First off, I'd like to thank everyone who encouraged me to remove my own damper with an angle grinder. I was able to borrow one, and it was kind of fun cutting with it, and it didn't take very long. However, I learned a few things that might be helpful for any other newbies giving this a shot.
I went in with a dust mask, woodworking glasses, leather gloves, ear plugs, and a hat. I soon added a hooded sweatshirt, as the flying sparks were uncomfortable on my neck. My glasses kept fogging up, and that made things take a lot longer, so if you can solve that one somehow, it'll help. I attacked one of the hinges first, and once I cut that, the damper door came out. The installer had come by and told me I had to take out cross piece on the back side, and even a couple bricks under it, so I cut that cross piece in half, and then was able to pull the two pieces out after wiggling them back and forth a bunch.
The exciting part happened after I got that out. I pulled out some cement, and cleaned up a bit. After wiping my foggy glasses again, I finally noticed the smoke coming from behind the brick wall at the back of the firebox. There's a space behind it. I was able to slowly twist myself and a flashlight back there to find a pile of old ash and creosote, and a lot of cobwebs. The sparks from the grinder must have been falling into this pile, and now it was smoking. It occurred to me that it might be possible for the chimney to catch fire at this point, with my head wedged into it. Maybe that wouldn't happen, I don't really know. But I've heard that creosote is supposed to be highly flammable, so I got concerned, and I got my head out of there.
I had a hammer handy, so I took a couple bricks out so I could get in (and out!) much quicker. There was a glass of water on the counter in the kitchen, so I grabbed that and went back in and sprinkled it liberally on the places of the pile that were smoking. It helped, but it was still hot, so I got my 7 year old to get me another glass of water, and that did the trick. Then I used the shop vac to clean up the walls a bit, get all the cobwebs and loose creosote off the walls. Then I ran my fingers through the wet ash pile to make sure it wasn't hot anymore.
Anyhow, I'm not sure how you can keep sparks out of this part of the chimney while removing a damper, but you could certainly be a lot more prepared for dealing with it than I was. I mean if you happen to have the same kind of chimney and firebox as I do. I could be rare for all I know.
Altogether, I'm glad I did this, as it saved me some money on my install, and it was interesting, and I'm glad to know this part of my house better.
Here's pics:
I went in with a dust mask, woodworking glasses, leather gloves, ear plugs, and a hat. I soon added a hooded sweatshirt, as the flying sparks were uncomfortable on my neck. My glasses kept fogging up, and that made things take a lot longer, so if you can solve that one somehow, it'll help. I attacked one of the hinges first, and once I cut that, the damper door came out. The installer had come by and told me I had to take out cross piece on the back side, and even a couple bricks under it, so I cut that cross piece in half, and then was able to pull the two pieces out after wiggling them back and forth a bunch.
The exciting part happened after I got that out. I pulled out some cement, and cleaned up a bit. After wiping my foggy glasses again, I finally noticed the smoke coming from behind the brick wall at the back of the firebox. There's a space behind it. I was able to slowly twist myself and a flashlight back there to find a pile of old ash and creosote, and a lot of cobwebs. The sparks from the grinder must have been falling into this pile, and now it was smoking. It occurred to me that it might be possible for the chimney to catch fire at this point, with my head wedged into it. Maybe that wouldn't happen, I don't really know. But I've heard that creosote is supposed to be highly flammable, so I got concerned, and I got my head out of there.
I had a hammer handy, so I took a couple bricks out so I could get in (and out!) much quicker. There was a glass of water on the counter in the kitchen, so I grabbed that and went back in and sprinkled it liberally on the places of the pile that were smoking. It helped, but it was still hot, so I got my 7 year old to get me another glass of water, and that did the trick. Then I used the shop vac to clean up the walls a bit, get all the cobwebs and loose creosote off the walls. Then I ran my fingers through the wet ash pile to make sure it wasn't hot anymore.
Anyhow, I'm not sure how you can keep sparks out of this part of the chimney while removing a damper, but you could certainly be a lot more prepared for dealing with it than I was. I mean if you happen to have the same kind of chimney and firebox as I do. I could be rare for all I know.
Altogether, I'm glad I did this, as it saved me some money on my install, and it was interesting, and I'm glad to know this part of my house better.
Here's pics:
