fireplace

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  1. I

    Am I being Lied To?

    Hello, I purchased a home in July of this year. It was originally built in 1900 and was completely renovated before coming to my hands. One of the conditions in the agreement of purchase and sale was that the gas fireplace insert in the wood burning chimney would be operational by close. It...
  2. cbscout

    Fireplace Insert Make, Model and Size

    I am in the process of deciding what insert to buy. What are your opinions on the companies - which have the best quality inserts? i.e. Vermont Castings vs. Quadra-Fire vs. Jotul vs. Napoleon vs. etc... We have a ranch that totals 1228 sq ft. The main area that will be heated is about 500...
  3. L

    New home: Fireplace or wood stove?

    We are building a 3500 sf ranch home outside of Philadelphia on 50 acres. We have 10 acres of woods that should give us enough wood to burn. In the center of the house in a great room we are planning a fireplace because one person really wants a fireplace more for the enjoyment of an open fire...
  4. M

    Olympia HE250 vs the Kozy Z42?

    Are there any Olympia Ventis HE250 opinions or reviews out there? I been scouring the internet and can not find anything. I have an old 1985 Preway fireplace insert and this past winter, it proved to be extremely inefficient to provide much heat while I was stuck without electric for a week...
    • MikeNEPA
    • Thread
    • fireplace he250 kozy heat kozy z42 olympia he250 olympia ventis olympia ventis he250 ventis z42
    • Replies: 26
    • Forum: Kozy
  5. M

    Fireplace flue - unusual blob

    Hi, We've got an unusual blob formed on the external wall of the chimney flue. Just wondering if you have seen anything like that before and know what it could be? The flue kit has been installed new in Sept-Oct 2015 Haven't touched it yet, as don't want to damage the flue any further just at...
  6. K

    Mouse in our "Superior" brand masonry fireplace...Need advice

    Hi! My house has an old fireplace. I think it's a masonry one, but not sure, it's old. It has a brick chimney on the exterior, and a brick floor inside it. There is one brick missing in the back of the floor, presumably to the ash box, it has a metal cover that has "Superior Fireplace, Pat.#...
  7. V

    Gas Fire Place - Ventilation and Heat Radiant issues

    Hello fireplace experts, We recently moved to a new house with a natural gas fireplace installed in the living room (see photo below). We have the TV wall-mounted above the fireplace, which I learned it is not a good idea for the lifespan of the TV. The fireplace is very efficient and where I...
    • Vanick
    • Thread
    • fireplace overheat ventilation
    • Replies: 2
    • Forum: It's a Gas!
  8. L

    Replacing Fireplace with insert

    I live in a 1920's house, two stories and a walkout basement. We love our fireplace but we have to either get a wood stove insert or a gas fireplace because the flu has to be fixed, and the diameter of the chimney will be too small for us to be able to make fires that are not all smoke after the...
  9. P

    BIS Panorama - use without catalytic combustor.

    Hi All, I've had a BIS Panorama for 3 years and this past week one of the metal supports holding the catalytic combustor bent out of shape. My question is: can anyone recommend a thermometer for us to monitor the temperature inside (or as close to it as possible)? I'd be happy to get any...
  10. donut_love

    1962 fireplace - Sealing cracks to floor

    Hi crew - Just moved into a "new" house, a 1962 ranch, with two brick fireplaces. I've never had a fireplace before, so trying to learn as much as I can before burning. 1. The previous owners had some type of white sealant strip from the brick to the floor, preventing the draft up from the...
  11. G

    Cleaning brick fireplace with muriatic acid

    My brick fireplace has some water damage and is generally dirty from 50 years of use. I grabbed some muriatic acid but there doesn't seem to be any good tutorial videos. Does anyone have any experience or found a tutorial that was helpful?
  12. F

    Advice on inserts for a large fireplace?

    Hi gurus, I'm in the market for a wood insert for my fireplace. First, it's a really big fireplace (one of the reasons I bought the house). Dimensions are roughly 27" x 36" with a 20" extending hearth. The tile+cement is only about 1/2" off the wood floor. Some questions: 1) I really like...
  13. J

    Icon vs Birmingham Heatilator wood burning fireplace

    We are replacing the fireplace in an 80 year old cabin. We like wood burning for the ambiance and are considering the Icon and the Birmingham Heatilator fireplaces. We don't need need the fireplace for heat. Has anyone had experience with either of these two brands. The Icon is less...
    • Johnny Bill
    • Thread
    • birmingham decision fireplace heatilator icon wood burning
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Heatilator
  14. BillGriggs

    Fireplace Hearth, Tile, and Ditra

    Hi all! New here, but I'm hoping someone can help me out with a project. I'm working on replacing a hearth. My home is built with a 2"x6" tongue-and-groove subfloor. On top of that was laid 1/2 particleboard. In front of my fireplace was a 2'x6' section of 8x8 tiles. I popped these up and...
  15. DarwinsFlinch

