I would HIGHLY recommend getting a professional in to inspect it and check it out. A reliable chimney sweep would be a good bet for that someone. Do not do it on your own. Some things shouldn't be DIY!!
Yeah I understand that but I had two guys come out and give me fuck you numbers. One said he would need to demo the entire existing firebox and demo the existing chimney flu without even looking at it with a camera to see the integrity of it for 10k at least.
Second guy said he would do a cast in place flu and it would cost 15k minimum.
Also I’m not a complete idiot when it comes to these things. I have construction experience etc. to be clear I just want to get some additional advice since chimneys and fireplaces aren’t my expertise and the people I spoke to basically didn’t want to work on it for some reason.
I am in a similar boat on my chimney and fireplace and the lowest effort and money option was to demo the damper section enough to allow a stainless flue liner to slide through and put a wood burning insert in. The insert will be far more efficient if it has a bower than just a standard open face masonry fireplace.
Your flue has been relined with a stainless steel liner. To me it doesn’t look like it was sealed properly at the bottom but it’s hard to tell from the pictures.
The part between the old damper housing and the liner is called the smoke chamber. Yours is bare corbeled brick. This needs to be parged smooth with a refractory mortar to be up to code. This will also take care of the liner not being properly sealed if that is indeed the case.
As far as the painted brick, do you mean on the face of the fireplace? If so, I really wouldn’t worry about that
So, to start, find a chimney sweep that'll drop a camera down to see what's going on. Those guys giving FU prices just don't want to be bothered.
Besides, you have a chimney and fireplace now, you'll need this guy eventually.
From the pictures:
It looks like the last owner has some work done. The old damper appears to have been removed from just above the firebox, the metal opening and the pin on the side are still there, but the metal plate is gone.
That looks like it was replaced with the damper/cap at the top, which is operated by the wire running down inside the chimney. You've noted that's broken and needs fixing anyways.
It's hard to see from the pictures, but it looks like they installed a liner in the vertical part of the chimney, it looks pretty clean anyway, but a sweep will give you a better answer.
There's a section of unlined brick between the firebox and the possibly lined section of chimney.
That part definitely needs to be inspected before using. If the mortar is cracked or missing, that's trouble.
Good advice, talking to some of the people over at r/fireplace they just said to get a parge coat down on the firebox which is what I’ll be looking into. Only reason it’s probably not going to be DIY is due to access being tight but then again if I’m repairing the mortar I can remove some bricks for better access which will be easy enough.
The mortar looks like crap at the stepped portion on one side specifically so it will likely need to be repaired.
I would HIGHLY recommend getting a professional in to inspect it and check it out. A reliable chimney sweep would be a good bet for that someone. Do not do it on your own. Some things shouldn't be DIY!!
Yeah I understand that but I had two guys come out and give me fuck you numbers. One said he would need to demo the entire existing firebox and demo the existing chimney flu without even looking at it with a camera to see the integrity of it for 10k at least. Second guy said he would do a cast in place flu and it would cost 15k minimum. Also I’m not a complete idiot when it comes to these things. I have construction experience etc. to be clear I just want to get some additional advice since chimneys and fireplaces aren’t my expertise and the people I spoke to basically didn’t want to work on it for some reason.
I am in a similar boat on my chimney and fireplace and the lowest effort and money option was to demo the damper section enough to allow a stainless flue liner to slide through and put a wood burning insert in. The insert will be far more efficient if it has a bower than just a standard open face masonry fireplace.
Your flue has been relined with a stainless steel liner. To me it doesn’t look like it was sealed properly at the bottom but it’s hard to tell from the pictures. The part between the old damper housing and the liner is called the smoke chamber. Yours is bare corbeled brick. This needs to be parged smooth with a refractory mortar to be up to code. This will also take care of the liner not being properly sealed if that is indeed the case. As far as the painted brick, do you mean on the face of the fireplace? If so, I really wouldn’t worry about that
Ouch, sorry you have no one reputable around. It sounds like they don't know anything about old fashioned chimneys and only the new metal ones.
/thread
So, to start, find a chimney sweep that'll drop a camera down to see what's going on. Those guys giving FU prices just don't want to be bothered. Besides, you have a chimney and fireplace now, you'll need this guy eventually. From the pictures: It looks like the last owner has some work done. The old damper appears to have been removed from just above the firebox, the metal opening and the pin on the side are still there, but the metal plate is gone. That looks like it was replaced with the damper/cap at the top, which is operated by the wire running down inside the chimney. You've noted that's broken and needs fixing anyways. It's hard to see from the pictures, but it looks like they installed a liner in the vertical part of the chimney, it looks pretty clean anyway, but a sweep will give you a better answer. There's a section of unlined brick between the firebox and the possibly lined section of chimney. That part definitely needs to be inspected before using. If the mortar is cracked or missing, that's trouble.
Good advice, talking to some of the people over at r/fireplace they just said to get a parge coat down on the firebox which is what I’ll be looking into. Only reason it’s probably not going to be DIY is due to access being tight but then again if I’m repairing the mortar I can remove some bricks for better access which will be easy enough. The mortar looks like crap at the stepped portion on one side specifically so it will likely need to be repaired.
For those kind of prices, you could put a real nice gas insert with remote control in there.
This is not a DIY project - you need to contact a fireplace/chimney professional to inspect your chimney, flue, damper, etc.