seal off chimney's cleanout door

[handsplitter]

I am new to this forum and can't wait to read more! I have a lot of questions but one I want to deal with now.

I was reading about draft & possible things that can interfere with it. I don't really have a draft problem but I thought I would still like to perform one of suggestions I was reading about. It is about closing off the chimney's "cleanout door" which of course is never used because all my ashes remain in the woodstove.

My question is: do you guys just seal it up with the proper door (or like one person mentioned temporarily with silicone caulk until you get the proper door), or, prior to sealing it off to you fill it with bricks or something to minimize the amount of air that is in there? Or does it make no difference?

My doors in reasonably good shape and I am not keen on buying another one so to me just makes sense to use some silicone caulk. What are the bricks or whatever is the idea also?

All comments appreciated. And a huge thanks to the guys who started this forum.

 

[begreen]

Silicone makes a good gasket for sealing the cleanout door. Is there a liner in the chimney? Stainless or tile?

 

[billb3]

Seal up with silicone to thwart some inquisitive kid from opening it to see what is in there and leaving it open.

 

[bholler]

We seal them with silicone and when we need to open them the next tear for cleaning we simply cut the silicone leaving it in place as a gasket. It will need redone every few years but it is not a big deal. And no dont fill it if you did you would not be able to use it any more. And while they are not totally necessary they are nice to have.