Fireplace gouging ?

[Deschodt]

Curious if anyone has experience with fireplace work or better yet work in the field...

We inherited one with the house we bought and at the time an inspection revealed a blanket "$5000 of repairs" needed to use it. Thought that was very high and never did anything, also never used it.... Recently we gave it another shot and had another guy look at it and he wants $4K ! Hey, going down ! Per the explanation, structurally it's fine, which is what gets me... there's a little caulking to do in the hearth for the grout ($15 a tube), the chimney itself needs a new rain cap, so far so cheap and... that's the part I struggle with.... he wants to line it all up with a new ceramic coating million degrees resistant, blah blah... they lower a big plug on a rope and pour that concrete like substance and pull up, down, a few times to reline the chimney). That's the $3000 part, which according to the video I saw, seemed really overkill to me...

Hear me out here, I don't want my house to burn down, but there's not cracks or gaps on the vid at all... Mostly this would smooth out the joints between the sections of the chimney where crap builds up... but he cleaned that... it's not like there's a gap or a hole... It would kinda be like porting a header (except in reverse) bu relining to improve air flow, per the guy.... but we're not smelting swords here, burning maybe one duraflame log 10x a year.

My retired neighbor talked to the guy after I had to leave to work and got the impression he was overbidding a lot too, the guy was oversharing about his costs... He witnessed the whole operation and told me he'd use the fireplace "as is" based on the video too... Then again, fire, house, recent post about house fire here... ehhh.... Just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience lately, are those guys famous for pulling overbids ? I can see the back half of the fireplace in my garage (straddles a wall between living room and garage) it looks brand freacking new... I'm not going to use risk using it, but I'm probably not paying that either, wondering if anyone knows the biz and can comment...

[Gogar]

Are you gonna burn wood in it?

You could get a pretty great gas-burner with a liner in there for $5k.

[Dantilla]

Originally Posted by Deschodt

.... but we're not smelting swords here, burning maybe one duraflame log 10x a year....

Put a rain cap on it, have a chimney sweep clean it, and enjoy.

No need for ceramic coating for a duraflame. Chimney fires only happen when there is both excessive gunk built up and an extremely hot fire. A duraflame will not put out enough heat to cause a chimney fire.

[id10t]

Originally Posted by Dantilla

Put a rain cap on it, have a chimney sweep clean it, and enjoy.

No need for ceramic coating for a duraflame. Chimney fires only happen when there is both excessive gunk built up and an extremely hot fire. A duraflame will not put out enough heat to cause a chimney fire.

And you'll only get excessive crap build up if you burn a lot of pine or other soft, reisin-y wood. Stick with good hard wood like oak and you won't have an issue.

[fintstone]

Yes, smoothing would help the chimney draw a little better and help keep creosote deposits down if you burn a lot of pine. Otherwise, you are fine.

Here, I would just put in a vent free gaslog and use it all the time. Probably cost about $1K here if you had to run new gas lines but I bought mine in the offseason and installed them myself. I just had a pro run the main line to my fireplace.

[Deschodt]

Yeah gas liner is $5K - so even more $, and would require a gas line threaded between the floors (fireplace is on top floor as the house in on a hillside). No wood, the occasional duraflame log for entertainment/mood and some heat. From memory those logs are pretty gentle and controlled , nowhere near as hot as a real wood fire...

Thanks for confirming I'm not just a tightwad, that is where I was leaning towards - fix the grout on the hearth and add a new cap, stick to dureflame logs - the stuff out of the chimney would be pretty damn low key - I'm not doing burning man in my fireplace or smelting Katanas... I expected some "you're crazy - you will set your house on fire" but that really seemed overkill to me based on the looks! It's tricky because those guys have a very good bargaining position " would you risk burning your house?" to sell us the equivalemnt of the paint coating at the dealership !

He cleaned it, that's the kicker ! Looks very serviceable..

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by fintstone

Yes, smoothing would help the chimney draw a little better and help keep creosote deposits down if you burn a lot of pine. Otherwise, you are fine.

Here, I would just put in a vent free gaslog and use it all the time. Probably cost about $1K here if you had to run new gas lines but I bought mine in the offseason and installed them myself. I just had a pro run the main line to my fireplace.

Had not thought of that... I could drill the backside of the fireplace (into the garage) and install a gas bottle there instead of a line (complicated). Thanks for that idea ! in my head the gas stuff was enclosed only....

[fintstone]

You don't need a special liner for gas. You can add a gas log to pretty much any fireplace that is in good condition. The vent free gas logs come with a carbon monoxide detector that cuts it off if there is a problem...so they are actually quite a bit safer than the vented ones IMHO. I general vent mine slightly anyways.

I would talk to a plumber who runs gas lines, not a fireplace guy. Those guys work pretty cheap here, but not the fireplace guys. They overcharge here as well.

