Flames Emerging from the Floor – Custom 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.

Vancouver Gas Fireplaces (VGF) was approached by the architectural firm McLeod Bovell Design Inc. about a fire-feature concept they envisioned for a home in West Vancouver. The design called for two lines of fire coming out of the floor. This was to be surrounded by glass on three sides, a concrete back wall and a stone finish on top.

With this intended design, it was impossible to make a one-piece fabricated unit around which finishes could be installed, although that approach is often the norm. The VGF Custom Design team were tasked to do the following:

Design a burner setup along with a vent hood
Create a venting system which could be installed separately
Allow for different finishes to be installed, including glass, concrete and stone
Create a sharp contrast of flames without the distracting presence of metal that is often visible within fully fabricated units.

To further complicate the project, the double burner was custom-made complete with support legs and a finished base plate. It then had to be installed and leveled so that its surroundings were flush with the top of the plate. Additionally, the plate had to be set up to allow for installation of channels which then needed to be aligned with the hood above so that the glass could be properly installed.

Moreover, the vent hood was suspended from an engineered steel support frame which was hung from the ceiling with some support from the back wall. The vent hood tapered up into the B vent which made its way up through the roof and was topped with a power vent. Air also had to be brought up through the lower floor and up into the space below the burner for the unit to operate effectively.

In order to achieve a successful outcome for this project, close coordination was required between the designers at McLeod Bovell and the Rimrock Construction and VGF Custom Design teams to create this truly one-off custom installation. No matter how many drawings are done for a project of this nature, there is no way the myriad of complex variables can be fully determined or accounted for until the work is successfully completed.

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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.