Hello,
I have an 85 year old house and the fireplace was an addition in the 1930’s. The firebox has settled and the damper frame has cracked which keeps the damper from closing and a constant draft. I have had two masons look at this and tell me the entire chimney must come down to repair this with an estimate of $15-20K. This does not make sense to me. There appears to be no cracking in the exterior bricks meaning (to me) that the firebox does not support the chimney. Is it possible to cut the firebox out and wrangle the damper out and replace it without demolishing the chimney? There is another complication in that there is no flue liner installed. I assume that this was the accepted practice at the time or since the entire house, including the chimney, was made of firebrick that they did not install a liner. The mortar appears to be standard mortar but there are signs that the mortar has been repaired on the house. Other than the expense of this, the bricks are no longer available and I want to keep the historical aspects intact. What should I do to see if I can cut out the firebox only? Thanks for your help.
Anthony
Ft Collins, CO
Replies
Hi.
I earned my B.S. in Fort Collins.
Back on topic. it is usually not too hard to reline a chimney with stainless steel stove pipe and consider getting a fireplace insert or hearth stove from Friendly Fire on Laporte Ave.
You can demo out the old damper and swithch to a chimney top damper...Friendly Fire can help with that too.
Grab a cool one at Coopersmiths for me when you finish your project.
Cheers,
Brian
Brian,
Ft Collins is a great place to live. The brewmaster at Coopersmith's is on my cycling team and I know him well.
Thanks for your help. Unfortunately, friendly Fire is no longer there but I have discussed this with Western. I would prefer a traditional fireplace since I like the historical aspects. I had not seen the dampers so they are an option. I also need to repair the firebox so I was hoping to replace it all and get the damper done also.
Anthony
Whats it made of? can it be eased back into place and welded or brazed?
Hello,
Thanks for your help. I believe the damper is cast iron. Getting it back into place and trying to align it is not a small job but might be easier. The firebox is in need of repair so I was thinking it would be best to rebuild it all anyway.
Anthony
Maybe if you grind out some of the fire cement to get the alinement right it could work. Cast iron is not easy to weld, easier to braze.
I have twelve chimney top dampers, and they work great (our house never had dampers).
Long SS cable down the chimney; pull and hook on the little bracket to close. Springs open when released.
Forrest