Ice on the Glass! Cold air pouring in

[mbandsteve]

Hey there,
We are looking to replace our prefab majestic wood-burning fireplace with a gas burning unit. It is in a chase on an outside wall. In the winter ice forms on the doors, the family room (on a concrete slab) is very cold. The fireplace has a brick facing. When I put in an insulating form to block the air from coming in, the air just came out the sides from between the brick facing and the wall. Before we spend the money to put in a gas unit, we want to be sure the work fixes the extreme cold air problem.

We have had conflicting recommendations. A fire place company said to just put in the gas unit, which will seal the the fireplace. Neighbors have said to tear off the siding and insulate the chase(we were told to assume it is not insulated). Another chimney guy we talked to agreed, however, said they do not insulate chases and that is something for a contractor.

Any direction on a real solution would be great!

thanks,
steve

 

[wahoowad]

Welcome!

I have a similar chase setup as you, also on a pathetic slab with a very cold living room. Are you saying ice forms on your fireplace glass doors? Where are located?

 

[mbandsteve]

Hey there,

We are in n IL, near the WI line. The ice forms on the glass doors.

 

[velvetfoot]

Are you sure it isn't the outside air ducted in for the fireplace? My hearth was real cold until I blocked it off before putting in an insert.

 

[mlouwho]

We do this all the time. If you like the brick facing, approach it from the outside, remove the siding, sheeting & old unit. Find a new DV unit that fits in your brick facing opening. Get rid of that outside air intake! Install new unit, insulate chase & replace sheeting & siding. This job would take our installers most of one day. Approx cost, depending on the unit you choose & gas piping needed, you will be looking at $2600 - $3800, with parts & installation. You will find your room much warmer & your gas bill going down, if you get a good quality unit. Benefit of doing replacement instead of an insert is a bigger viewing area & usually less cost than an insert.

If you don't like the brick facing, remove it from the inside & do the same thing, but remember to insulate & remove that outside air intake. This will be more costly, because now you need a new facing.

 

[Sandor]

Unfortuantely, this is a common problem.

I VA, it is code to insulate the chase up to the firestop. Have seen other contractor friends ignore this, and cold air will pour in.

As others suggested, insulate and seal up the chase.

 

[mbandsteve]

Thanks all.
We have blocked off the air intake, but then need to unblock it to use the fireplace. I like just getting rid of it.
mlouwho, does the direct vent unit 'seal' around the opening of the fireplace to stip the draft comming in from around the box, or is this taken care of by the insulation and taking out the air vernt.

I think we like the idea of replacing rather than putting in an insert. we'll expore it. Any recommendations for professionals in northern IL?

 

[mlouwho]

Yes, the DV unit will be sealed up to the back of the brick facing. If you get the proper size. Or you can fabricate some filler pieces if the new unit is smaller than the brick opening.