Purposes of glass fireplace doors

• Glass doors frame the fireplace and attractively enhance the focal point of the room.
  
• Glass doors save energy – fires are burned with the doors open, then the doors are closed afterwards to prevent warmed room air from flowing up the chimney.

• For traditional full brick fireplaces, masonry doors are used.
  
• Metal manufactured fireplaces require “zero clearance” doors (zero clearance refers to the fact that the fireplace is approved for placement next to a combustible surface). These doors require additional cooling vents to prevent overheating. Manufactured units may look like traditional brick fireplaces inside, but can be usually be identified by wooden exterior surround (known as a "chase") on the outside of the house.

• For standard masonry rectangular fireplaces, use a steel tape and measure the height (left and right side) and width (top and bottom).
  
• For manufactured fireplaces measure the same way for a zero clearance screen, but make certain that if the screen has an existing door of any type the panels that enclose the door are removed or taken into account prior to measuring.
  
• Indentify any obstructions (for example, a mantelpiece or a wall on one side). An obstruction usually requires a custom screen.
  

• Determine which type of glass door (masonry or zero clearance) is appropriate.
  
• In general, the more you pay the more you get in terms of features, options and quality of materials

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