdoors. Unlike in older, inefficient gas fireplaces, today’s Direct-Vent units allow no air from inside the home to escape through the chimney. It stays inside the home, helping keep you nice and warm.
There are so many choices for architectural details around a gas fireplace – these details are called ‘Surrounds’. From wood mantels to intricate custom mosaic to tile to cut stone, the choices are as numerous as your imagination! You’ll find so many styles and options available at Villa Terrazza in Sonoma to add warmth to your living room to your bathroom. You can rely on Villa Terrazza, that you are buying from gas heating experts with one of the largest selections of Regency products in the North Bay.
Gas fireplaces can be vented vertically up through the roof or horizontally out through the wall behind them. Which is the right way to go? The answer depends on a few factors, but either one works just fine.
Gas fireplaces take up space which must be accounted for when figuring out where to place them in a house. Typically, the fireplace either ‘bumps into the room’ or ‘bumps out of the room’. Each has tradeoffs. Bumping into the room takes away a little floor space from the room. Bumping out doesn’t affect the room’s volume, but it does create a protruding part of the house where they may not have been one before– which can be a significant no-no if you’re in a condo or do not have sufficient setbacks from the property line. Frequently, when bumping into the room, bookcases can be added to each side of the fireplace so it looks flat in the wall.
Gas fireplaces are normally controlled via a simple remote control, which is very easy and convenient and provides several functions:
- Turns the gas fireplace on & off
- Raises & lowers the flame’s height
- Turns the 5-speed blower on or off or multiple speeds, more on this later
- Thermostat – This optional mode can be activated to allow you to set a target temperature for the room
People often ask us about TVs or artwork above a fireplace. That depends on whether you want the fireplace to broadcast a lot of heat into the room or if it is mostly for aesthetics. When the fireplace is a heater, then we’ll need to pay attention to something called ‘Clearance to Combustibles’. Each fireplace’s owner’s manual will detail how close combustible materials can be to the fireplace. In the case of TV’s, they really don’t like heat. However, a simple non-combustible mantel easily adds a great design element and more importantly deflects heat away from the TV. Another option may be recessing the TV into the wall above the fireplace, so the heat goes right past it. If the fireplace has ‘Cool Wall’ technology which means TV’s or art can be placed over the fireplace without significant clearance issues. With Cool-Wall technology, most of the heat is released via ducts or small openings above the fireplace near the ceiling.
Gas fireplaces typically have some type of blower – a circulating fan that helps them move warm air into the room. In Regency gas fireplaces, the insert has a double-wall construction, and air from the room naturally flows into a gap below the fireplace box, wraps around the unit past a heat exchanger, and out a small gap at the top of the unit. The 5-speed blower increases this apparent airflow. On the lower speeds, you can’t even hear the blower – Regency blowers are among the quietest of all the manufacturers.
Gas fireplaces typically provide control of the flame height (and therefore heat output). If the room is getting warm enough but you still want the ambiance the fireplace provides, the flame can be ‘turned down’ via the remote control.
Most Regency gas fireplaces come with a remote control that has two thermostat functions you can use if desired. The first one is what we like to call ‘Dumb Mode’ – you set a temperature, say 70° and when the room reaches 70° the fire turns off. Our favorite one is ‘Smart Mode’ – in this mode you set the desired temperature – again, let’s say 70°. At about 66°, the fireplace flame height turns down so not as much heat comes out, and you can enjoy the ambiance of the fire for longer. Again, when the room reaches the desired temperature, 70° in our example, the gas fireplace’s flame will turn off
Installing a zero-clearance fireplace typically happens in 2 steps. In the first part of the installation, the unit is set onto the platform your general contractor made according to the height you want the fireplace to be and the manufacturer’s framing specifications. At this time the unit gets fastened to the platform, and gas is piped to it, electricity is connected, and the Direct-Vent chimney system is connected to the unit. The unit is test-fired, then the Installer leaves and the General Contractor finishes closing up the wall, applies any surround materials, etc. When all dust-creating activities are completed, the installer comes back, fits the ember bed, cleans the glass, and teaches you how to use the remote. It’s that simple!
Visit Sonoma–Add Warmth & Ambiance
To Any Room In Your Home
Villa Terrazza helps you add a gas fireplace anywhere in your home. We love collaborating with you to make sure your heating choice fits your lifestyle and home design.
Want to create a new nucleus for your family’s family life? Tired of being cold? Create a convenient, warm, efficient, and safe heating source in your home where everyone will gather! If you have pets, their new favorite place for a nap will be in front of the new fireplace. Villa Terrazza offers sales and factory-trained installation of hearth products designed to keep you and your family warm at night! Let us de-mystify a new fireplace for your home! It is worth the trip to Sonoma to talk with one of our gas fireplace experts and see our extensive gas fireplace selection that can add ambiance to your home while reducing your utility costs.
You can count on Villa Terrazza from first visit through expert install of your gas fireplace. Come to Sonoma sip some wine and see how a gas fireplace can add so much to your beautiful home.
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