What do do about a hack install job?

[thespacepope]

Hello,

I found this forum looking for some answers to some questions that I had difficulty finding answers to using a google search.

Last year I purchased a house in San Diego county that was built in 1986. The house is one story and has two zero clearance fireplaces that are separate from each other e.g. they don't share venting or anything.

One fireplace works fine other than being unattractive (it is rather garish by today's standards being as it was installed in 1985).

The second fireplace is a potential nightmare. It was a zero clearance fireplace but at some point a prior owner had installed a Lopi freedom wood stove. The installation seems to be a complete hack job because the installer had chopped up the firebox to get the Lopi to fit. The hack job consisted of cutting the top and bottom out of the firebox along with the damper. Then the Lopi's vent was just jammed/shoved up into the existing metal liner. We only found this out after we purchased the house and had a chimney sweep tell us he couldn't clean it because it seemed to be obstructed.

We had a fireplace company come out and they told us that the only option for us would be to spend like $10,000 to rebuild the entire chimney, liner, firebox, etc. I feel like that is a bit high but I am not an expert on fireplaces.

So my questions:

• Is the $10,000 estimate crazy talk or not?
• Can you install a new firebox without redoing everything?
• Is there a way to reuse a the Lopi without redoing everything?
• Is it possible to move the Lopi to the other fireplace and install it properly? I don't think that the existing working fireplace is great at heating and seems to be more of an esthetic/ambiance item.

If I have to redo everything, I am considering just sealing up the liner and shoving an electric insert into the hole until I figure out what to do next. Safety is paramount here so I don't want to cheap out doing a repair that will kill the family and burn the house to the ground. I just don't know that $10,000 is the right amount to do it either.

Thanks for reading.

 

[bcrtops]

Suggest:
Get more (local) advice, do more research, & get more estimates.
There may be a way of getting that "mess" up to code without spending that amount $$$$$.

It would seem as though you could install that Lopi Freedom with a proper, to current code, chimney for less money, but not knowing the situation, it is hard to know.
Have a couple reputable stove installers look at your situation.

 

[bholler]

Is the $10,000 estimate crazy talk or not?

No that sounds pretty close.

Can you install a new firebox without redoing everything?

Possibly if you could find one that would use the same chimney and fit in the space. But it would just be a zc fireplace not a real heater at all.

Is there a way to reuse a the Lopi without redoing everything?

I am assuming it is an insert right? If so then no there is no way to use it without a working fireplace

Is it possible to move the Lopi to the other fireplace and install it properly? I don't think that the existing working fireplace is great at heating and seems to be more of an esthetic/ambiance item.

Again if the lopi is an insert it is doubtful very few zc fireplace allow for inserts to be installed in them.

 

[jatoxico]

Sounds like you're right that the existing setup is dangerous so good call having someone come out. A rebuild of a zero clearance could be pretty costly but if that's a fair price could be better determined by getting other estimates as mentioned.

Sometimes the terminology for the different wood burning options gets confused so to make sure everyone is on the same page I would suggest you post some pics of both inside and outside. That would help understanding the potential options as well.

Going on what you said I would first consider what you're hoping to get from the new system, heat or just ambiance? For instance installing a free standing unit or a gas appliance might give you what you want and be less expensive than a full re-build of a ZC fireplace.

 

[begreen]

$10K is definitely possible, but there are some more affordable ZC fireplaces for replacement that are good EPA burners that may save a couple thousand. Look at the Flame Monaco XTD and the Pacific Energy FP30 for example.
http://www.efireplacestore.com/cpf-93375.html

 

[Chimney Smoke]

My first question would be why do you need to burn wood in San Diego? If it's just for ambiance I would choose an LP gas fireplace.