Started as stove talk now thread about marriage, etc...

[MRD1985]

Seems to me like a 6" insulated liner would fit right in there nice for a wood burning appliance. 😇

Oh it would! But, I have to remove the damper with the frame. Only have 5.5” with the damper full open.

Now she will go for it now because no more open fires in this fire place anymore. No real choice really if she wants to have a fire again in this house. Not going to pull the whole chimney apart to fix that. Way too much time and money.

 

[EbS-P]

Oh it would! But, I have to remove the damper with the frame. Only have 5.5” with the damper full open.

That’s the way I did mine. It wasn’t too difficult. 15 minutes with a hammer and masonry chisel. I was able to get my frame all out in a single piece.

 

[Caw]

Oh it would! But, I have to remove the damper with the frame. Only have 5.5” with the damper full open.

Now she will go for it now because no more open fires in this fire place anymore. No real choice really if she wants to have a fire again in this house. Not going to pull the whole chimney apart to fix that. Way too much time and money.

That's an easy job, especially for someone handy like yourself.

 

[MRD1985]

That's an easy job, especially for someone handy like yourself.

Not concerned at all about it. I have a set of acetylene torches, air hammer and a whole assortment of tools. It won’t be coming out in one piece, though. Not without some brick removal.

 

[bigealta]

6" Liner and freestanding woodstove that u install. If she wants to save money that, i think, would be by far the cheapest (and Best) way to go. Good Luck and great find. You save the both of you from burning down your house and maybe no making it out alive. Now she owes you her life!

Sorry missed the few previous comments.

 

[MRD1985]

6" Liner and freestanding woodstove that u install. If she wants to save money that, i think, would be by far the cheapest (and Best) way to go. Good Luck and great find. You save the both of you from burning down your house and maybe no making it out alive. Now she owes you her life!

Sorry missed the few previous comments.

I was actually going to start a fire this afternoon to have one going when we decorated our Christmas tree, and thought I would take a look to see how badly it needed cleaning before hand. And I happened to notice a small hole in the mortar in one spot, then just snowballed from there once I blocked off the sunlight from the top. Definitely glad I caught it.

As far as cost of repair, the insert and 6” liner will probably be 1/10th the cost of repairing the existing chimney. Especially since that the chimney would have to be partially disassembled, if not completely (down to the point needing repair) on 2 sides of an interior wall to repair as well as the attic. Then who knows about the structural integrity of it at that point. It’s a no brainer really on which avenue of repair to take.

 

[Ashful]

Now she will go for it now because no more open fires in this fire place anymore. No real choice really if she wants to have a fire again in this house.

It’s worth pointing out here that some stoves or inserts are (or at least used to be) approved for open-door burning. If she is used to or likes/wants an open fire, it’s worth putting some priority on this feature, as a stove or insert won’t let you hear or smell the crackle and pop of an open fire.

I grew up with open fireplaces, and while their efficiency is chit (even net-negative, if you don’t time the closing the flue real well), I do sometimes miss the sound and smell of them.

 

[MRD1985]

It’s worth pointing out here that some stoves or inserts are (or at least used to be) approved for open-door burning. If she is used to or likes/wants an open fire, it’s worth putting some priority on this feature, as a stove or insert won’t let you hear or smell the crackle and pop of an open fire.

I grew up with open fireplaces, and while their efficiency is chit (even net-negative, if you don’t time the closing the flue real well), I do sometimes miss the sound and smell of them.

We’ve always had the ceramic glass door setup in front of the fire, and usually had the screen mesh in front and maybe 50% of the time doors shut. The Drolet I was looking at does sell a mesh fire screen for the firebox door so it may be able to run with the door open and fire screen installed?

Drolet AC01315 Rigid Firescreen Round Handle Black New

Drolet AC01315 Rigid Firescreen Round Handle Black New. Brand new. Free shipping. 1 year warranty. Manufacturer direct.

factorypure.com

 

[EbS-P]

We’ve always had the ceramic glass door setup in front of the fire, and usually had the screen mesh in front and maybe 50% of the time doors shut. The Drolet I was looking at does sell a mesh fire screen for the firebox door so it may be able to run with the door open and fire screen installed?

Drolet AC01315 Rigid Firescreen Round Handle Black New

Drolet AC01315 Rigid Firescreen Round Handle Black New. Brand new. Free shipping. 1 year warranty. Manufacturer direct.

factorypure.com

Yes it’s an option but honestly both my stoves have optional screens and I have never once wanted to have an open fire. More smoke in my house has never been a bonus. More heat has. Consensus generally is they never get used after the first 3-5 times.

 

[MRD1985]

Yes it’s an option but honestly both my stoves have optional screens and I have never once wanted to have an open fire. More smoke in my house has never been a bonus. More heat has. Consensus generally is they never get used after the first 3-5 times.

I wasn’t really planning on getting (for reasons you stated mostly), I was just pointing out they list it as an option.

 

[kborndale]

Yes it’s an option but honestly both my stoves have optional screens and I have never once wanted to have an open fire. More smoke in my house has never been a bonus. More heat has. Consensus generally is they never get used after the first 3-5 times.

