- Nov 27, 2012
- 0
Question:
I just bought a town house with a 21 year old brick heatilator type fireplace. It has an ash dump (filled I might add) and no clean out on the exterior (actually screened porch). If this is in fact an ash dump, do they all have exterior clean outs? I grew up in Florida so what do I know about fireplaces! Maybe there's a secret door behind one of the bricks!
Answer:
Chances at that there is no ash dump, just a pit or area that is already filled. Most of the ash dumps I run into are actually an "endless pit" created when the house is built. This is a large space under the fireplace between the earth and the foundation. It's possible that, because of the pre-fab nature of your firebox, that this was not possible. Best thing to do is clean out the ash you can get to, and then repeat yearly or so.
I just bought a town house with a 21 year old brick heatilator type fireplace. It has an ash dump (filled I might add) and no clean out on the exterior (actually screened porch). If this is in fact an ash dump, do they all have exterior clean outs? I grew up in Florida so what do I know about fireplaces! Maybe there's a secret door behind one of the bricks!
Answer:
Chances at that there is no ash dump, just a pit or area that is already filled. Most of the ash dumps I run into are actually an "endless pit" created when the house is built. This is a large space under the fireplace between the earth and the foundation. It's possible that, because of the pre-fab nature of your firebox, that this was not possible. Best thing to do is clean out the ash you can get to, and then repeat yearly or so.
