r/Fireplaces

Had a liner put in a few years ago. Different company came in and said the corners that were filled with foam around the liner would collect creosote and were a hazard.

Suggested removal of bottom damper replace with top damper and fire mortar the whole way up to liner.

Work is done but fire mortar looks a bit sloppy. Lots of bumps jagged edges and pieces that stick out. Is this a problem or as long as I’m cleaning it regularly nothing to worry about?

Hi all,

I was given a fireplace insert for free for my renovation house and I am trying to work out if it will fit in.

It was covered in plaster with an old gas fireplace there when I bought it and after removing the plaster it has revealed the original fireplace.

The insert will fit in width-wise, but it is slightly too tall to fit at the moment.

I am trying to figure out if the block behind the opening, that would need cut to get the insert in, is a lintel or not (not planning on taking any risks touching it currently. It doesn’t insert into the walls at each side which makes it seem like it isn’t, even though you’d think it was?

Any advice/thoughts?

I would like to put a flue liner in this fireplace. There is an ovular throat valve at the top of this fire box that I’m trying to avoid destroying the mortar permanently and removing the frame of the valve. I can get the flapper out no problem.

My question is, what is the best way to feed a liner through this valve frame? Or is there an adapter?

I saw that ventinox sells an ovular adapter but then you rely on your existing flue. (Which mine is good and i could do that but I’ve read wood stove exhaust temps could exceed what the flue was originally built for? Is that BS?)

Im trying to assess the options and recognize fire hazards correctly.

Let me know what you guys think.

Hello there!! Two months ago myself and my partner moved into our first house, and it's a beautiful 1900 build! We've started some work in the bedroom and I've been trying to restore the original fireplace. Cleaned up the centre which is a treat compared to how gross (and sticky 😅) it was before.

I've started to chemical peel the gloss paint off the actual mantle (why does everyone cover everything in white gloss 🫣) and I'm surprised to find it seems to be plaster at the base of it? I can't find anything online about this - and every time I Google plaster mantle piece all the ones that come up are new and modern and white 😅😭 Is this the original piece just without any paint? I started with a test patch to see how it goes but now curiosity has deffo got me into stripping the full thing!

If anyone's seen anything similar or has any info about this that would be great!! Once it's fully stripped I think we'll decide between sealing it as is or giving her a fresh lick of paint ✨ I've attached some photos of it mid strip to where it's at now with the patch test - already got the next lot of stripper on the go 🤣

Thanks in advance for any comments! 🥳

So I bought this house a couple years ago, and we don't know what kind of paint they used to ruin these bricks.

I'd like to take it off, at least on the inside of the fireplace so we aren't breathing in chemicals when we light a fire.

Any tips? My plan was to go to Home Depot and get some paint stripper. Is that reasonable?

Currently a rough skim coat of thin set over past brick / thin set bumps. Planning on grinding down high spots and filling low spots but wanted some extra opinions on if this is the best course of action? It’s relatively flat now but definitely not ready for tile.

I plan on installing a glazed thin brick, I think the slight variations will help on a surface that has some imperfections.

Any and all advice appreciated, TIYA!

I have oil heating and I never see any smoke come out of it. Bought this home in 2022. Made in 1948. Could it be a wood burning stove? How could I find out? Lift the siding off? What should I look for? Tysm!

Hello all. Today I noticed some rust rings on the mantel of my mom’s woodburning fireplace insert. I opened it up to the ugly sight of quite a bit of surface rust. We’ve had an insane amount of rain lately, and I guess that some water entered the chimney (another problem I’ll be solving ASAP). I’ve inspected the metal with some serious prods of a poker, and it’s still very sound, so I’d like to clean it up. I’ve started with a bit of vinegar spray/wiping with cloths, but I’m not getting anywhere with just this. I fear it may take a bit more than just elbow grease, but I realize that wire wheeling/steel brushes would also bring about the need to repaint the areas affected. Painting wouldn’t be such a hassle if I could easily move the insert to the garage where I could position myself around the work, but this beast must weigh a few hundred pounds and moving it seems like a real chore. Has anyone else been down this road? Really hoping this is salvageable. Thanks for any insight here.

I have a gas insert in an old wood burning fireplace, and the walls and surrounding area gets ridiculously cold in the winter. I finally pulled it back and the door where the exhaust run seem to be removed, leaving a large gap running up the chimney.

Can I stuff some Rockwool insulation around the intake/exhaust pipes, as well as against the walls surrounding the insert?

The unit is about 10 years old and just started beeping. I pulled off the screen to replace the battery but I don’t see any battery compartment. This unit is controlled by a wall switch and there is no remote. The beeping component (second picture) also has a flashing red LED. I unplugged it and the beeping stopped but starts again when I plug it back in. Starter won’t turn on when I turn on the wall switch.

Any thoughts would be most appreciated!

I’m looking to update my wood-burning fireplace. I will be converted converting it to gas. Any ideas for redo would be helpful.

I am looking for ideas for this fireplace. It is on the second floor of a contemporary (mid 1960s) house. It is wood burning. We are in the process of getting a gas generator so we could pipe a gasline to the fireplace. My wife likes the convenience of a gas log, but I’ve been told that because the flue is so short we cannot do it. This makes me wonder if the problem could be solved by extending the flue. I’ve looked at gas inserts, but because of how big the fireplace is, it would show a lot of black metal between the insert and the masonry and I am not a fan of that look. The other alternative is a gas stove that looks like a wood-burning stove, such as a Jotul. We are in our early and mid 60s so lugging wood upstairs could work for now, but I suspect it will get to be an issue in the next 10 years. Ideas are welcomed. Thank you.

Got a house that was built in 99 and I cannot figure out how to test out this fireplace to make sure everything is working properly. I turned the gas on with a key, and can smell gas coming from under the logs in the sand that’s down there. There’s no pilot light or ignition switch, just a key to turn on the gas. I tested all the connections with soapy water just to make sure no bubbles. Not sure when the last time this was used, but the flue is spotless. Any help would be awesome, thank you

\#1 is flush to the ground and square, #2 is rectangular with a ledge in from and up off the ground