Prefabricated wood-burning fireplaces and condominiums: Caution is required

According to the Association des professionnels en chauffage (APC) in partnership with the engineering firm Centre d'Inspection et d'Expertise en Bâtiment du Québec (CIEBQ), many fire-stop ducts surrounding prefabricated wood-burning fireplaces and their chimneys found mainly in condos do not comply with the requirements of the Construction Code.¹ Therefore, caution is required.

Broker’s role

The real estate broker acting as an intermediary for the sale or purchase of a fraction of a residential immovable held in divided co-ownership, containing a prefabricated wood-burning fireplace, must inform the parties of the potential issue and advise them to be cautious.                         

In addition, the pre-purchase inspection does not help determine the compliance of the installation because building inspection practice standards explicitly exclude compliance with building codes and standards and regulations governing the construction sector. To determine the compliance of an installation, the broker must advise the seller or buyer to enlist the services of a professional who is qualified to certify the compliance of a supplemental heating system, including fire separations (for example, an engineer or an architect).     

What’s a prefabricated wood-burning fireplace? 

A prefabricated wood-burning fireplace is a fireplace assembled in advance in the factory and then installed on site. It must not be confused with a built-in fireplace–also called “insert”–which is intended to be encased in a masonry fireplace to improve its performance.²

Required standard

The Construction Code of Québec requires that a prefabricated wood-burning fireplace and its chimney be completely surrounded by a gypsum duct that resists fire for at least 45 minutes. In a condominium, this means that there must be only one chimney per duct.         

In addition, the duct must be covered with gypsum from inside and outside. Joint finishing is necessary to make the walls compliant with the fire resistance standard of at least 45 minutes.                                       

However, when inspecting the inside of a gypsum duct, we often find fireplaces and chimneys of several co-owners inserted in the same duct. It happens very often that gypsum is applied only on the outer walls and the joints are not sealed inside the duct. 

Risks posed when the standard is not respected

When properly built, the partitions of a private portion in a co-ownership propertydelay fire for at least 45 minutes. If the duct allowing a chimney to pass through contains several chimneys or is poorly sealed, it accelerates the spreading of fire. Under such conditions, any fire–a cooking fire, for example–may spread to the building structure through the duct, even if the fireplaces are not used or cannot be used.

If fire spreads to the building structure, there will be huge losses. A major fire has consequences on the lives of the co-owners whose immovable is destroyed or severely damaged by fire–temporary relocation, work supervision, injury by fire or smoke, etc.                

The damage sustained by other private portions and the whole building will have an impact on the insurance premium amount that the owner and the syndicate of co-owners will have to pay in the future. This could even render the condo uninsurable. Such an event could also have immediate financial impacts on co-owners: will insurance be sufficient to cover this type of damage?     

For more information in this regard:

• Association des professionnels en chauffage
• Centre d'Inspection et d'Expertise en Bâtiment du Québec
• CondoLiaison Magazine, Fall 2018 - Vol. 19, No. 3
• Intégrité des séparations coupe-feu lors de l'installation des conduits de fumée, Régie du bâtiment du Québec
• Guide pour présenter une demande de mesures différentes portant sur la mise aux normes des installations des conduits de cheminée, Régie du bâtiment du Québec

¹ According to Stéphane Bouffard, Chair and Directorof APC Technical Committee, fire-stop ducts in condos with wooden structure are usually not compliant. Julie Fournier-Dupuis, JuniorEngineer at CIEBQ told Condoliaison Magazine in autumn 2018:“In most co-ownership buildings built prior to 2008 and containing prefabricated wood-burning fireplaces, we noted during our multiple inspections (more than 6000) that the majority of these elements are not respected.”
² A masonry fireplace, a wood stove, a gas-burning fireplace or an electric fireplace could be affected by an improper installation, but the issue in co-ownership properties concerns mainly prefabricated wood-burning fireplaces.