Help!

[cjbarnhill]

I am so frustrated with my fireplace I don't know what to do. I had my fireplace (factory) rebuilt 4 years ago. Since that time, it leaks smoke into the house unless I open a window. What can I do? I have tried to get the company that rebuilt the fireplace to do something, but they won't. I have called several companies out to look at it and they all say they don't know what to do. Also one of the companies plastered the crack down the front of the fireplace where it meets the hearth saying that was the problem. Is that crack needed for ventilation?

 

[begreen]

What fireplace make/model is this? Where are you located?

Have there been any other changes in the house like added insulation and sealing, new windows, new kitchen range hood?

 

[stoveliker]

Have you had the chimney swept since the rebuild? (so anything that might have been left in the flue would have been found?)

 

[cjbarnhill]

What fireplace make/model is this? Where are you located?

Have there been any other changes in the house like added insulation and sealing, new windows, new kitchen range hood?

It is a Superior Fireplace manufactured by Hearth Products Mode WRT2042WS. There have been no other changes to the house.

 

[cjbarnhill]

It is a Superior Fireplace manufactured by Hearth Products Mode WRT2042WS. There have been no other changes to the house.

I am in San Antonio, Texas

 

[EatenByLimestone]

How tall is your chimney? You’re probably still pretty warm in San Antonio.

 

[bholler]

It is a Superior Fireplace manufactured by Hearth Products Mode WRT2042WS. There have been no other changes to the house.

How did they rebuild it?

 

[Ashful]

Classic reasons for smoke spilling into house:

1. Insufficient draft. This could be due to a too-short chimney, too-small ratio of chimney cross-section to fireplace opening area, or too little difference between inside and outside temperature. Most setups work great when inside is 30F warmer than outside, and can work okay down to 20F difference. Much less than that, and you need a pretty tall chimney.
2. Competition with other appliances. Kitchen vent hood, bathroom vents, clothes dryers, radon remediation systems, all compete with the stove for draft, and can put negative relative pressure on your house.
3. Very tight envelope. If air is going up the chimney, make-up air has to be coming into the house somewhere. If not, you develop a static vacuum, and the system stalls.

Given that your in San Antonio, and that opening a window resolves the issue, it could honestly be any one of the three. More info needed on in/out temperatures at time of issue, chimney height and size, fireplace opening, etc.

 

[begreen]

I'm wondering if the outside air for the fireplace was damaged, disconnected, or is blocked.

 

[cjbarnhill]

Classic reasons for smoke spilling into house:

1. Insufficient draft. This could be due to a too-short chimney, too-small ratio of chimney cross-section to fireplace opening area, or too little difference between inside and outside temperature. Most setups work great when inside is 30F warmer than outside, and can work okay down to 20F difference. Much less than that, and you need a pretty tall chimney.
2. Competition with other appliances. Kitchen vent hood, bathroom vents, clothes dryers, radon remediation systems, all compete with the stove for draft, and can put negative relative pressure on your house.
3. Very tight envelope. If air is going up the chimney, make-up air has to be coming into the house somewhere. If not, you develop a static vacuum, and the system stalls.

Given that your in San Antonio, and that opening a window resolves the issue, it could honestly be any one of the three. More info needed on in/out temperatures at time of issue, chimney height and size, fireplace opening, etc.

Thank you.