| The special projects division of a large contractor approached Vancouver Gas Fireplaces to design and supply an over-sized see-through fireplace feature. The project designers had envisioned this as being the central element of a downtown five-star hotel restaurant renovation. The design idea was to have flames coming through glass in a clean finishing fire box. Initially, the designers requested that no glass fronts be used, but once venting and safety issues were raised, glass fronts were integrated into the design.
The contractor had spent considerable time trying to source a suitable off-the-shelf unit prior to coming to Vancouver Gas Fireplaces for a custom setup. The time lost sourcing units resulted in a compressed time frame for producing shop drawings and fabrication. We came to an agreement on the various details and Vancouver Gas Fireplaces pushed ahead with a fast tracked, abbreviated process. We delivered the unit within the required time frame, but were unable to site-test and balance the unit until the last moment because the required electrical and gas services were not in place.
Upon testing the fireplace, Vancouver Gas Fireplaces discovered that the room had an extremely severe negative pressure situation, well beyond what would have been expected in this setting. With the negative pressure situation, the unit ran out of combustion air and snuffed itself out. The situation was so pronounced that the unit was also venting up the fresh air intake we had installed to the exterior.
We tried a number of adjustments on the fly, but never hit upon a winning formula. During one adjustment, we broke one of the glass fronts just before the restaurant opened, forever endearing us to the hotel management and relegating us to making adjustments over a series of graveyard shifts.
The challenge was that any adjustments we had made had to be tested over a period of time with the fire feature running. Once we finally achieved the correct balance and adjustments, the feature operated and looked stunning as designed.
Vancouver Gas Fireplaces is North America's leading wholesaler and innovator of custom fireplace design and implementation. VGF provides the most comprehensive fireplace website for architects, builders, designers and renovators. | 
