My wife and I purchased our 1940s home a few years ago, and I have a question about installing a liner into an open masonry fireplace. As it currently stands, there is no liner in the chimney, and no insert in the firebox with a cast iron damper at the bottom. The whole conversation of the fireplace started when we realized that we would have puddles of water on the floor of the firebox in extreme rain situations. When I went to the roof to investigate, I noticed that there is no raincap, and no liner to attach a raincap against. So rain was coming down the chimney, and ultimately rusted out a small hole in the damper. It looks as though there may have been a clay liner in there at some point.
So, now I'm at a position where I'd like to put a liner in the chimney so I can put a rain cap on it and also keep the fireplace usable as we'd like to have a fire in the winter. We don't, however, want to purchase an insert or stove. The house is just too small (820 sf) to take up that much visual space in our living room. We also don't have gas available to the house, so gas logs and the like are out also. What do we do then? Am I in a position where the only option is to reinstall a clay tile liner and live with the inefficiency of it's sizing, or is there a way that I can install a block off plate with the appropriate sized metal flue liner attached to it? Is the metal liner even an option in an open masonry fireplace?
I've had a few guys come an give me quotes on getting the fireplace "usable" again, but they are all over the place since I can't really give them any indication of what we are looking for. Any help or opinions are appreciate. Thanks so much.
So, now I'm at a position where I'd like to put a liner in the chimney so I can put a rain cap on it and also keep the fireplace usable as we'd like to have a fire in the winter. We don't, however, want to purchase an insert or stove. The house is just too small (820 sf) to take up that much visual space in our living room. We also don't have gas available to the house, so gas logs and the like are out also. What do we do then? Am I in a position where the only option is to reinstall a clay tile liner and live with the inefficiency of it's sizing, or is there a way that I can install a block off plate with the appropriate sized metal flue liner attached to it? Is the metal liner even an option in an open masonry fireplace?
I've had a few guys come an give me quotes on getting the fireplace "usable" again, but they are all over the place since I can't really give them any indication of what we are looking for. Any help or opinions are appreciate. Thanks so much.