We bought a house built in 1937, my husband is too trusting and we didn't have a professional inspect the masonry fireplace which the previous owners said they used to heat their house. We move in last July and after living here a few days the creosote smell was killing me. We had it inspected and cleaned and was told the smell should be better after they put a liner in and a new insert. We used this all winter and had no problems. Well, we are no longer using it and the creosote smell is killing me again! Can I remove the surround from the insert and stuff a ton of insulation in there hoping its just coming in from around the gaps of the liner to hopefully keep the smell from coming in our house? We would just remove it this winter when we go to use it again. My husband loves the stinky thing and we are tapped out from renovation costs from last year. Any suggestions are welcome.
Creosote smell already?:(
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Or the smoke chamber of the fireplace. If the fireplace has been used for a while, cleaning just the chimney is not enough. The smoke chamber should be cleaned as well.
plastic bag over the chimney top?
just be sure to leave a note on the stove so you dont forget to remove on the next burn
just be sure to leave a note on the stove so you dont forget to remove on the next burn
Also you may have a problem with negative air pressure in your house drawing air in through the path of least resistance ie. the wood insert/chimney. Does it smell all the time or particularly worse when you have bathroom fans, clothes dryers, range hoods or anything of that nature running that expels air from the house?
making sure the actual fire place (where the insert sits in is cleaned, like scrubbed clean if the masonry is stained black) If you decide to stuff insulation in the chimney make sure you use roxal insulation, it is fire rated >2,000deg f, don't use the pink stuff or obviously anything with a paper / plastic backing.
No, it just started warming up here. This was a brand new insert in July. After they removed the existing insert they stuffed insulation in the opening of the chimney from inside the house. This eliminated the smell, but when they put the insert and liner in the smell came back. There was no way they could get 100% of the build up off the masonry before putting the liner in. There's 80 years worth of build up. They say it is safe with the liner in now, but the smell is still coming in. We will have it cleaned before next winter, but I don't think that is going to alleviate the problem. We probably should have closed it all up and put a gas insert in.
Negative air pressure is possible, but it does not get worse or better when running fans, etc.
I cleaned it before they put the new one in, but I am sure it can be done again. When I removed the surround today I could see black pieces and cob webs. We will remove the insulation before using the fireplace in the fall. It doesn't smell in the winter only when it starts getting warm.
Was the chimney and smoke chamber completely cleaned prior to installing the insert? Is there a block off plate installed?
As you guessed in your first post, the smell is probably from air being drawn down outside the liner, between the liner and the masonry chimney clay liner. When it gets warm out, the stack effect of the house increases and draws more air down. I don't think you can seal that entire top off very easily. You could stuff some Roxul in from the top, between the 6" liner and the clay liner, that may help some for now.
I would have these two things done (hubby can do the block-off plate if he's handy,) and I bet it will be pretty much solved.
That's blasphemy, right there. Just ask your husband.
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I am going to assume the the chamber/entire fireplace could have been cleaned better.As you guessed in your first post, the smell is probably from air being drawn down outside the liner, between the liner and the masonry chimney clay liner. When it gets warm out, the stack effect of the house increases and draws more air down. I don't think you can seal that entire top off very easily. You could stuff some Roxul in from the top, between the 6" liner and the clay liner, that may help some for now.
I would have these two things done (hubby can do the block-off plate if he's handy,) and I bet it will be pretty much solved.
That's blasphemy, right there. Just ask your husband.
The guy who installed it cleaned it, but I was not here for the entire process. There is not a block off plate, but that looks like what we probably need to do. Thanks for the input! For now (please don't judge) I have taken the surround off and stuffed a bunch of towels/blankets, replace surround and the smell is gone. I am 8 months pregnant and the smell was burning my nose and giving me a headache. I think I am overly sensitive to smells. My husband thinks I am crazy , but the smell is gone. We live in a small town so as soon as we can get to the hardware store we will get the Roxul and supplies for a block off plate. We put a note in the fireplace just in case! I can find anything that really says the fumes are toxic, but the creosote itself appears to be if handled.
