- Nov 27, 2012
- 0
Question:
Dear Friend, I have a custom fireplace (woodburning)that is not operational because of smoke. The fireplace is an unusual design with the following specs:
1. it is open on two sides; the openings are 28 inch high and 33 inch wide. On one side is the living area, a large room with a high ceiling -- generally an open space. On the other side is a TV nook, much smaller and much less open to the rest of the house. An attractive design, but useless as it stands.
2. the depth of the fireplace is 4 ft.
3. the hearth is raised about 15 inches from the floor; in front of both openings are step-like protrusions (rock) that extend about 20 inches, although on the TV nook side this protrusion has a contoured geometry when viewed from the top.
4. I can't say much about the chimney
5. I had fireplaces in other houses, so I'm taking the usual steps in lighting the fire, cracking door open, etc. My guess is that there is an imbalance in the airflow from the two sides, forcing smoke into the rooms -- especially the living room. Questions:
a) is there an obvious design problem that prevents this fireplace from operating properly?
b) do you have a simple solution such as glass doors on one side, or on both sides?
c) would converting to gas logs help?
d) what would be the best solution for a retrofit? In Arizona, not much heat is needed -- it's nice to have some on a winter evening. But for house resale, I think the fireplace should be operational.
e) any other thoughts? The local "experts" don't seem to know much or care about my problem.
Answer:
The chimney and damper construction is of utmost importance. Chances are that the flue is not high or large enough to clear the two openings of smoke. It will not help to convert to vented gas logs, since this will spill CO from gas combustion into the house.
You could try an experiment...use a pieces of sheet metal to temporarily lower the height of the front of each side by 3 or 4 inches and see if it still smokes. If it does not, then you could install some sort of decorative hood to act as a smoke shield in the top of each opening.
Another solution might be to install glass doors on one side or both. It's possible that you would then be able to use the fireplace on one side or the other without smoke. You could also experiment with this by blocking one side temp. with a piece of sheet metal or cement board.
Vent-Free logs could be used, but they produce a lot of heat. They do have double-sided models.
Dear Friend, I have a custom fireplace (woodburning)that is not operational because of smoke. The fireplace is an unusual design with the following specs:
1. it is open on two sides; the openings are 28 inch high and 33 inch wide. On one side is the living area, a large room with a high ceiling -- generally an open space. On the other side is a TV nook, much smaller and much less open to the rest of the house. An attractive design, but useless as it stands.
2. the depth of the fireplace is 4 ft.
3. the hearth is raised about 15 inches from the floor; in front of both openings are step-like protrusions (rock) that extend about 20 inches, although on the TV nook side this protrusion has a contoured geometry when viewed from the top.
4. I can't say much about the chimney
5. I had fireplaces in other houses, so I'm taking the usual steps in lighting the fire, cracking door open, etc. My guess is that there is an imbalance in the airflow from the two sides, forcing smoke into the rooms -- especially the living room. Questions:
a) is there an obvious design problem that prevents this fireplace from operating properly?
b) do you have a simple solution such as glass doors on one side, or on both sides?
c) would converting to gas logs help?
d) what would be the best solution for a retrofit? In Arizona, not much heat is needed -- it's nice to have some on a winter evening. But for house resale, I think the fireplace should be operational.
e) any other thoughts? The local "experts" don't seem to know much or care about my problem.
Answer:
The chimney and damper construction is of utmost importance. Chances are that the flue is not high or large enough to clear the two openings of smoke. It will not help to convert to vented gas logs, since this will spill CO from gas combustion into the house.
You could try an experiment...use a pieces of sheet metal to temporarily lower the height of the front of each side by 3 or 4 inches and see if it still smokes. If it does not, then you could install some sort of decorative hood to act as a smoke shield in the top of each opening.
Another solution might be to install glass doors on one side or both. It's possible that you would then be able to use the fireplace on one side or the other without smoke. You could also experiment with this by blocking one side temp. with a piece of sheet metal or cement board.
Vent-Free logs could be used, but they produce a lot of heat. They do have double-sided models.
