Does Fireplace Opening In Block Wall Opening Need Support?

Square-One

Hello, everyone! My name is Shane, this will be my first post, and hopefully someone may have a few ideas they can throw at me about this.

Here is the question????

I'm looking to put a 36" fireplace through a 12" block exterior wall, and there is an existing block fireplace pit. From the exterior wall the pit extends out 18" x 5' wide and 5' deep, that was put in when the house was built but has since sat empty. So I need to build a dog house over it. PS this is a gas fireplace! The exterior block wall is 30' long and I will be knocking out block for the opening 7' from one end of the wall. No other load points directly above the fireplace opening. This is a two story home. Once I bust out the block there will be 6 courses of block above the new opening which will be 3' wide by 3' high. Do I need to use and steel plate or I-beam etc. to carry the load above the fireplace opening, or do I take out one more course of brick and put in 2x8 header, or is the opening small enough that I can just box in the framing for the fireplace and be done with it? Should the framing of the fireplace in the block wall be treated lumber? Lastly, when framing would be complete there will be 1/2" gap to each side of the fireplace. Will this void need to insulated or sealed? If so what material should be used? Remember the rear of the fireplace will then be in an enclosed pit, so not sure if the 1/2" void needs to be filled.

A heating and cooling co. will be installing the fireplace, gas line, and B-vent all I'm doing is knocking out the block and framing the opening.

Hope I have full explained the situation, if there is any other information needed please, ask me!

Thank you ALL in advance, Shane!!

Forry

And no one had anything to say about this? After all this time?

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now i am scared for my future
i've got all ten
smashed a lot of them stupidly before
-john5mt

neolitic

speechless

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(Sorry....it seems there really are dumb questions)

CJKarl

Maybe the house caved in.

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There's Always A Market For Quality
http://www.kaufmannmasonry.com/

genecarp

Hopefully he found one of those new structural gas fireplaces that they sell at HD.

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Celtic

LMAO

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EnergyRecr

Natural-vent (also called top-vent or B-vent) units use the natural buoyancy of hot air to exhaust burned gases, as with a conventional chimney. These inserts take in combustion air from inside the home and exhaust combustion gases outside it. Natural-vent units generally cost less than direct-vent units but can sometimes be overpowered by the suction of a furnace, range hood, bath fan or clothes dryer, pulling the combustion products back down the chimney.Direct-vent inserts -- the best-selling type -- have two 3-inch vent pipes on top. One pulls fresh outside air into a firebox; the second sends emissions back out again. Because they consume no warm interior air, direct-vent models are draft-free and energy efficient. The dual-vent system avoids potential air-pressure problems in tightly sealed homes.You could exhaust a direct-vent insert without a chimney. Any outside wall will do. This installation flexibility also keeps costs down. Direct-vent gas fireplaces are sometimes called zero-clearance because most can be installed close to combustible materials.