getting fresh air to fireplace

[co_tim]

I'm new to this forum and read several articles/posts that talk about how much air a fireplace consumes and sends up the chimney. My house is fairly tight (about .35 NACH). I thought a simple solution would be to run a duct from my window to my fireplace (9 feet). I would then cut a piece of plywood or 2" rigid foam to fit the window opening, and then cut a round hole in it for the duct to fit into. I plan to use flexible aluminum duct (like people use for clothes dryers) so it is not flammable. But I've never heard of anyone doing something like this so I want to ask if it's a good idea or not. And what diameter duct should I use? On windy days, I will probably close off part of the duct to prevent too much cold air from entering. Not sure yet how to camouflage the duct so it looks okay to my wife...

btw, this is a Rumford masonry fireplace that I only plan to use 5-6 times per winter, sometimes with real wood and sometimes with an artificial log. It is strictly for looks, not for heating. If I used the fireplace more I'd probably buy a wood stove.

 

[Wood Duck]

Why isn't opening the window good enough? The ugly duct laying across the floor is going to offset any ambiance created by the fire in the fireplace, isn't it?

 

[rwhite]

Open fire place is not going to benefit from from air duct. The size of opening on a Rumsford is going to pull the air from the house. Open a window is about all you can do and I doubt that it will prevent sucking the heat from your house. For a house that tight I would assume (maybe wrong) that if you have forced air furnace it has intake air. If so just circulate the air.