    Reassemble/Refurbish Fireplace

    Hi gang... We bought a foreclosure that is also fixer-upper. I inherited a firebox/hearth that I want to put back together. Aside from having the chimney cleaned and inspected, what pitfalls should I watch out for? The overall plan is to install laminate flooring so, should the hearth go on top...
  16. M

    Persistent Draft Problem

    We bought a 20-year-old home with a brick fireplace a few months ago. The fireplace is in the center of the house, brick, and has a terra cotta liner. We didn't notice any fireplace odors when we looked at the house (it was snowing--no AC turned on). Fast forward to moving in in June, and...
  17. G

    Older Style Heatilitor

    Hello All, I just bought a house with 2 fireplaces. 1 is in the basement and appears to be a wood burning fireplace with a brick firebox. The other is in between two living rooms and passes between them. This fireplace seems to be a gas heatilator fireplace. Both sides have vents above the...
  18. W

    Inspecting Fireplace Smoke Chamber

    As you can see this Fireplace has a very small opening at the damper. Looking for some advice on how to get better pictures of smoke chamber for WETT Inspection reports. Regards Roger
  19. B

    Gas Insert Repeated Blower Problem

    Greetings! We purchased a new Xtrordinair gas fireplace insert (don't have exact mod # but it is very similar to this model http://www.fireplacex.com/ProductGuide/ProductDetail.aspx?modelsku=98500270) from "Company A" in April 2001. We run the unit off and on for approximately 6 months of the...
    • Beachgirl
    • Thread
    • blower fireplace gas insert xtrordinair
    • Replies: 2
    • Forum: It's a Gas!
  20. N

    How to build fireplace damper

    Hello I am 15 and wanting to build a fire place where the heat, heats pipes, and forced air goes thru them. (Very good heater) to heat my shop. I want to make a damper for the fireplace to let the fire be hotter or cooler. And I am having trouble thinking about how to make it, the fireplace...
  21. C

    Fireplace chimney smoke issues

    Hi all and Happy New Year. I'm new to the site and new to fireplaces in a home in general so please bare with me. My wife and I recently purchased a house. Built in the 80's and has two wonderful fireplaces, one on the main floor and one in the basement. The fireplaces were a factor in why we...
  22. S

    Best way to fit stove on and/or in fireplace?

    We recently moved into a home, and there's an original fireplace that's rather plain and terrible at putting out any heat. Now, my wife is rather taken with the looks of a freestanding stove, so we're wondering if we could put it on the existing fireplace hearth, and perhaps partly inside the...
  23. AppleRock

    Wood consumption and New Stove (vs fireplace)

    Long time lurker here. .....not another "which stove to buy" question, I promise. Rather WHAT to buy. Very happy Security BIS II owner since 1995. Now looking for (attractive) wood heater for our possible new log vacation home in NH. Was looking at RSF Opel2 or Napoleon 3000 for a while...
  24. N

    Cracked and crumbling mortar

    Good afternoon. A few weeks I ago I had installed a Stoll fireplace door in my fireplace. Due to the structure of the hearth, the doors were installed on the inside, and mortared to frame of the hearth itself. Much to my extreme annoyance, the mortar is already crumbling and cracking and the...
  25. sheep621

    Clay fireplace in traditional home?

    Does anyone know whether it would be possible to put a clay fireplace in a traditional home? Has anyone tried it before? This is what I am picturing (this is a straw bale house): (Image borrowed from http://mechantdesign.blogspot.fr/2015/09/eco-straw-bale-house-in-melbourne.html)
  26. S

    Sealing an ash pit door

    In our 1972 home we have two fireplaces (main living room and basement), the main fireplace has a little door at the bottom back that we believe to be an ash pit door. The problem is every time we make a nice fire, after 45 minutes the basement starts to fill up with smoke. We don't need that...
  27. B

    Building Rumford fireplace Advice Needed

    Hi guys I'm new on this forum. I need an advice from the experts who are familiar with building a Rumford fireplace. I'm using the plans provided by rumford.com website. But I cannot use their components so I need to cast them by myself. Since my chimney is already built I need to make a...
  28. R

    insulation behind the fireplace facing?

    Hello, My question is what kind of insulation should/should not be behind the framing for the fireplace facing, i.e., above the fireplace and near/around the large ducts in the chimney (there are liners also inside the large ducts). In a remodel of my house, I am refacing the fireplace, which...
  29. M

    to flex or not to flex...

    The inspector would not approve our stove installation because it used flex (supplied with the stove) to connect inside the firebox. This was the last thing I expected. He said it must be hooked up via hard pipe all the way into the stove. This does create some problems: stove movement...
    • Marin Spin
    • Thread
    • fireplace flexible connection installation
    • Replies: 13
    • Forum: It's a Gas!
  30. L

    Steps to take to maintain fireplace and its room

    HI, so my family bought a house and my room will have a fireplace in it. I have never used or seen a fireplace being used and since it will be in my room, i have a few questions about fireplace. My main concern is, the rest of my family is not too fond of the smell of burning wood and i don't...
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