fitting cast iron fire insert and wooden surround

[sjws1888]

Hi,
I'm fitting a fireplace and I can't find good instructions anywhere so I hope someone might help out.

I have an existing open fireplace that works fine but the surround was really ugly so I have removed it. There is a ceramic fireback that is in good condition so I plan to leave it in place.
I will be fitting a cast iron insert - see the photo below (this isn't a photo of my actual one but its exactly the same):

Untitled

• sjws1888
• 24 Apr 2014
• 1

I will then fit a wooden surround over that.

I have a couple of questions about fitting the cast iron insert:

1) What is the best way to secure the cast iron insert. It has some lugs on the back and I have read about people running thick wire through these and then securing some eyes to the wall to hold the wire in place. To me this doesn't seem like a great way of doing it. It would be easy enough to drill some holes at the corners of the cast iron and then screw it to the wall (the screw heads would then be concealed when the wooden surround is fitted. Is there any reason I shouldn't screw the insert to the wall

2) Once the insert is secured to the all, I presume it needs to sealed air tight against the wall? I know that you can get fire cement at screwfix, B&Q etc - so should I seal it with that or would that crack when the fire is in use and the iron gets hot and expands?

3) Once the wooden surround has been fitted, should I seal where the surround meets the cast iron insert with heat proof silicon or is that not necessary?

Any help much appreciated

 

[Newboy]

Assuming that you have the matching firebox and other components?

Don't drill the part you have shown - it's cast iron and may crack when drilled - it may also crack when you tighten the screws into the brickwork.

If all the other parts are available then once they are in place the front section should be mortared into the brickwork using the lugs and any space around the edge filled with fire cement.

The mantle/surround can then be fixed to the wall.

Not necessary (or desirable) to seal the mantle to the cast iron.

You do need to ensure that all the functional sections of the fireplace match and are fitted together correctly - hot gases can do a lot of damage (to you and the fabric of the house) if the components are mis-matched