- Sep 19, 2012
- 26
First of all, I am a first-time poster, but I've been browsing the threads on hearth.com and have found a ton of useful information! Thank you!
My husband and I bought a 1948 house this June. It's a small 2br single story with a large pull down attic. The living space is 1100 sq feet appx. In the living room is an old fireplace. Some searching has led me to believe that it is called a "heatilator". It is a red brick masonry fireplace, with a steel surround and four vents on the front of the fireplace for heat exchange. It is an exterior chimney, and the flue is composed of tile.
The steel liner was completely rusted through. I mean, the top part that angles back toward the flue was literally gone. and the rest of it was it just as bad a shape. My husband and I have been talking about putting in a wood insert, but have been procrastinating due to the hefty upfront cost.
The other weekend, my husband spoke to a construction friend of his who suggested we go for it. So my husband got his sawsall and angle grinder and completely cut out the steel down to the brick. It wasn't too difficult, considering the shape it was in. Right now the fireplace consists of a brick box with four brick "channels" built into the masonry for the vents. You can look right up the the existing flue because there is no damper or smoke shelf or whatever that thing is called anymore. It was rusted and rotted out so it was removed with everything else.
So... We found an insert we like - the Montpelier by Vermont Castings. It will fit in our firebox, and we were planning on running an insulated stainless steel flue pipe all the way up the chimney, and insulating the back of the insert with ceramic insulation.
I was doing some more searching this morning before I got to work and I'm now realizing that we might NEED that steel liner and whatever else my husband ripped out in order to properly install the insert. But why? The insert is an enclosed system right? And it should be vented right up the chimney to the outside with a brand new liner. It appears to me that it should be no need for the old rusted out heatilator box. I'm very confused so please help me out.
I'm having a guy come on Friday to take a look at the fireplace. I explained the situation to him over the phone and he said that most likely it will be fine to install an insert without the old heatilator firebox. But I still have this nagging feeling of doubt and I don't want this guy to lie to us to make a sale saying everything is ok, and then not do it to code and have something horrible happen.
I should be able to post some pictures tonight of what I'm talking about. If we can install a wood burning insert, great! If not, please tell me what I need to do in order to make it so that I CAN install an insert.
Sorry for my long-winded question. Thanks in advance for all your help.
My husband and I bought a 1948 house this June. It's a small 2br single story with a large pull down attic. The living space is 1100 sq feet appx. In the living room is an old fireplace. Some searching has led me to believe that it is called a "heatilator". It is a red brick masonry fireplace, with a steel surround and four vents on the front of the fireplace for heat exchange. It is an exterior chimney, and the flue is composed of tile.
The steel liner was completely rusted through. I mean, the top part that angles back toward the flue was literally gone. and the rest of it was it just as bad a shape. My husband and I have been talking about putting in a wood insert, but have been procrastinating due to the hefty upfront cost.
The other weekend, my husband spoke to a construction friend of his who suggested we go for it. So my husband got his sawsall and angle grinder and completely cut out the steel down to the brick. It wasn't too difficult, considering the shape it was in. Right now the fireplace consists of a brick box with four brick "channels" built into the masonry for the vents. You can look right up the the existing flue because there is no damper or smoke shelf or whatever that thing is called anymore. It was rusted and rotted out so it was removed with everything else.
So... We found an insert we like - the Montpelier by Vermont Castings. It will fit in our firebox, and we were planning on running an insulated stainless steel flue pipe all the way up the chimney, and insulating the back of the insert with ceramic insulation.
I was doing some more searching this morning before I got to work and I'm now realizing that we might NEED that steel liner and whatever else my husband ripped out in order to properly install the insert. But why? The insert is an enclosed system right? And it should be vented right up the chimney to the outside with a brand new liner. It appears to me that it should be no need for the old rusted out heatilator box. I'm very confused so please help me out.
I'm having a guy come on Friday to take a look at the fireplace. I explained the situation to him over the phone and he said that most likely it will be fine to install an insert without the old heatilator firebox. But I still have this nagging feeling of doubt and I don't want this guy to lie to us to make a sale saying everything is ok, and then not do it to code and have something horrible happen.
I should be able to post some pictures tonight of what I'm talking about. If we can install a wood burning insert, great! If not, please tell me what I need to do in order to make it so that I CAN install an insert.
Sorry for my long-winded question. Thanks in advance for all your help.