NEED ADVICE WITH ADDING A FIREPLACE TO AN EXSISTING CINDER BLOCK EXHAUST

[jpaulson12]

Hi Everyone! My first post on this forum, looking forward to getting some expert opinions and advice here. I am purchasing the following home : http://grar.com/property/mls/15036430

If you notice, there is a cinder block chimney that runs from the basement, all the way up through the roof. It is attached in the basement to a really old tiny wood burning stove. In my opinion, this is a waste and pointless as it is not really an effective way to heat the home at all.

The house currently has propane fueled radiant heating baseboards throughout, I plan on ripping all this out and having mini split heat pumps installed for the main heating and cooling since the home is ductless.

THIS BRINGS ME TO MY QUESTION:

This chimney is an eye sore as it plain cinder block through the house and will be useless once i remove the miniature wood stove in the basement. WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO DO is tap into the chimney on the main level and insert a nice wood burning fireplace in the living room. Would the cinder block stack be structurally sound if I cut out an insert for a fire place? And can I tap into the exhaust from the main level? PLEASE look at the pics in the property listing link above to get an idea of what Im talking about. Also, I would like to cover the cinder block with some nice stone veneer to give it a nice look...

 

[begreen]

Welcome. That's a lot of chimney. It wouldn't surprise me if there is another flue in there. Whether there is and whether it is large enough to vent a fireplace into would need on site inspection by a sweep or mason. The cement block looks like it was intended to get a stone veneer. Maybe they ran out of funds to complete the job? Can you find the contractor and ask what the design intent was?

When you say fireplace do you mean a masonry unit or a zero-clearance fireplace? A masonry fireplace, if possible, would need a massive support structure and footing below. A zero-clearance fireplace tapped into this chimney is not an option. They need a full metal chimney, usually class A, all the way up.

An open fireplace on the main floor will not heat the house well except radiantly while the fire is burning. A nice hearth in front of the chimney with a good looking freestanding stove on it would do a much better job if the goal is heating with a nice fire view. Personally, I would leave in the hot water heating. No need to rip it out, it could act as a backup for the mini-splits.

 

[Grisu]

The chimney does not look like it has the required 2" clearance to combustibles around it. Thus, you would need to drop an insulated liner down there to install safely any woodburning appliance. A nice looking stove on the main floor that vents through that chimney may give you a lot of heat and should look quite good once the chimney is finished. It may be able to take over most of your heating then so you could use the propane just for backup and save the expense of the minisplits.

I would have a certified sweep take a look at it: http://www.csia.org/search You will also need to figure out how many flues are in there and their inside dimensions.

 

[bholler]

Why would yuou rip out the gas and baseboard? It is good and relativly economical heat. If you want ac install the minisplits for that but you dont want to rely on them as your only form of heat. Also post a pic or model name of the woodstove. It may be a decent heater that you would want to keep.