I have an all brick wood burning fireplace that has brass vents on it. It has a rectangle on the front and a square one on each side. We are looking at putting on a nice mantle over on the fireplace and I would like to know if it is okay to cover these vents. They do not have a blower motor and they seemed to be forced air. My husband thinks he can remove the vent covers and put a plate in the duct work to block off the vent and put some insulation in there and then we can cover it with the mantel. We are not very familiar with this type of venting system and we would like to know if it is okay to cover these up? Is it a safety hazard? We don't use the fireplace often maybe 4-5 times a year. But I still want to keep it a functional fireplace.
Covering vents on fireplace
- Thread starter jiffer
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Yes it is metal lined and the 2 square vents are low. The fireplace is orginal to the house which was built in the 1950's.
My husband did some looking into the fireplace and does not see any blower motor or any electrical
Based on the description it does sound like this is a heatilator fireplace. If so, it is designed to intake air in the lower vents and heat it to be exhausted out of the upper vent. In this case I would not block the large outlet vent. Maybe consider putting the mantel shelf on the top of the brick ledge?
We thought about doing that if the vents couldn't be covered. I appreciate your advice. We are not familiar with a heatilator and have no idea what the lifespan of these are. In future if we want to put a gas insert in the fireplace can it be done with having a heatilator?
Lifespan depends on several factors, mostly use and moisture and humidity. Yes, a gas insert in the future should be a possibility.
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