Is the smell bothering your husband as well? I only ask because i know my wife when pregnant was extremely sensitive to smells. I am just trying to judge how bad it actually is and absolutely not trying to pick a fight I am only trying to figure it out because if it is bad that means there is allot of creosote somewhere in the system that NEEDS TO BE REMOVED. It can be very unsafe. As far as the towels go as long as no one tries to start a fire what ever works to keep you comfortableam going to assume the the chamber/entire fireplace could have been cleaned better.
He can smell it too, but it doesn't bother him. It is more like an occasional whiff he gets. He would live with it as is if I didn't complain. It doesn't stink up the entire house just the living room it is in and the two adjacent rooms are fine.
I am definitely sensitive to smells, I admit that! I am still concerned that it was not properly cleaned before the install. If it was not cleaned properly and that creosote catches fire between the old liner and the new one it can get really bad really quickly i would have it checked out. Is the new liner insulated? If it is that atleast reduces the risk of a fire but does not eliminate itHe can smell it too, but it doesn't bother him. It is more like an occasional whiff he gets. He would live with it as is if I didn't complain. It doesn't stink up the entire house just the living room it is in and the two adjacent rooms are fine.
Yea, I have the same concern. I want to say it is not insulated, but I can't be 100% sure though. I feel like they told me it didn't need insulated because the pipe could stand a certain amount of heat and it would not get hot enough to heat the creosote up to the point of it starting a fire. I also had called concerned with the smell last year and they said it should get better after burning in it through the winter, which made no sense to me because the liner was not suppose to get hot enough to heat the residual creosote. At the time I felt maybe I was being crazy, but I guess I should have pushed the issue more. I feel like ultimately the entire chimney needed to be removed and rebuilt. The house/chimney are made of limestone chunks with lots of joints. I am sure it would cost a fortune to redo. Several chimney sweeps wouldn't even come out because it wasn't lined. I guess I should have joined the forum in the beginning!
I feel like ultimately the entire chimney needed to be removed and rebuilt. The house/chimney are made of limestone chunks with lots of joints. I am sure it would cost a fortune to redo. Several chimney sweeps wouldn't even come out because it wasn't lined. I guess I should have joined the forum in the beginning!No need to tear the whole thing down but if it has soaked into the limestone you may need some chemicals to clean it properly. I am not there to see it but that is what it sounds like to me. And if they said it would never get hot enough ti ignite the old creosote they are crazy if you had a fire in the new liner with out insulation there is no doubt in my mind that if there is old creosote in the outer chimney it would catch fire. And if there are any framing members to close to that old chimney they could then catch fire. There is a very good reason it is required that you thoroughly clean the entire system before installing a new liner and many more reasons you should always insulate every liner
Awesome.
Sounds like a lot of work and money. I probably need to find out if the liner is insulated. Then I probably need to find someone that knows what they are doing to fix all this. We may not be using it next winter at this point.Well if i was you i would get it inspected and if it was not cleaned properly i would call the origonal installer and tell him you either want your money back or they need to come out and bring it up to codeAwesome.
I think it can be quiet difficult to 100% kill the creosote smell from the masonry chimney. I think as time goes by it will diminish substantially especially with the liner installed.
I think much of your current problems is associated with the temperature increasing and an inversion pulling air down the chimney. Happens in my house every summer. Its a faint smell, some are more sensitive to it than others. We have the top of the chimney stuffed full of roxul around the liner and during the summer I shove the top of the liner full of insulation. Stops the down draft inversion...smell almost completely dissipates.
Its not a big chore for me as I have a ranch house with a very mild sloped roof I can walk on with ease. A steeper pitched room would be a much bigger pain in the behind.
I think much of your current problems is associated with the temperature increasing and an inversion pulling air down the chimney. Happens in my house every summer. Its a faint smell, some are more sensitive to it than others. We have the top of the chimney stuffed full of roxul around the liner and during the summer I shove the top of the liner full of insulation. Stops the down draft inversion...smell almost completely dissipates.
Its not a big chore for me as I have a ranch house with a very mild sloped roof I can walk on with ease. A steeper pitched room would be a much bigger pain in the behind.
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