r/Fireplaces

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Visited my parents and looked at their fireplace. I told them to stop using this immediately. What are suggested places to get new refractory panels? Or do they need to replace whole insert?

I’d like to reopen a fireplace in my late Victorian home to just put back a decorative, original fireplace, not get it working again

I opened up the vent this morning and had a look (attached) It’s been bricked up with cement blocks so the plaster will be a nightmare to get off. I think the brick arch looks okish but I’m a bit concerned about getting the mortar off and removing cement bricks without loosening the originals.

Any tips or suggestions? I’ve just got a hammer and a bolster for now. Not sure if this will be enough for the job

Thanks!

I would like to replace the face of this gas fireplace and get rid of the gold/brass on this 90s beauty😂. I don’t know where to begin. What would this be called/what should I be searching for online? Would a replacement be manufacturer specific or are there standard sizes? This is a Superior fireplace. I appreciate any help you can give to point me in the right direction. Thank you.

90’s era NG fireplace with tile and drywall surround. I want to build a whitewashed stone surround and replace the mantle with a chunky piece of reclaimed lumber (or even a reclaimed mantle) for a more cottage-type vibe. My questions are:

1. Do I need to rip the tile and drywall out and redo it for a flat base?
2. Or can I build out the stone directly on top of the drywall as is?

I have experience with most home maintenance areas and also some drywall experience. I also repaired this fireplace when we first bought our home, but I really don’t know shit about fireplaces or stone work.

Just moved into new home and we need to make this gas fireplace kid friendly. I’d like to just remove the whole base/bottom part and just have it flush to the wall.

The concrete slab is 6ft long about 2.5 inches thick. About 12 inches high. There are some sort of vents slits on the bottom.

Is something like this possible?? Thanks!

Edit: it’s hilarious how some of you are saying “watch your kids, or parent a bit” etc it’s just wild lmao. My wife and I are very active and present with our kids. The home is great and in this smallish tv room has a huge hearth that’s extremely dangerous and you are just saying put up a fence or watch them lol. We’ve had a few close calls already with the youngest just tripping over his feet and while wrestling. Clearly this is the wrong sub for fireplace renovations you are a bunch of fireplace groupies and boomers talking about back in my day lmao - it takes one head shot from this behemoth - thanks for all the parenting tips lmao

Hi all,

I have a direct vent fireplace in my home and I am a new homeowner. I'm currently in the process of trying to exclude rodents from the home and found that outside where the fireplace attaches to the home, the floor has a large gap and had some bite marks and a lot of feces inside (when I stuck a borescope inside). The floor is in rough shape and has a large gap along the side. For the time being I have turned off the pilot light and the gas line for the fireplace, and have shoved steel wool and some spray foam in the crevice. I don't know if that's of any use if rodents can just chew the wood.

Here are pictures of the current situation. https://imgur.com/a/E8xvRd5

My big question is, how difficult will it be to replace the floor? Is that something I should contact a fireplace company about? We were already getting a lot of draft through the fireplace (a lot of cold air coming in during winter) so I know that it has issues already.

How much might it cost to have the floor replaced professionally and ensure the fireplace is properly sealed? I know each situation is different, but I'm just asking for a ballpark if that's possible. Or any other possible advice.

Thank you!

Just bought a house that came with this ventless fireplace installed. The remote is gone, apparently, and there are no external buttons and no markings about brand or technical details that I can see. Is there something I’m missing? How would I go about replacing a remote? Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone, we have a propane fireplace table outside. I’m trying to start it for the first time again this year and it runs for about 5 seconds before making a tick sound and shutting off. The igniter has not worked for several years so I’ve had been manually lighting it for the past few years. The strange thing is now that I have to hold the lighter to the pilot / spark area and then turn it on for me to hear the gas and eventually light (for 5 seconds before shutting off). Any ideas what could be the cause of this or what I should try to replace?

Hi, we are house shopping on East Coast USA and toured a house with this weird metal pole in the middle of what appears to be a wood burning fireplace. Our realtor could not identify this pole and if it means the fireplace is functional or not. Can anyone help?

Just moved into this house and everything is covered in this black film. We scrubbed the walls and got it clean before painting but want to figure out what caused it and I’m suspect if the gas fireplace insert. Do you think it could be the fireplace?

Hey everyone, looking for some advice from anyone familiar with chimneys, venting systems, fireplaces, or older home construction.

We recently bought a home on Long Island (Massapequa, NY), and on the rear exterior of the house we have this large vertical stucco structure running from the patio all the way through the roof. It has a metal cap on top and appears to be some type of chimney or utility chase, but we do NOT currently have a fireplace anywhere inside the home.

The structure is centered on the back of the house and extends from ground level to above the roofline. We’re trying to figure out:

1. ⁠What this structure most likely is
2. ⁠Whether it may have originally been tied to an old furnace/boiler exhaust system

If it could potentially be converted into:

an indoor gas fireplace,
an outdoor gas fireplace,
or even a modern linear fireplace feature wall

We’re NOT looking to do wood-burning unless somehow practical. More interested in modern gas options.

Questions:

A. Can an existing chase like this usually be repurposed?
B. What would determine whether it’s safe/possible?
C. Would a direct vent gas fireplace typically require a full new liner?
D. Has anyone here converted an old non-fireplace chimney/chase into a modern fireplace setup?
E. Are there major structural/code concerns we should know before exploring this?

We’re planning to have a chimney/fireplace professional inspect it, but I wanted to get opinions from people who may have done something similar before.
Attached photo for reference.

Thanks in advance

So I screwed up. I was taking care of my parents house and it got cold. I set the fire but didn't pay attention to the air throttle (that turned out to be closed completely). I was tired and went to sleep right after setting fire. I woke up to the glass being completely black. I couldn't get rid of it at all. Tried pretty much everything I was aware of. Some generic cleaning solution, a special cleaning foam for stoves, ovens and such, the cleaning vinegar or whatever it's called, degreaser, even the famous ash and water that everybody recommends. Nothing worked. I was fucked, cause they are obsessed with that crappy glass being clean as if it was never used. Kinda wild, cause I saw a lot of stoves (even on Reddit) with some soot and nobody gave a crap.

Well anyway, I got that brilliant idea to actually fire it up again and to my surprise when the glass cooled down, with only the degreaser I cleaned majority of it. Hell, some parts of the glass that I couldn't clean before at all, were treatable with my dry fingers. I was in awe, crisis averted.

But then that top part decided to say "fuck you" and ruin my day. It just won't come off, even after firing the stove up.

The 90% of the impossible soot from the rest of the glass turned into possible to remove just after one burning of the pellet. But this won't come off and I'm fucking in trouble, they probably won't let me in their house for quite a bit.

Any last resort to deal with it? The spot is on the top, where the actual fireplace ends. I could simply just go to my place and don't listen to their yapping. It is them who closed the air throttle after all. It's also not like didn't use that stove before, so they know I'm not extremely stupid with it. They could just tell me to pay attention when firing it up, cause ts is easy to miss especially when you're tired .

Got the blaze king insert installed. Got home and in my opinion it fits terribly. They said that’s as far as it will sit in the fireplace. I can fit my fingers all around the surround. Shop said they would figure out some sort of filler piece but honestly I’m pretty bummed and turned off to the whole experience. Would you be cool with this install?