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Fireplace challenge MK 03-10-2007
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Posted by MK on March 10, 2007, 9:42 am



Good morning,

I am having an ongoing fireplace saga that I am hoping the good folks
here can help me with. We just bought a townhouse this fall, built in
1973, with a fireplace. To make a long story short, here's the
timeline of what's been going on.

Fireplace was sealed (opening covered in plastic wrap) when we bought
the house. We unsealed it. Fire burns fine, but smoke smell and
strong draft pours in when not in use.

Did some research, found out about negative pressure - the house seals
like Tupperware so this makes a lot of sense for us. We opened a
window in the basement next to the furnace. No change.

Brought in a professional to do the sweep/inspection that we should
have done in the first place. He cleans out the chimney, fixes the
damper that was apparently never closing, removes an interred squirrel
of great antiquity. He also replaces the crown and says water has
been leaking in and causing mold for a long time.

The draft problem is now completely fixed, but the strong smell still
fills the living room and creeps around the house from there - a foul,
wet, moldy-sooty smell.

So I see two angles here. One is trying to improve the condition that
is still causing the fireplace air to come in. The other is dealing
with the nasty smell in the fireplace. But this is so far out of my
realm of experience, I am not sure. I don't mind a little soot smell,
I understand that's part of owning a fireplace, but you can't stay in
that room and breathe without opening a window.

What should we do? Will a steady regiment of fires and ventilation
improve things over time? Is there something more drastic we will
need to do? Is there something that might kill the mold we suspect is
up there? We think the fireplace may have been sealed from the
inside but exposed and leaking to the outside for the 12 years the
previous owners lived here. Is there an air-tight plasic cover or
something we could fit over it when not in use?

Any help would greatly be appreciated.

MK


Posted by PaPaPeng on March 10, 2007, 10:00 am



>
>What should we do? Will a steady regiment of fires and ventilation
>improve things over time? Is there something more drastic we will
>need to do? Is there something that might kill the mold we suspect is
>up there? We think the fireplace may have been sealed from the
>inside but exposed and leaking to the outside for the 12 years the
>previous owners lived here. Is there an air-tight plasic cover or
>something we could fit over it when not in use?


I don't know anything about fireplaces. But one possible solution
comes to mind. Rent one of those propane fired contractor space
heaters. Run that for a few hours into the fireplace to dry out and
fireplace flue and hopefully kill the mold and spores. Do this only
in warm weather and with your windows open so that you won't poison
gas yourself. Also never leave the heater unattended and have fire
safety equipment at hand in case of a fire. Ask someone knowledgeable
about the heater on operating safety.

Posted by Edwin Pawlowski on March 10, 2007, 10:02 am




> So I see two angles here. One is trying to improve the condition that
> is still causing the fireplace air to come in. The other is dealing
> with the nasty smell in the fireplace. But this is so far out of my
> realm of experience, I am not sure. I don't mind a little soot smell,
> I understand that's part of owning a fireplace, but you can't stay in
> that room and breathe without opening a window.
>
> What should we do? Will a steady regiment of fires and ventilation
> improve things over time? Is there something more drastic we will
> need to do? Is there something that might kill the mold we suspect is
> up there? We think the fireplace may have been sealed from the
> inside but exposed and leaking to the outside for the 12 years the
> previous owners lived here. Is there an air-tight plasic cover or
> something we could fit over it when not in use?

The stink is not mold. That has probably been long gone with fires. The
stink will go on about forever though, unless you stop the downdraft. Light
a candle and hold it in front of the fp opening. Chances are, there is a
slight draft coming down and bringing the odor with it. Gets worse on damp
days.

There are chimney caps that close off at the top and are controlled by a
chain inside the fireplace. They are spring loaded and pup open when the
chain is released. That should solve most of the problem. Keeps critters
out also.



Posted by Jackson on March 10, 2007, 7:16 pm



>
>> There are chimney caps that close off at the top and are controlled by a
>> chain inside the fireplace. They are spring loaded and pup open when the
>> chain is released. That should solve most of the problem. Keeps critters
>> out also.
>
> That's what we have, and we keep it closed when not using the
> fireplace.
>
> The weird thing is it was fine for 3 days after they came and we lit a
> fire the next day. For 3 days, no odor. Now it's as bad as before
> even without the downdraft.
>
> MK
>

You might have had another critter get in there and expire?



Posted by Steve on March 10, 2007, 10:15 pm


@s48g2000cws.googlegroups.com:


> The weird thing is it was fine for 3 days after they came and we lit a
> fire the next day. For 3 days, no odor. Now it's as bad as before
> even without the downdraft.

I'd start with a call to the chimney sweep. He probably has a guarantee.

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