Fireplace / Chimney Question

 The other week I had a fire going in my family room fireplace.  Shortly
after starting the fire, I noticed the smoke was backing up in the
chimney - and the whole downstairs was quickly flooded with smoke.
This is the second time in a year this has happened.  After the 1st
time, we suspected it might be a negative pressure situation, so I have
been sure to crack a nearby window every time I start a fire ... guess
that doesn't help.

I decided to have a CSIA certified chimeny sweep come out to clean the
chimney and inspect the chimney for safety.  He offered to install two
caps on my chimney (on the fireplace and furnace crowns), which I had
him do.  He though the smoke backup was probably caused by blowing
winds, and said the caps may help that problem.  He gauged the
clearance and height of the chimney, and said it was up to code and
that probably wasn't the cause of the smoke backup.

Now here's the real issue:  During the course of the inspection, he
noted that the crown on the chimney was crumbling (which I knew about
already).  He also noted that there were gaps between the chimney flue
and the firebox, where the box narrows into the chimney.  The gaps are
not holes, but it's clear there is some masonry which is either rough,
or crumbling.

The chimney sweep (also a fireman for a local FD) made it sound as if
this was a potentially severe problem, and recommended that I not use
the fireplace until getting it fixed.  Of course, he had a solution
ready to go:  to use some product called "Smoketite" to seal the gaps.
Cost $500.

I hate getting inspections and repairs from the same people, as the
potential for abuse and fraud is too great.  Does anyone know if this
truly is a problem or, better yet, if the repair he's suggesting is
worth the $500.  Being the holidays, cash is very tight ... but I
really enjoy my fires this time of year.

Any insight appreciated !

   elvindeath@yahoo.com wrote:


Do you really have a need to burn wood?  Given that wood smoke
causes so much problems, such as lung cancer and acid rain,
how about dropping in a gas fireplace insert?  That would be
totally safe, it eliminates the hassles of wood, and the smoke
from gas is far less dangerous than wood smoke.

-john-

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John A. Weeks III           952-432-2708            john@johnweeks.com
Newave Communications                         http://www.johnweeks.com
======================================================================

 Guess I wasn't aware of all of these problems before but, yes, I would
very much prefer to burn wood (call me traditional).  With the few
fires I build per year (10 or so), I enjoy the ambience of the wood
much more.  I'd rather just seal the fireplace up as opposed to burning
a "fake" fire.

 
Good for you.  People toss around factoids on the Internet with no
substantiation all the time.  You simply can't alter your life for each of
these claims.  Enjoy your wood fire.

 

When you know something does real damage to your body and others,
wouldn't you be insane not to make an adjustment?  Have you never
seen the effects of acid rain in the mountains in places like
Pennsylvania, or seen a person with breathing problems struggle
to catch his/her next breath?  We only have one atmosphere on this
planet, and if we mess it up, we are out of options.  The air
is something that we should take care of above all else since
everyone has to breath to live.  That is why people should not
use cheap 2-stroke lawn mowers and why charcoal fires should be
banned in favor of gas.

-john-

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John A. Weeks III           952-432-2708            john@johnweeks.com
Newave Communications                         http://www.johnweeks.com
======================================================================