Smoke smell 5+ days after burning - help please?

[bradyman16]

Hi - new to the forum here, hoping you might be able to help.
I have a problem with smoke smell coming into the home for several days after burning a wood fire in our fireplace.
I have an open masonry fireplace (with glass doors), terracotta flue tiles which are 13" square.
There is no outdoor air kit coming to the firebox or anywhere into the home.
Chimney is exterior to the home, one story, and does extend 3' above highest roof penetration (probably 5'), and roof peak is 12' away from top of chimney (horizontal), but the roof peak is about even with the top of the chimney.
Total height is 30' from ground to top of chimney
Home is pretty tight w/ new vinyl windows.
The smoke chamber transition to the flue looks kind of rough (not a super easy/smooth flow for the smoke to get into the flue)

Phase 1: when we bought the house (2012) the chimney was inspected and it was found that the flue tiles did not extend past the roofline so there were a few feet where the flue tiles had stopped at the roofline, and smoke would have been expelled into the masonry/chimney, then out through the top square flue tile in the chimney crown (). I burned a couple fires, but draft was terrible even with all appliances off and window open, the fireplace would smoke back into the room. I stopped burning after maybe 3-4 fires, and gave up until I could have it repaired. I got quotes from reputable repair co's and had it professionally rebuilt from the roofline up with terracotta flue tiles extending to the top and totally re-pointed top to bottom to boot.
I added a lyemance top damper and cap because the old original flue damper was rusted out (I removed the throat damper door, but the frame of the throat damper remains).
I've tried sealing it as tight as can be (proper heat resistant sealant from a chimney supply co on all cracks in the firebox/external joints where the door frames meet masonry.)
I did have the chimney professionally swept in between fire #2-3 but to no avail.

Phase 2 (currently): I went to prefab logs and those seem to go ok - only maybe 4 or 5 of them after the repair, not as bad of a smell afterward. I built one all-wood fire on super bowl sunday (2/5) and am still getting the smoke smell. The wood has been seasoned for at least 1 year, but I did notice one piece was wetter than I thought/steaming. I am having to keep a window next to fireplace cracked 24/7 and running the air purifier, top damper was left open overnight and closed the next day after fire. Doors and air control vent underneath doors are closed - I even rigged a magnetic strip to cover the vent holes after fire was out. Ashes/one small piece of remaining burnt wood were removed in a non-combustible container on Tuesday, but I'm still really getting the smell. I looked at the cap this AM, it's not clogged with ash or anything, and the holes are pretty massive anyway.

Naturally, the companies out here are happy to give me a quote for a fireplace insert but I'd like to leave no stone unturned before having an insert or new prefab fireplace installed with the proper steel (?) liner to the top. One reputable company also provided an option of (if I understood) parging the smoke chamber to transition to a steel liner flue without using a fireplace insert. Mostly, i want to understand what the heck is going on.

Help please? I can add pics if it'll help.


Specs:
Fireplace opening has a rounded top: 35.25" wide x 16"H at end and 19.5" H at center
Throat opening is made by the original steel throat damper frame, it's a trapezoid opening and is 30"w at back, 28"w at front and 5.25" deep - it feels really narrow to my eye, but I don't know.

Thank you very much.

 

[begreen]

Welcome. It sounds like the draft may be reversing. Is this a basement fireplace? Is there a good CO monitor in the room?

 

[bradyman16]

Hi- we have no basement, home is two stories but the side of the home w the chimney is 1 story (w/attic over garage).

The co monitor is located 15' away from fireplace. It is tested and working, but gives reading of 000 ppm.

 

[begreen]

Very good. I'm glad to hear that. Is the house pretty well sealed and tight? If that's the case it might be that when the chimney is cold draft is reversing due to normal household exhausts like a kitchen, clothes dryer or bath fan or even a furnace running.

The flue tile size is large. Is this a very big fireplace?

 

[bradyman16]

Hm, thank you for the replies. OK, yes I'd say it's quite tight. To add insult to injury, there are no HVAC air returns in our rooms, only furnace vents, so when the furnace kicks on there is neg pressure downstairs.
1) what of the fact that I've had my window cracked 2" all day every day and this is still happening? Also, the glass doors/vent, top damper etc are closed tight as I can make them.
2) do I have options to get a workable fireplace in this home? Would a wood insert with steel liner do anything different? The gas meter is 6' outside my fireplace, am I destined for a gas fireplace? Would prefer wood of course.

 

[begreen]

There can be multiple causes that may be exacerbating the problem. One could be that there's water penetrating the chimney. Another could be that there is water getting down the chimney and soaking creosote accumulation on the smoke shelf. A really deep cleaning would help, but it could be that a wood or gas insert with an outside air supply may be needed.

You've taken the right steps so far.

 

[bradyman16]

Thanks for the encouragement. Fireplace opening is not large I don't believe, specs in the 1st post, but there is efflorescence on the fireplace brick uhoh. Needs sealant on the whole thing, perhaps? That's a step we have not done.

 

[begreen]

Perhaps. I'm not a mason or chimney expert so I will defer to those with greater knowledge in this field for solutions and caveats.

 

[jatoxico]

A chimney can suffer from the stack effect even if its not in a basement. Just being on the first floor can have an effect if hot air is rising into the second level. In addition if I have it pictured right, wind can stack against the second floor exterior wall creating pressure which adversely effects draft.

Is this a common issue that occurs with good fire going (smoke spill) or more so when it's not in use?

 

[bradyman16]

A chimney can suffer from the stack effect even if its not in a basement. Just being on the first floor can have an effect if hot air is rising into the second level. In addition if I have it pictured right, wind can stack against the second floor exterior wall creating pressure which adversely effects draft.

Is this a common issue that occurs with good fire going (smoke spill) or more so when it's not in use?

Thanks for the reply.before the flue rebuild, I did get a very weak draw during a fire and some smoke into the room during a fire. Now, after the flue was fixed, the draw is slightly stronger but no smoke back into room during a fire. So: when it's not in use.

 

[jatoxico]

Do you have this situation?

 

[bradyman16]

Yes, basically, but the chimney is on the edge of the home closest to our neighbor (their home is maybe 18' from our chimney, so I'd thought the wind going toward the 2nd story eaves wouldn't be much, I don't know). The second floor eaves are 22' from chimney.