12
a) Mixing the mortar – The mortar comes premixed and
should be dry. Be sure to use clean water and work it up
into a mixture that is pasty but not lumpy. If it’s too thin
and the surfaces don’t stay moist, the components will not
adhere. Load the mixture into a standard grout bag.
b) Apply about ½” (one-half inch) thread of mortar. The mortar
bead should be approximately ½” (one-half inch) away
from all edges. The mortar has a considerable amount of
holding power so do not overload the components with too
much mortar. Keep the components moist at all times!
c) Some mortar will “ooze out” when placing components
together, this is normal. Wipe excess away with a trowel. Do
not cover component surfaces completely with mortar. Do
not apply the mortar in thick bands even if the component
you are working with is larger than the rest. You will want
to apply “stripes” of mortar in these situations.
d) Make sure components are level. It’s extremely important
that you pay careful attention to how you are assembling
the Grand Meridian Fireplace since every component builds
on the next. If you have to make any kind of an adjustment,
do not try to do it “by loading an opening” with mortar, this
will only result in a fireplace that will not be plumb or level.
Use wood shims instead.
You will find these small wood
shims supplied with the Grand Meridian Fireplace
and
you can nudge them in between openings to achieve the
precision you need in making component adjustments.
Once you have inserted any shims, you will want to
cover any gaps that may have resulted with the mortar.
MMST43 Fireplace Assembly
1) Place the Grand Meridian Fireplace hearth base on top
of your non-combustible floor or metal base. For concrete
slabs, supporting floor needs to be rated at ASTM 90.
2) a)
Combustible Floor Installations:
Mix up a batch of mortar and place hearth slabs on
top of cement board which sits on top of the Raised
Metal Platform (see Figure 15). All-thread rods should
stick up through the holes on the hearth slabs.
b)
Non-combustible Floor Installations:
Draw an outline of the hearth area based on the
dimensions shown in Figure 18. Position Hearth slabs
and mark rebar center locations (see Pg. 10, Fig.14).
Drill 4 inches into concrete slab and secure the four
pieces of rebar with epoxy.
3) Before installing the side walls, confirm placement of
outside combustion air side block (if required), this can
be installed either side depending on which side is
accessible to outside combustion air. Prepare side wall
footprint with the prepared mortar.
4) Keep the assembly of the next sections of the firebox
side walls moving up, keeping components moist,
mixing mortar as you need it and threading the mortar
appropriately as you stack each section, one onto the
next. Constantly check for squareness and levelness
while building each course of block. As you complete
each section, make certain that you adhere the mortar at
each and every joint.
Figure 18
Four 26ga.galv. 4” wide
Hearth Ember Shields
required (not supplied)
LH Hearth 2nd
RH Hearth 1st
53”
28”
Apply mortar
between joints
2” min
overlap typ.
Figure 19
Setting Firebox Sides