Considering removing wood insert - where do I start?

[Roborosie]

Hello! I am excited to have found this website and am hoping to get my beginner questions answered here as I don't know where else to turn.

I bought a 1954 house a year ago. It was previously a rental and in general, needs a lot of TLC. There is an old fireplace with a wood insert. The roof was leaking around the chimney, so we had the roof replaced, and the roof contractor said that since it was leaking so badly around the chimney, they recommended that they remove the chimney and repair the damaged roof. They removed the brick of the upper part of the chimney (leaving the brick under the roof intact), leaving a long metal flue exposed that looks ridiculous on top of the roof now that it is "naked" with no bricks. We had the chimney inspected and the inspector told us we should never use the wood fire insert since the chimney was altered at some point and is not up to code. Sounds on par with other quirks we have found in the house - a previous owner was very DIY it seems.

So we have a wood fire insert we cannot use, that leaks cold air around the badly installed insert all through the winter, and an embarrassing naked flue on our roof. My question is where do I even start? Who would I call to get a quote for this project? A chimney sweep, masonry worker, general contractor etc? Is it possible to remove a wood fire insert and seal up a chimney so there are no drafts? Can you caulk around the insert? What should I do about the unusable flue...can you remove that and what would be installed in it's place?

Thanks so much for any advice - as a new homeowner and someone who knows nothing about fireplaces/chimneys at all, I am not even sure where to start. I am in Mount Vernon, WA, so any local recommendations would be great.

 

[KDubU]

Yes you can remove the insert and seal up the chimney. There are different ways to seal it up with the simplest being blocking it off with thin metal or perhaps it has a damper, close that first. Stuff some insulation in it. For the opening in the house, you can brick it up or just block it off with a decorative something or other. There are a ton of ideas of what people have used to hide an unused fireplace. Now the flue you have there is ugly and I personally would want it removed as well.

Question is, are you planning to have a wood stove anywhere else in the house or not at all?

 

[EbS-P]

You need to start with and end goal in mind. Are you want to abandon/condemn the fire plate for burning for good. Are you looking for temporary options (no burning of course) or are you wanting to fix it so that it can be used as a fireplace with a new insert.

 

[begreen]

Yes, what is the end goal? Is some form of wood heater desired for the future? Or would a gas insert that has simpler venting requirements be an option? Is the goal to eliminate the fireplace completely or just to stop the cool air? If the latter, then just remove the chimney down to the first section that exits the roof and cap it.

Can you post an interior view picture of the fireplace and insert?

 

[Roborosie]

Yes you can remove the insert and seal up the chimney. There are different ways to seal it up with the simplest being blocking it off with thin metal or perhaps it has a damper, close that first. Stuff some insulation in it. For the opening in the house, you can brick it up or just block it off with a decorative something or other. There are a ton of ideas of what people have used to hide an unused fireplace. Now the flue you have there is ugly and I personally would want it removed as well.

Question is, are you planning to have a wood stove anywhere else in the house or not at all?

Thanks! No we are not planning on having a wood stove anywhere. It is a pretty small house.

 

[Roborosie]

You need to start with and end goal in mind. Are you want to abandon/condemn the fire plate for burning for good. Are you looking for temporary options (no burning of course) or are you wanting to fix it so that it can be used as a fireplace with a new insert.

We would want to basically decommission the fireplace for good.

 

[Roborosie]

Yes, what is the end goal? Is some form of wood heater desired for the future? Or would a gas insert that has simpler venting requirements be an option? Is the goal to eliminate the fireplace completely or just to stop the cool air? If the latter, then just remove the chimney down to the first section that exits the roof and cap it.

Can you post an interior view picture of the fireplace and insert?

The end goal would be to decommission the fireplace and perhaps put an electric insert there in the future. We would like to remodel the mantle eventually, but not for a few years. Here's an added photo of the insert. The black metal surrounding the insert is not air tight and lots of air and spiders seem to come out of it...