Curved Exterior Fire Feature – Client Case Study

VGF has designed and installed many custom projects over the years, indoor, outdoor, large, and small. Here you’ll find a collection a few favourite projects, some straight-forward, some filled with challenges, and others that are just plain ‘ole fun. We put them together to form the Vancouver Gas Fireplaces Custom Case Studies.

Curved-Exterior-Fire-Feature

The Vancouver Gas Fireplaces team was working on a project in the British Properties in West Vancouver, B.C., that involved a number of custom fire-feature installations for the interior of the home. Partway through the project, the owner asked us to design an exterior fire feature at the front of the property. The focal point for this outdoor living space was to have the new installation be an ideal setting for a spectacular south and west view that included Burrard Inlet and Vancouver.

The owner’s idea was to create a fifteen-foot curved outdoor fire feature at the top of the stairs leading down to the road below. The stairs would wrap around the fire feature leading up to a large patio where the feature itself would be located, serving as a de facto railing for the patio. As this location is fully exposed to the elements, the design presented a fresh challenge in protecting the burners and controls from the sometimes extreme weather.

In conjunction with the owner’s architect, the VGF Custom Design team came up with a unique concept. The VGF Custom Design team would create a curved burner system that would be set inside a fabricated finished stainless-steel enclosure, in effect creating a low wall. The VGF Custom Design team designed the curved burner system in three sections with three interlocked control systems. The burners and burner pans would be constructed completely out of stainless steel and a bent stainless steel pipe drilled out to create the desired flame effect.

The control systems including the valves were contained in water-tight stainless boxes which were installed beneath the burners. The burners could be switched on and off by the house smart system with a kill switch nearby for safety reasons. To protect the outdoor fire feature from inclement weather, stainless curved covers were also designed to protect the burners. Given that it was critical that the curvature of the burner pans and burner match the stainless enclosure in design and appearance, the enclosure was built first, then templates made from the burners were fabricated.

Thanks in large part to the efforts of the VGF Custom Design team, the owner and his family are now able to enjoy their stunning outdoor view surrounded by the warmth and elegance of their dramatic and unique exterior fire feature.

Thinking about a custom fireplace?

Thinking about a custom fireplace?

Let us help you get started.

Name(Required)
Vancouver Gas Fireplaces’ custom fabrications and installations are designed and tested to exceed UL/ULC standards and associated sections pertaining to the harmonized North American Gas Code.
In British Columbia our custom projects are subject to an
independent preliminary review by the Equipment Approvals Manager of the Gas Safety Authority of British Columbia and a subsequent field review and inspection by Independent Arms Length Government Inspectors.
Our installations and fabrications outside of British Columbia have been independently tested and approved by ULC, Inreteck and other certified and recognized independent testing agencies through out North America as specifically required by local jurisdictions.