Ideas Wanted For Ways To Inspect Inside Of Chimney Chase

Fine folks, I'd like to ask for any ideas on how to have a permanent, safe and simple way to inspect the inside of my stove alcove/ chimney chase throughout the future after I actually install the stove, stove pipe and chimney.

To help visualize what I'm working on, I'm converting a floor-to-ceiling "chase" which had previously housed a factory built fireplace (ZC type) to an 86" tall alcove which will then basically blend into the existing 18' chase.

I'd like to have a permanent, safe and simple way to inspect the separate sections of the chimney chase. Due to the tri-level design of our house I basically have the open air alcove followed by two sealed sections of chase. I'd therefore like to have two access panels or inspection ports or something similar where I would be able to actually see the chimney as the stove is working.

At first I was going to get two 14x14 metal access panels that are gasketed and designed to seal some air (they are minimally airtight) and some temperature (they are minimally insulated) and install those into the two separate sections. Then I considered something considerably smaller like 4" tubes with some sort of screwed or threaded caps in each end. I'm now also considering all sorts of other options including things I found for marine applications like little port holes, etc.

Another thing to consider is I have lined the interior of the chimney chase with 1/2" WonderBoard for safety so whatever panel or product I get will go through that WonderBoard (on the inside) to maintain that safety feature and through the Type X Sheetrock (on the outside) to retain the regular look of our chase. After framing for whatever opening I opt for, I can easily cut a cover piece of WonderBoard which would basically be really easily removable protection for the opening.

If this wheel has already been invented can someone share a link, otherwise any opinions or options are greatly appreciated. Thanks.

pen said:

As long as double wall insulated liner w/ appropriate clearances are met in that chase, the wonder board is a bit of overkill and there is no reason to need it completely closed off. Others have installed grates in these to let a bit of warm air circulate out of the chase. In other words, whatever would be attractive for where these view points are located should work fine.

Pics would be great and might help with suggestions also.

pen

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Thanks for the response! I will be using Class A Double Wall Insulated (Metal Fab Stainless Steel inside and outside) but I'm sort of shooting for not just "overkill" but for "overkill squared"! I'm a worry wort by nature (plus my previous chimney almost completely failed -triple wall non insulated for factory built fireplace - a drastically different animal I know) so whatever I am able to do to calm any concerns, I'll do.

I like the grate idea but I would want something sealable so when the stove isn't lit I'm not allowing any cold attic air in or on opposites when it is summer I'm not allowing any hot attic air in. Do you know of a grate that has some sort of sliding seal or something to accomplish that wish as well? With the way the WonderBoard is now I have almost completely closed off our attic and I think that will help us have lower utility bills all around.

Thanks again for the response, I'll work on posting some pics here a little later (in the middle of running through roll of film right now). Thanks Again!

pen said:

Don't blame you a bit for wanting safety.

The insulated liner is a great start. But if you truly want the safest possible (and easiest) burning experience the best thing to do is to burn DRY wood. For many species that means cut, split, and stacked for 1 year. Others like oak take 2 years. Since switching over to an insulated chimney system I don't get any dark creosote build up except for a couple flakes on the top inside of the cap. The grey ash that is inside there is of no real concern in regards to a chimney fire. Even w/ a good chimney, burning wood that isn't properly seasoned will be frustrating and increase risks. BTW, if you are new to modern stoves these things basically demand the very well seasoned wood. My old fisher would chew through anything I put in it, just as an experiment I tried a load of 5 month seasoned ash (ash dries faster than many species btw) in it this winter and the stove laughed at me in comparison to the stuff that been sitting around drying for about 1.5 years.

pen

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Awesome advice, thanks so much! I currently have on hand about 3.5 cords of wood ranging from almost six year seasoned cottonwood that is totally split and bucked (about .25 cord left) to four year pine of various varieties that's also totally split and bucked (another .25 cord) to three year old ponderosa pine that is not split but is bucked (another 3.0+ cords). As soon as I can I'm going to go and split that stuff too. I'm hoping that the ponderosa pine is ready for winter - with two to three years spent bucked up but not split up I'm hoping that two to three month's worth of summer sun after splitting can catch me up to totally seasoned by winter. Is that realistic or am I way off?

As far as the access to the chimney chase, after some research this is the product I picked. It is gasketed, moderately air tight, easily insulated inside, safe, simple and strong. One reason I picked this particular flush panel is that it (as far as I could find) was the only one that was gasketed on all four sides of the door. It is also a slightly thicker steel than I found on other products. With these panels I'll be able to access every single section of chimney chase. At some time in the future I'll find some sort of attractive wall art to cover the panels but until then they'll just basically be painted the same thing as the chase above the alcove (which will be tiled).

http://www.accessdoor.com/Williams-Brothers-GP-100-Series-Premium-Access-Door.htm

I'm framing an opening for the panels that will be bigger by the thickness of WonderBoard plus 1/8" so I'll still basically be wrapping every combustible component of the chimney chase with WonderBoard, and then inserting these metal panels in a "WonderBoard Window" for future inspection purposes and then for the 1/8" gap all around the frame of the panel I'll put fire-stop-sealant to prevent any attic air infiltration. Any thoughts on this overall approach are appreciated. I'm sure it is all overkill but again after finding my fireplace chimney so seriously compromised and worrying on what "could have happened", I decided that this time I'm going to take as much wonder and worry out of the equation. Thanks again for all the advice, this forum is really incredible.

Dad the Handyman said:

Tell me more about how you lined the interior of the chase. My chase is 28 feet from floor to top of the chase, and I'm trying to figure out how the heck I would get Durock up there. Did you insulate too? Did you seal the seams? All the details you have would be greatly appreciated as I would like to feel safe too. Also, thanks for the access door solution. I've been trying to figure out the same thing and you just saved me tons of time because now I can order these and start framing for them tomorrow.

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Sure, I took cement board and cut it carefully to fit the interior dimensions of the chase then used fiberglass based cement board "tape" and fiberglass based cement board "compound" to totally seal the seams. In between the two "compartments" to the chase (between 1st floor and 3rd floor on our house) I put cement board on both the bottom and the top of the plywood partition. Additionally I purchased some stove gasket material and used this to seal the sections of chimney right where they were passing through the regular radiation shield and also the attic radiation shield. Lastly I installed smoke alarms in each individual compartment. With all these things together I feel pretty safe running stove 24/7 if it is required.

I realize this really is overkill but as I've already mentioned elsewhere the entire conversion from our old fireplace to this stove was prompted when my fireplace chimney failed in a really dangerous way (the first two walls of the triple wall were warped enough that exhaust from the fireplace was hitting hot on the third wall!) within the chase that is inside the middle-most area of our house! My imagination made some pretty awful possibilities out what could have happened. So I wasn't just shooting for "overkill" but "overkill squared"! I still remember when the city inspector and county inspector came out to pass the project they told me that it truly was the safest setup they've ever seen. Anyway I hope this helps answer the approach that I took.