Replacing Fireplace Mesh Screen Curtains

How the Curtains Hang

Mesh screen curtains are two panels of metal mesh, each hanging from rings on a rod, that slide open from the center like drapes. A pull chain or a small handle on each panel lets you draw them without touching the hot mesh. The rods sit just inside the top of the opening.

The Superior WRT wood fireplace manual shows how a factory-built unit does it. Each screen's rings slide onto a rod, a push-on nut keeps the last ring on, the round end of the rod goes into a hole at the side of the smoke shelf, and the flat end is screwed to the center of the shelf. One rod for each panel, both meeting in the middle.

• Smoke shelf: the metal ledge just inside the top of the opening.
• Rod: round end in a side hole, flat end screwed at the center.
• Rings: sliding along the rod, a push-on nut keeping the last one on.
• Mesh panel: hanging from the rings to the hearth.
• Pull chain or handle: at the inner edge of each panel.

Why the Screen on a Prefab Is Part of Its Listing

On a factory-built fireplace, the screen is not a decoration bought separately. Section R1004.1 of the 2023 Florida Building Code, Residential, requires the fireplace to be installed according to its listing, and the Superior Pro Series parts list includes a screen assembly kit with its own catalog number, like the grate and the refractory panels. The manual says to get parts from a dealer and never to use substitute materials, because unapproved parts can cause poor performance and safety hazards.

A screen that is too short leaves a gap at the hearth where embers roll out; one that is too long bunches and holds the panels open. On a prefab, the maker's kit is sized to that firebox, which is why it beats a tape measure.

Replacing a Prefab Curtain

Find the rating plate first; on the Superior units it sits at the smoke shelf, near where the rods fix. Note the maker, the model and the serial number, and order the screen kit for that model. Then, with the fireplace cold:

If refractory panels are being replaced at the same time, the WRT manual has the grate, the screens and their hardware taken out first and put back last, so hang the new curtains at the end of that job rather than twice.

• Unscrew the flat end of each rod at the center of the smoke shelf.
• Slide the round end out of its side hole and lower rod and curtain together.
• Remove the push-on nut and slide the old rings off.
• Slide the new curtain's rings onto the rod, fitting the push-on nut before the last ring.
• Refit the round end in its hole and screw the flat end back at the center.
• Draw both panels closed and check they meet and reach the hearth.

Some Prefabs Use Doors, Not Curtains

Not every factory-built fireplace takes mesh at all. The Majestic MPL11 manual states that glass doors are required on that model, names the exact door assemblies it was tested and listed with, and says the fireplace should run with its doors closed except briefly to add wood or remove ash. On a fireplace like that, swapping the doors for curtains would take it outside its listing.

Section R1004.5 of the Florida code makes a similar point for gasketed doors: they go on a factory-built fireplace only when the system was tested and listed for them. Whatever your fireplace uses, curtains or doors, the manual names it.

Measuring a Masonry Fireplace

A brick or block fireplace has no maker's kit, and its screen follows the accessory rule in section R1001.13: install it per its own listing and instructions. Measure with the fireplace cold and write each number down.

Bring those numbers and a photo of the opening to the supplier, and pick a screen listed for fireplace use. Check that the bracket depth leaves the curtains hanging clear of the damper handle, so they slide freely when the fire is lit.

• Opening width at the top, where the rod will sit, wall to wall.
• Drop: from the rod line down to the hearth, at both sides and the middle.
• Depth available for the rod brackets behind the opening's face.
• Anything in the way: damper handle, gas valve key or a lintel lip.

When It Is More Than the Mesh

Bent rods, a sagging smoke shelf, missing rod holes or rust where the screws fix point past the curtains to the fireplace itself. Our prefab fireplace repair crew fits the maker's screen kit and checks the firebox, panels and damper at the same visit; a free inspection comes with a written estimate.

Small parts deserve the same care as big jobs at a local, family-run company like ours, where an experienced crew looks up the model before it orders. We are Proudly American, and a Proudly American family crew from Spring Hill will order the right kit for your model so it fits the first time.