Condemned Fireplace Questions:

[shanemj]

Hello to you all from New Zealand, I have a few questions regarding a fireplace in a house I've recently moved into.

Firstly a little background. The fireplace in the house has been condemned as of a week ago. A chimney sweep came in and noticed that a few things were out of place. He removed the glass cover and noted that there shouldn't be any coals in this type of gas fireplace as it's supposed to be a gas log fireplace. I'm an absolute amateur when it comes to fireplaces so I didn't read too much into it and nodded and agreed. After removing the coals from the plate it was sitting on he noticed that the coals had superheated and burnt right through to the part where the gas comes out of. Due to this a simple clean turned out to be the condeming of my fireplace :-S
The sweep has also told me that the fireplace is over 20 years old and a replacement part is near impossible to find. He also didn't know what model or brand it was so that means I have no idea either. A little dejected I've found myself asking the following questions:

1. Is there anything I can do to salvage this fireplace? (e.g attempt to find parts if anyone has seen a fireplace similar)
2. What other options are there other than the replacement parts? (e.g converting to a wood burning fire, installing a new gas fireplace)

Any advice or info that anyone has would be greatly appreciated. Just wondering where to go from here.

 

[vir_librorum]

> 1. Is there anything I can do to salvage this fireplace? (e.g attempt to find parts if anyone has seen a fireplace similar)

I would very seriously doubt it. It looks as though someone at some point tried to burn wood in it, not realising or ignoring that it is a gas fireplace. The resulting toasted components you may plainly see.


>2. What other options are there other than the replacement parts? (e.g converting to a wood burning fire, installing a new gas fireplace)

Remembering that I'm a Yank and not from N.Z. and thus don't know the local laws, here goes:

You might be able to install a new gas fireplace, but have a sweep check the flue. Chances are that if your appliance was always gas, the flue may not be a Class A (in America) which would be capable of handling the higher temperatures of woodburning. If the present flue were meant for gas, it can only be used for such, and should be checked VERY CAREFULLY to make certain that it was not damaged from the woodburning incident.

Good luck,

Brian in Balto.

 

[fossil]

Well, where you go from here depends on where you eventually want to arrive...and what your budget is. Do you want to efficiently heat your home from this location, or do you just want some sort of "ambience"? The old gas unit has been ruined. You might be able to replace it with a new gas unit, perhaps even salvaging the existing flue, provided it proves by inspection to be serviceable. But you have an opportunity here to decide how you really want to use that spot in your home...decoration, or function...lots to think about. Welcome to the forum! Rick

 

[Dix]

What does the chimney look like?

And, welcome to the forum

 

[shanemj]

Hello again, thanks alot Brian and pyro for the advice. In regards to the heat or the ambience, I guess me and my partner will have to get a sweep in to see if there is anyway we can convert it back to a woodburner. I know we'd both prefer the ambience to the heat. If not then I guess we'll have to consider the new gas fireplace. Still I guess that's all pending the sweeps findings. Keep you all posted with the results.

Kind Regards
Shane NZ

Oh and these are the chimney photos Eileen

 

[fossil]

It's the inside of the chimney...the actual gas flue...that's important. Your chimney sweep/inspector should identify it and evaluate it. It may be perfectly serviceable for a replacement gas unit, but not suitable for woodburning (significantly higher flue temperatures). It may have been damaged by the woodburning (or whatever went on in there), to the point that it needs replacement even for a new gas-burning fireplace. When I talked ambience vs. heat, I meant do you just want a pretty fire to look at, or do you want to heat your house with whatever you put there...big difference in where you decide to go from here. Rick

 

[shanemj]

Thanks alot Rick for that, I am definitely going to get the sweep to check the flue for me. Thanks to you all I'm armed with a bit more information so as to help the sweep out a bit. It really doesn't get that cold here so I'd be looking to get something that's pretty to look at. Any suggestions on this?