My house has 2 fireplaces. Solid masonry from basement all the way to top. 2 flues but a shared chimey. The lower fireplace is basically not functional. It was a poor design to start with, it's in a small room and with the shared chimney I was never able to solve the negative pressure smoke smell in the basement issue. Also based on the 2 additional flue holes in the side of it that it originally that fireplace, hot water heater and furnace all shared that same flue. The heater and furnace have since been moved. So when I installed my upper insert I just capped the adjoining flue. If I had my druthers I'd tear it out but I'm pretty sure that it plays some role in supporting the upper fireplace so it stays. The DW like it as well for decorating and such. Any how it's old and ugly so I am in the process of refacing it with cultured stone.
So to my point:
How do I properly "decommission" it? If at some point we decide to sell the house I also don't want some inspector thinking its usable and wanting it brought up to standard. I don't think the design will ever be safe to use. I have capped the top flue and sealed the damper as of now. Do I need to vent the unused chimney to avoid moisture issues? If it does need vented would a passive or solar powered vent be better.
So to my point:
How do I properly "decommission" it? If at some point we decide to sell the house I also don't want some inspector thinking its usable and wanting it brought up to standard. I don't think the design will ever be safe to use. I have capped the top flue and sealed the damper as of now. Do I need to vent the unused chimney to avoid moisture issues? If it does need vented would a passive or solar powered vent be better.
