Good morning,
I have a fireplace dilemma that is slowly spinning out of control on me.
The current situation:
-I have an indoor fireplace in our living room. It currently has no insert, but has a gasline and outlet installed in it. They are in excellent condition. The original damper is in place but secured open. It is lined with a soft, whitish firebrick.
Outside the house, backed up to this fireplace but 24-30 inches lower (IE, the height of the stem wall outside) is an outdoor fireplace. It has no damper, and appears to be lined with standard red brick. It does have a smoke box above the firebox.
The flues for the two fireplaces run next to each other, to a height of 8 feet above the eve of my house. The smoke boxes direct the smoke to the right side of their respective fireboxes, so each flue has one edge that is against the house wall.
Neither flue has a liner. They both are a single layer of brick. I think, possibly, there is a second layer of brick between the flue and the framing of the house... but there is no way to confirm this.
The wife wants a gas insert that to provide some heat for the house, in the inside fireplace. To terminate the vent and air intake ducts above, I have to rework some brick at the top of the chimney. This turned into a mess, as the mortar lines aren't in great shape. I'm going to have to rebuild it a bit up top.
While I'm rebuilding it, I sort of HAVE to do something about this outdoor fireplace, if I ever am going to.
-Is it safe to use an outdoor fireplace without a liner, with a single brick thickness? I'm inclined to think not...
-I am not concerned about the face that 99% of the heat goes up the stack.. it's for ambiance and s'mores.
-If I need a liner, what kind should I install? How large? The opening of the firebox is 36x36.
-Will the liner need to be insulated? What should I insulate it with?
-How do I terminate the liner in the smoke box?
Thank you for your help!
I have a fireplace dilemma that is slowly spinning out of control on me.
The current situation:
-I have an indoor fireplace in our living room. It currently has no insert, but has a gasline and outlet installed in it. They are in excellent condition. The original damper is in place but secured open. It is lined with a soft, whitish firebrick.
Outside the house, backed up to this fireplace but 24-30 inches lower (IE, the height of the stem wall outside) is an outdoor fireplace. It has no damper, and appears to be lined with standard red brick. It does have a smoke box above the firebox.
The flues for the two fireplaces run next to each other, to a height of 8 feet above the eve of my house. The smoke boxes direct the smoke to the right side of their respective fireboxes, so each flue has one edge that is against the house wall.
Neither flue has a liner. They both are a single layer of brick. I think, possibly, there is a second layer of brick between the flue and the framing of the house... but there is no way to confirm this.
The wife wants a gas insert that to provide some heat for the house, in the inside fireplace. To terminate the vent and air intake ducts above, I have to rework some brick at the top of the chimney. This turned into a mess, as the mortar lines aren't in great shape. I'm going to have to rebuild it a bit up top.
While I'm rebuilding it, I sort of HAVE to do something about this outdoor fireplace, if I ever am going to.
-Is it safe to use an outdoor fireplace without a liner, with a single brick thickness? I'm inclined to think not...
-I am not concerned about the face that 99% of the heat goes up the stack.. it's for ambiance and s'mores.
-If I need a liner, what kind should I install? How large? The opening of the firebox is 36x36.
-Will the liner need to be insulated? What should I insulate it with?
-How do I terminate the liner in the smoke box?
Thank you for your help!
