Fireplaces help to keep your home warm and cozy. Adding glass doors to your fireplace offers your home several benefits. The first being improved safety for members of the family and furniture around the fireplace. A fireplace door serves as a protective barrier that stops embers from escaping the hearth and injuring someone close to the fire or landing on an object that could catch fire.
Modern fireplaces and fireplace inserts are most of the time produced with glass doors. Custom chimney boxes and old fireplaces more often than not will not have a glass door. Adding a glass door to an old fireplace or a custom chimney box is not a difficult task. Glass doors are available in model sizes that will fit the opening of flat masonry fireboxes.
PRE-INSTALLATION PRECAUTIONS AND ADVICE
Before taking on the DIY steps discussed in this piece, please do take note of the following.
- This door installation type is recommended for flat-faced masonry fireplaces. It does not matter if it is a small masonry fireplace in a tight space; the process would work fine.
- The installation process discussed herein will not work with fieldstone firebox surrounds or materials that are similar to fieldstone.
- Pay extra care and attention when drilling a masonry brick. The brick may be brittle and old. If care is not taken, it may fall apart during drilling.
- If the brick is brittle and falls apart during drilling, contact a chimney masonry expert to take a look at your fireplace and recommend what to do.
- When installing the glass, use hand gloves for handling the glass door panel.
- Avoid laying the glass for the unit on its face to prevent the glass from breaking or getting damaged.
- When drilling, always drill into brick.
- Drill straight down when making holes to ensure screws fit in tightly.
- For extra care and precaution, please use protective gear.
TOOLS AND MATERIALS NEEDED FOR THE INSTALLATION
The following tools are needed for a seamless DIY installation of a tempered glass door on your fireplace.
- Hammer
- Drill/Driver
- Philips Screwdriver
- Hand gloves
- Ratchet Wench and sockets
- Pliers
- Clamps
TEMPERED GLASS DOORS INSTALLATION PROCEDURE
- Step one
The goal of the first step is to fix the lintel bar clamps on the door. To do this, raise the glass door into an upright position and use your legs to support the glass, place it in front of the fireplace for support or have someone hold the door up for you.
Unfasten the screws that can be found at the door’s back using a Philips screwdriver. The bottom screws will house the ground brackets, and the top screws will house the lintel clamps. Place the screws in a safe place as they will be needed to fix the clamps and brackets
The next thing after unscrewing is to couple the two lintel clamps and fix them to the top of the door.
- Step two
After attaching the clamps, the next step is to adjust them. To do this, you will notice while fixing the screws to secure the clamps tightly to the top of the tempered glass door that the screws position right into slots that have been crunched in the lintel clamps. Here’s also comes a question that how to know if glass is tempered or not? Click here this guide to know everything tempered glass.
The slot enables you to position the clamp upward or downward to ensure that it becomes aligned with the lintel’s underside frame of the door for a perfect fit.
Once the clamps have been adjusted and aligned, the next thing is to screw the floor brackets into their position at the glass door’s base. Ensure the floor brackets align with the door’s bottom edge as well.
- Step three
The next step is to mark the floor of the firebox for screw openings. Fit the glass door carefully into the fireplace opening. Ensure you do not scratch the glass. Align the glass door for a perfect fit.
Place a torch inside the fireplace to see what you are doing. While securing the unit in position, extend your hand into the fireplace and mark the holes where the ground brackets make contact with the floor of the firebox.
For accurate markings, use a legible marker to mark the holes going right through the brackets’ grooves.
- Step four
Step four covers drilling holes needed for the lead anchors. After marking the holes accurately, remove the glass door carefully from the glass box and place it in a safe place. Fit your drill or driver with a five-sixteen-inch drill bit and use the drill to make a hole that is two-inches deep in each area marked earlier for the brackets.
- Step five
Once drilling is finished, the next step is to slot in the lead anchors that will be used for screws. Clean the dust that resulted from the drilling. Slot in the lead anchors and tap gently with a hammer until aligned with the brick floor.
- Step six
The next step is to insulate the frame of the tempered glass door. Using your hand gloves, unfold the insulation fiberglass that accompanied your glass door. Fill in the top frames and side frames on the door with the insulation. Tear off pieces to ensure a snug fit.
Do not worry about overfilling the frames. The insulation keeps smoke from escaping the fireplace, keeps the frame’s finish protected, and keeps the door sealed.
- Step seven
Once the insulation has been completed, the next thing is to fit the door to the firebox opening. Place the glass door into the opening of the fireplace carefully. Ensure that the insulation is snug and not sticking out of the edges.
Align the door to the firebox. Extend your hands into the fireplace and twist the screws inside the lead anchor through the bottom brackets. Fit the glass door to the brick using a socket wrench to secure the screws in place.
- Step Eight
The next and last step is to secure the lintel to the door. Adjust the clamp to transverse the lintel’s scope by extending your hand into the firebox and adjusting it manually. Use your fingers to secure the door to the lintel by tightening the screw. Give it a secure fit by using pliers to secure the screw tightly by giving it another turn once your fingers can’t turn it anymore.
Do not overtighten to avoid bending the clamp.
CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE TIPS
To ensure durability, consider the following tips for maintaining your tempered glass doors.
- Clean the glass door regularly to reduce the amount of scrubbing.
- Use high-quality glass cleaners when cleaning.
- To get rid of stubborn soot, try a homemade vinegar solution. Mix one cup of vinegar with three cups of warm water and a tablespoon of ammonia.
- Using a paper towel or newspaper with ash is an all-natural way to clean your fireplace glass door.
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