Fireplace Support

I just purchased a recently built home in a cold climate. I'd like to add a fireplace to the family room. I'd use a zero clearance enginered unit in a chase. The seller will do the placement and ducting. I will do the framing and stone. I'll be using a manufactured stone product over osb/paper/metal lath/scratch coat. Plus a slab of stone as a hearth. That's quite a bit of weight.

The floor system is engineered wooden I beams, about twenty feet long which is the width of the room. It's long and narrow. The beams go the short way across the room. Underneath is crawlspace.

Should I be placing supports under this thing or can the I beams support it? I'm inclined to pour a thick, reinforced concrete pad under it, run four screw jacks up to two beams running perpendicular to the joists and "pre-load" them a little. Then build away. Too much or too little?

Thanks

 

I don't think it's too much but it could be too little if the code requires footings to the frost line & a header. That's one of those things that you might want to ask a local architect.

 

Welcome to the forums! What does the unit weigh out of the box? Will it burn wood, gas, vented or unvented? If vented will it vent up the chase or out the back of a short chase?

 

The unit itself probably only weighs a couple, maybe three hundred pounds out of the box. Two guys can lift it. With the firebrick, cats, faceplate and stove pipe instaled? I'm going to guess 500. GUESS.

I'm more concerned about the stone. Even that manufactured stuff plus a hearth stone has to weigh several thousand. The chase and hearth would only stick out from the back wall maybe four feet. It would probably only catch three joists. I think they're gonna sag. Maybe I answerd my own queston here.

 

I think you answered you own question. Now the next question is the code for the footings & the header, which I mentioned before.