I use the screen on my basement stove whenever we are hanging out down there. It gets too hot with the doors shut. That's a good thing when we are upstairs but not if we want to use the basement.

 

[Ashful]

I use the screen on my basement stove whenever we are hanging out down there. It gets too hot with the doors shut. That's a good thing when we are upstairs but not if we want to use the basement.

Ditto. I used the screens on my Jotuls a few times every year, probably close to a dozen loads per year in total, not just 3-5 times when new. They're great when entertaining on holidays, when people and cooking tend to overheat the place too much to be using the stove in heating mode, but you still want am ambience fire.

 

[Caw]

That's a cool feature. So do you just take the door off and park the screen right in front? Good idea on holidays. I tend to leave the blower off when we have a lot of guests to avoid overheating.

 

[Ashful]

That's a cool feature. So do you just take the door off and park the screen right in front? Good idea on holidays. I tend to leave the blower off when we have a lot of guests to avoid overheating.

The Jotul Firelights have double front doors, which open a full 180 degrees or beyond. So on those stoves, you just leave them open wide, no need to remove. The fire screens on those models had a pair of lower legs that clipped over the front edge of the door opening to hold it in place, and I kept the screen for each stove hiding behind the stove against the rear wall of the fireplace, when not in use.

This is a stock photo from Google, easier to find than an old photo of my own, but you get the idea:

 

[bigealta]

Yup just open the door, and put the screen in. I have the screen for the f400. Never used it.

 

[MRD1985]

Small update. Still stonewalled for the insert. She wants no part of it. So for the foreseeable future fireplace will be unused and possibly sealed. Anyone need 3 year old red oak split? Also have white oak at about 1.5 years, paper birch and black cherry. Local pickup in central RI.

 

[EbS-P]

Small update. Still stonewalled for the insert. She wants no part of it. So for the foreseeable future fireplace will be unused and possibly sealed. Anyone need 3 year old red oak split? Also have white oak at about 1.5 years, paper birch and black cherry. Local pickup in central RI.

Offset smoker, Santa Maria bbq, or pizza oven time probably not a big enough concession for a dram car.

 

[MRD1985]

Offset smoker, Santa Maria bbq, or pizza oven time probably not a big enough concession for a dram car.

She’s too cheap. She was complaining about the 1000$ net it would cost us out of pocket about the insert/liner. She isn’t a big BBQ person neither. But good suggestions!

 

[Caw]

Small update. Still stonewalled for the insert. She wants no part of it. So for the foreseeable future fireplace will be unused and possibly sealed. Anyone need 3 year old red oak split? Also have white oak at about 1.5 years, paper birch and black cherry. Local pickup in central RI.

I may be able to pop down there later this week. Sent you a DM!

Sorry to hear about the stonewall. RIP. As a married man of 11 years and parent of young kids I'm very familiar with your situation. Sometimes there's just nothing to be done, logic be damned.

 

[bigealta]

Small update. Still stonewalled for the insert. She wants no part of it. So for the foreseeable future fireplace will be unused and possibly sealed. Anyone need 3 year old red oak split? Also have white oak at about 1.5 years, paper birch and black cherry. Local pickup in central RI.

Keep an eye open for used stove and a liner that someone bought but never used. Good deals do emerge. Just need to be patient.

 

[MRD1985]

Keep an eye open for used stove and a liner that someone bought but never used. Good deals do emerge. Just need to be patient.

The problem is not just cost unfortunately. I looked at a used stove and she had zero Interest due to the fact of not trusting it. Regardless of the condition. It was a napoleon 1402 for 350$.

She has no interest in heating the house with wood for reasons that are not entirely clear to me.

 

[bigealta]

The problem is not just cost unfortunately. I looked at a used stove and she had zero Interest due to the fact of not trusting it. Regardless of the condition. It was a napoleon 1402 for 350$.

She has no interest in heating the house with wood for reasons that are not entirely clear to me.

Bummer, Some people are afraid of fire. Sounds like this could be part of the issue. I also have a wife that can dig her heals in and shut down any logical reasoning. Makes life difficult unfortunately.

 

[MRD1985]

Bummer, Some people are afraid of fire. Sounds like this could be part of the issue. I also have a wife that can dig her heals in and shut down any logical reasoning. Makes life difficult unfortunately.

Understatement for sure! I just can’t seem to understand why she’s afraid of the insert and not of the fire place when it reality an open fireplace comes with more danger and risk than a lined, self contained insert. tried explaining that but might as well been talking to a rock
Honestly we are lucky there wasn’t a complication to using this fireplace in the condition it’s in (after a second further inspection the other side of smoke chamber is in just as bad if not worse condition). Shame on me for not checking it out like I did long ago.

 

[MRD1985]

Ordered my Drolet 1800 insert along with a fireside fire flex 316 SS pre insulated liner kit tonight. I’ll post photos of installation process once it comes in. Thank you all.

 

[Garbanzo62]

What changed with your wife's position on not getting the Insert?