- Nov 27, 2012
- 0
Question:
We just bought a house and when we had the building inspection done the engineer said there was a problem with the fireplace. He said that the chimney was made for a masonry fireplace and there is a prefabricated fireplace instead. He says the marriage(??) i think that means connections between the two are no longer compatible, something to do with the standards changing in the last four years and the insurance company might not cover us if a fire were to occur caused by the fireplace. Does this make sense to you? Can you shed some light on this for me? I live in Quebec, Canada. Thanks
Answer:
Masonry fireplaces and prefabs usually don't mix. If you have a pre-fab it should be a pre-fab box and the piping and fittings should be of the same brand and model. A masonry fireplace is usually site-built and consists of all masonry.
There are exceptions to this. Some of the manufacturers of class "A' insulated metal chimney have fittings to allow the building of a masonry fireplace box, and the addition of a metal chimney to this.
I can't imagine a pre-fab fireplace using a masonry chimney (as you mention) since support of the chimney would be a major issue. Again, there are exceptions to the rule - some high-efficiency wood burning steel and cast-iron fireplace WERE designed to support and use masonry flues.
We just bought a house and when we had the building inspection done the engineer said there was a problem with the fireplace. He said that the chimney was made for a masonry fireplace and there is a prefabricated fireplace instead. He says the marriage(??) i think that means connections between the two are no longer compatible, something to do with the standards changing in the last four years and the insurance company might not cover us if a fire were to occur caused by the fireplace. Does this make sense to you? Can you shed some light on this for me? I live in Quebec, Canada. Thanks
Answer:
Masonry fireplaces and prefabs usually don't mix. If you have a pre-fab it should be a pre-fab box and the piping and fittings should be of the same brand and model. A masonry fireplace is usually site-built and consists of all masonry.
There are exceptions to this. Some of the manufacturers of class "A' insulated metal chimney have fittings to allow the building of a masonry fireplace box, and the addition of a metal chimney to this.
I can't imagine a pre-fab fireplace using a masonry chimney (as you mention) since support of the chimney would be a major issue. Again, there are exceptions to the rule - some high-efficiency wood burning steel and cast-iron fireplace WERE designed to support and use masonry flues.
