Going on my second year of owning a new KozyHeat Z42 zero clearance fireplace, and I'm having a few issues.
One, when not burning, the room is clearly drafty and cold. Two, I've been noticing the "plink!" of water on top of the metal stove when it rains.
A bit about the setup: the stove is on the main level, and on the other side of the stove is our non-insulated garage. The stove basically "sits" in the garage, the front being flush with the wall between the house and garage. The non-masonry chase runs up through the non-insulated garage attic, and another 10 feet or so above the roof. Today I went up into the garage attic and opened up the side of the chase to peer in, and noticed a couple of possible issues/problems:
1) There is no insulation in the chase at all. It is just plywood, and on the other side of the plywood is drywall in the garage, and siding once it is over the roof.
2) There is no firebreak. The double insulated pipe runs straight up from the fireplace to the chase cover, and I can see all the way up to the chase cover, and all the way down to the stove.
3) There are several obvious water leaks in the sides of the chase, which again is just plywood, with siding on the outside of it (maybe there is a vapor barrier or insulation on the outside of this plywood between the siding, but I can't see it.)
Questions:
1) Should there be some sort of firebreak?
2) Should there be insulation inside the walls of the chase? As it is, the fireplace is outside the "thermal envelope" of the home.
3) Is there some sort of special fireproof insulation needed for inside the walls of the chase? I'm not sure what the clearance is from the pipe to combustibles.
4) Any tips on sealing up these water leaks? Do I need a roofer, or can this be done from the inside?
I think my installer might have cut some corners, or let some existing issues go. He is a career firefighter with fireplaces as his side business, so I hope he wouldn't be cutting corners that are actual safety issues. Any insights from someone experienced with this sort of thing would be great. Thanks!
One, when not burning, the room is clearly drafty and cold. Two, I've been noticing the "plink!" of water on top of the metal stove when it rains.
A bit about the setup: the stove is on the main level, and on the other side of the stove is our non-insulated garage. The stove basically "sits" in the garage, the front being flush with the wall between the house and garage. The non-masonry chase runs up through the non-insulated garage attic, and another 10 feet or so above the roof. Today I went up into the garage attic and opened up the side of the chase to peer in, and noticed a couple of possible issues/problems:
1) There is no insulation in the chase at all. It is just plywood, and on the other side of the plywood is drywall in the garage, and siding once it is over the roof.
2) There is no firebreak. The double insulated pipe runs straight up from the fireplace to the chase cover, and I can see all the way up to the chase cover, and all the way down to the stove.
3) There are several obvious water leaks in the sides of the chase, which again is just plywood, with siding on the outside of it (maybe there is a vapor barrier or insulation on the outside of this plywood between the siding, but I can't see it.)
Questions:
1) Should there be some sort of firebreak?
2) Should there be insulation inside the walls of the chase? As it is, the fireplace is outside the "thermal envelope" of the home.
3) Is there some sort of special fireproof insulation needed for inside the walls of the chase? I'm not sure what the clearance is from the pipe to combustibles.
4) Any tips on sealing up these water leaks? Do I need a roofer, or can this be done from the inside?
I think my installer might have cut some corners, or let some existing issues go. He is a career firefighter with fireplaces as his side business, so I hope he wouldn't be cutting corners that are actual safety issues. Any insights from someone experienced with this sort of thing would be great. Thanks!
