Greetings folks! I've been a lurker for a few weeks here as I've been considering the wood insert to buy to avoid the oil man cometh.
I recently bought a VC Merrimack and it's all set to go in. I am installing it myself on Friday along with my dad and father in law. My dad is a licensed general contractor and we always do our own work on everything.
I just looked into my fireplace to the first step of removing the damper. I don't see a screw but do see masonry cement around it. The house and fireplace was built around 1970. If I had to guess, the damper appears to be cast iron. Is this common? Is removal a case of elbow grease (hydraulic jack to pop it out or hammer and crow bar, etc.) or cutting with a sawzall (don't have access to a plasma cutter). Or should I just remove or jam open the damper door and squeeze the liner through the opening since the liner is about 6.5" or so and the damper opening is max of 6 inches?
I appreciate any expertise and experience you can provide.
I recently bought a VC Merrimack and it's all set to go in. I am installing it myself on Friday along with my dad and father in law. My dad is a licensed general contractor and we always do our own work on everything.
I just looked into my fireplace to the first step of removing the damper. I don't see a screw but do see masonry cement around it. The house and fireplace was built around 1970. If I had to guess, the damper appears to be cast iron. Is this common? Is removal a case of elbow grease (hydraulic jack to pop it out or hammer and crow bar, etc.) or cutting with a sawzall (don't have access to a plasma cutter). Or should I just remove or jam open the damper door and squeeze the liner through the opening since the liner is about 6.5" or so and the damper opening is max of 6 inches?
I appreciate any expertise and experience you can provide.