Air Sealed Masonry Doors

We all love a cozy fire to warm us up during the colder seasons, or just to lend a comfortable ambiance to our living space… but what happens when the fire goes out? Many fireplaces can tend to be a bit drafty, and cold drafts can cool down the rooms that you’re paying to keep warm! 

Air Sealed doors help to drastically reduce those cold drafts. 

We offer air sealed doors that way you can enjoy an elegant door that makes your home a bit more comfortable.These specially designed doors are constructed with gasketing around the door frame, and often times around the glass enclosure as well.

Fire Safety Codes and Efficiency of Air Seal Fireplace Doors

Fire safety codes require a 1/8 inch gap around a fireplace door for proper airflow and to prevent overheating. So while our air sealed fireplace doors are not truly 100% airtight, it's the pre-installed fireplace door gasket seal around the edge of the doors that prevents them from being drafty. We have custom sizing available to ensure that your wood-burning fireplace glass door fits snuggly in your firebox for optimized efficiency.

Some of our energy-efficient enclosures come with tempered safety glass, while others offer the added bonus of ceramic glass door panels! High-temperature pyroceram allows you to burn a fire while your fireplace doors are shut, without having to worry about the glass panes breaking under extreme heat exposure.

Remember that if you decide to go with the tempered glass, that you will need to have your fireplace doors OPEN while there is fire lit. You can close the doors once the fire has gone out. Tempered glass cannot handle the heat like ceramic glass can. If you close your tempered glass doors, they will shatter.

Additional Options

Finish colors, various methods of spark protection, and damper options are also available when selecting one of these air seal fireplace doors. Our high-quality steel doors are American made, and free shipping is included with all of our products.

With several models that are available with ceramic glass, you have a great opportunity to increase the safety and efficiency of your fireplace! Ceramic glass air sealed doors would allow you to burn your fires with the doors closed, allowing the fireplace heat to radiate from the ceramic itself. Then, when the fire is out, you can still protect yourself from cold drafts by leaving the sealed doors shut. If you want to maximize your door’s potential, consider adding spark-protecting mesh and a draft assembly to it!

One of the added benefits of having an air sealed door installed on your masonry fireplace, is that it reduces the amount of air coming out of the fireplace itself, which also means that it reduces the immediately-identifiable scent of woodsmoke. While a whiff here and there is pleasant, the smell of your fireplace may not be what you want guests to notice when they first step inside. 

Give yourself the the comfort of a fireplace, even when the fire is out.

CASE STUDY

Recently, we had some customers ask if they could install an airtight ceramic glass door on a see-through fireplace in order to burn a fire with the doors closed. The answer is yes. Ceramic glass has a higher heat rating than tempered glass. It does allow you to burn a fire with the doors shut without shattering from the extreme temperatures generated from within the firebox. Tempered glass fireplace doors will shatter if closed while the flames are going. In addition, the gasket seal around the edges of our ceramic glass doors prevents the enclosures from being too drafty. 

As a safety precaution related to this case study, remember that you should always burn a fire with open doors if using tempered glass doors. You may keep your doors closed ONLY if you are installing ceramic glass fireplace doors. We highly recommend purchasing the same type of glass fireplace enclosure for both sides of a see-through application.

Please Note:

The air sealed doors can NOT be installed on a factory-built fireplace, like the prefab black steel fireboxes. You can ONLY install the air sealed doors on a masonry fireplace.

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FAQ's

Q: Are sealed fireplace doors airtight?

• A: When you hear the term “airtight,” what is really being conveyed here is that the masonry fireplace door has pre-installed gaskets (or seals) around the inside of the door frame, as well as around the glass. While no fireplace door is 100% airtight, the gaskets do help to achieve a state of minimal air loss. 

• A: As of 2016, an update to the International Building Code was made, stating that newly constructed masonry fireplaces need to have either a tight-fitting flue damper or gasket fireplace doors in order to operate. This new code is beneficial for a couple of reasons:

  • The sealing around wood burning fireplace glass doors keeps heat from the home escaping up the chimney.

  • Prevents drafts and woodland creatures from coming into the home.

• A: Glass enclosures that do not have gaskets can still be every bit as efficient as an airtight fireplace door. A custom-fit door that is properly installed is your best bet for assuring reliable, energy-saving performance. 

Q: What is pyroceram glass?

• A: Also known as ceramic fireplace door glass, pyroceram glass is a high-temperature material made from ceramic. It offers a beautiful yet subtle amber tint and is preferred in heating applications that produce extreme temperatures (in excess of 1000°F). One of the advantages of having ceramic glass fireplace doors is that the homeowner can leave the enclosure doors shut while the fire is burning without having to worry about the glass shattering from heat exposure. 

Q: How does the damper close/seal on the Supreme Air Sealed Masonry Fireplace Door?

• A: The damper is a slider that moves from left to right. This helps to regulate the airflow when a fire is lit. The damper cannot be made air sealed otherwise you couldn't slide it. 

Q: How do I know if my damper is open?

• A: The easiest way to check your damper is to take a peek at it. You will need a flashlight to shine up your chimney to see if it is open or closed. If you cannot see straight through then your damper is closed.

Q: Is it necessary to purchase a ceramic glass door for each side of the see-through fireplace, or can one opening be closed off with a single pane of ceramic glass or masonry?

•  A: While two airtight ceramic glass doors may seem like a substantial investment, it is the safest choice for this situation. Fire safety codes require proper airflow and draw of the fireplace and chimney. As mentioned, these codes also require a minimum 1/8 inch gap around the fireplace door (which our airtight enclosure does abide by) to prevent overheating. People with see-thru fireplaces, usually buy a door for each side.

Q: Is it better to keep the fireplace doors open or closed?

• A: This depends on the type of doors you have on your fireplace. If you have tempered glass, then you will need to leave your doors open while a fire is burning. Tempered glass will shatter if closed against high temperatures. If you have ceramic glass on your doors, you may leave them closed or open to your preference. Ceramic doors can withstand the high temperature coming from your fireplace. We have both options available with our air sealed masonry doors.

Q: Do fireplaces make a house colder?

• A: Depending on the fireplace, the type you have, and what accessories you have on your fireplace will decipher how the heat is distributed. The air sealed masonry doors are made to keep the cold air out that is coming from your fireplace. The air sealed doors are also in place to help distribute your heat more efficiently. There are other measures you can take as a fireplace owner to allow your heat to disburse more evenly. One way to do that is to get the air sealed doors. Another is to install a fireplace hood. A fireplace hood will move the heat from going up to pushing the heat outward. Lastly, another great way to avoid a drafty fireplace is by utilizing a draft blocker. They are made to use when your fireplace is not in use and you want to keep the cold air out.

Q: Is an air-sealed door still required per ICC building code?

• A: No. The ICC building code stating that a gasketed door is required recently changed. It is no longer required to have a gasket-sealed door.

Q: How does an air sealed fireplace door work?

• A: Gasket is added around the door frames, and sometimes around the area where the glass sits, drastically reducing the amount of air coming from your fireplace into your home.