Fire Pit with a Suspended Hood – Custom Case Study

Vancouver Gas Fireplaces was approached by Thistledown Design of North Vancouver in regards to a project in West Vancouver. It was being built by Hughes Brothers Construction.

There were two fireplaces in the house, yet the primary concern was with the central feature. This centrepiece was a standalone stone-clad fire pit with a glass-style burner. The plan was to suspend a hood from the ceiling above the fire pit, tapered up into the venting system.

The inspiration for this design was based on a particular installation the VGF Custom Team had done several years ago for a Whistler project in which a burner was installed on a boulder with a venting system suspended directly above.

One of the challenges faced in this project was that we were brought into the project rather late, resulting in considerable delay in the various required design and regulatory approvals. This made it challenging for us to get the required mechanical rough-ins in place. Based upon our past experience, we were able to successfully guide the builder to get the proposed rough-in requirements prior to the specifications being approved.

Another challenge we encountered had to do with the venting. It had to go up directly adjacent to a pop-up roof which left no room for an enclosure through which we could run the venting. To solve this problem, we could not use a type-B vent because of issues with clearance and with running exposed type-B vent at the exterior so, instead, we used insulated stainless type-A vent which would require no additional cladding or protection for the exterior portion of the run.

To support the type-A vent and the suspended hood, we designed a stainless-steel support plate to be installed over a curb construction on the roof with a ready rod running down to another support plate welded to the top of the top of the vent hood. The type-A vent was slid down from the top and secured to the plate on the top of the vent hood. The type-A vent was then run up through the roof, and offset to avoid the pop-up roof and instead was braced off the edge of the pop-up roof. The power-draft inducer was installed on top of the venting. The draft inducer ensured that positive venting could be achieved.

For the hood itself, we had a choice between going round or faceted. Because of the potential of having to install glass around the opening in case of negative pressure in the house, it was decided to make the hood faceted as the cost of curved glass would be prohibitive.

The original design for the fire feature called for the hood, vent support and venting to have an over-cladding of finished stainless steel. In the end, because of the quality of the finishing of the vent hood, support plate and type-A venting, it was decided that they should be left exposed.

For the base, Hughes Brothers Construction made a form in their shop and precast the concrete. Once the precast base was brought to the site, we measured for the burner and support. The controls and valve for the burner were installed in the base with an access door installed at the back of the base.

To control the unit, we used a line voltage remote control. The ignition was interlocked with the power draft inducer such that if the inducer did not turn on and provide positive venting, the burner itself would not turn on.

In the end, with some flexibility of design between the designer, builder and Vancouver Gas Fireplaces, a one-off original installation was made possible for the central focus of the client’s living space.

Thinking about a custom fireplace?