[Gogar]

I did a teeny tiny insert with a liner in my teeny tiny coal fireplace and I use it all the time. No cleanup, no stink and it kicks out the heat like crazy! Will heat my 18x25 room great. It was only a few $K though, and seems like the install was easier than what you're talking about.

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by fintstone

You don't need a special liner for gas. You can add a gas log to pretty much any fireplace that is in good condition. The vent free gas logs come with a carbon monoxide detector that cuts it off if there is a problem...so they are actually quite a bit safer than the vented ones IMHO. I general vent mine slightly anyways.

I would talk to a plumber who runs gas lines, not a fireplace guy. Those guys work pretty cheap here, but not the fireplace guys. They overcharge here as well.

Very good idea, thanks for chiming in ! I'd still go with a gas bottle if possible because running a gas line there would be very costly and troublesome (hard to explain but trust me on this). I could run a vent free or even vented since the draft id pretty good as is (I could feel hot inside air escaping when I went on the roof to look at the chimney) but I like the ventless idea even better.... I see this in hotel lobbies all the time (open) and somehow never thought of it. Brilliant, thanks !

[72doug2,2S]

How about a chimney sweep, only burn hard wood?

[MBAtarga]

I recall an older (10-15 yrs ago) This Old House episode where they repaired a farmhouse fireplace - but I think it was >100 yrs of age. They did the air tube installation and pumped the opening with the concrete type mixture such as what you are talking. But it was obvious there were large cracks and other damage to the interior of the chimney.

[dad911]

How old is it? (When was house built?)

Mortar joints ok in the firebox? (try to gouge/pry cement with an old screwdriver)

If the cement it good, Id be less inclined to worry.

I have demo'd a few homes, and it's scary to find charred dry wood against the fireplace.

[nota]

bet the work is much cheaper in the summertime

and most skilled trades will charge more at peak season for their skill

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by dad911

How old is it? (When was house built?)

Mortar joints ok in the firebox? (try to gouge/pry cement with an old screwdriver)

If the cement it good, Id be less inclined to worry.

I have demo'd a few homes, and it's scary to find charred dry wood against the fireplace.

The house is 60y old, the fireplace looks a lot more recent. The grout is cracked only in a couple locations in the firebox floor but it looks minor. I'd redo that, of course, and the rain cover...

the bit that I found overkill is the chimney itself which consists of tubes of clay (like pipeline sections) stacked on one another with joins. Those joints were dirty from old buns but not cracked or missing. He cleaned them. Burning lightweight duraflame logs (one at a time) seemed highly unlikely to cause any issues to me. But at this point I like the idea of a no-vent gas insert (open) that can use the existing fireplace as is.... (well I'd still recaulk the one or 2 grout cracks and add a new rain cap). We have so many "spare the air" days anyway and I understand wood burning is not the healthiest thing anyway for inside air quality...

[fintstone]

Originally Posted by Deschodt

Very good idea, thanks for chiming in ! I'd still go with a gas bottle if possible because running a gas line there would be very costly and troublesome (hard to explain but trust me on this). I could run a vent free or even vented since the draft id pretty good as is (I could feel hot inside air escaping when I went on the roof to look at the chimney) but I like the ventless idea even better.... I see this in hotel lobbies all the time (open) and somehow never thought of it. Brilliant, thanks !

My home was totally electric (no natural gas service as I am in a rural area). I added gaslogs to 3 fireplaces (one each floor) and changed my cooktop and added a line to my grill. It was not too difficult to run the lines because I have an unfinished basement. My firelogs operate with a remote which turns them on and changes levels (low, med, high).

I run all mine off propane since I am a little off the grid. I had a huge tank buried in the back yard and filled it....and it is still almost full 4 years later.

Just make sure you get the right gas log (the orifices are not the same size). I figured out what I wanted and waited till it was warm out and they were on clearance at 75% off. Since I bought 3 very nice ones, it saved me big. Apparently some folks sell all the leftovers off cheap at the end of the season because they need the space for summer sales.

[fintstone]

If you have the terra cotta liner and it is intact, you have a modern fireplace and there is no reason (that I know of) that you should even consider the work discussed.

A rain cap is necessary to keep out pests and water.

[DanielDudley]

My chimney was old and dirty, and one day a guest lit a huge fire and threw a huge amount of cardboard on top of that, sending flames ten feet up the chimney. Because it had deposits, I had a chimney fire. The heat from the fire cracked some of the liner tiles, but the liner did it's job.

Needless to say, after that I had a stainless steel liner put in. They pour grout all around that.

What did we learn ? Get that creosote out. Don't let huge flames go up the chimney. Don't burn green or resinous wood, and keep a dry, hot, contained fire.

Your chimney is fine. don't ever abuse it, and it will last for many years. BTW, I have a very tall chimney, and having it lined cost 2800 dollars. That was still a high profit venture for the installer.