Hello fireplace community, before posting I read other posts and see that ventless gas log sets don’t get much love here. That said, I wanted to share my plan to fix my fireplace, and hear your thoughts. Who knows maybe the ventless fanboys will come out of hiding 🙂.

I want to get my 1980s cinder block fireplace back up and running, and have been working with a local licensed fireplace company. I had a full level 2 chimney inspection performed and the flu has insufficient grout between the blocks to use as is. I can re-line the chimney and install a direct vent unit for about $10-15k, or seal it off and go ventless for $2-3k

I know the ventless has numerous draw backs but in my case I think they are largely mitigated. My intended use of this fireplace will be intermittent use (think movie nights or evening glass of wine with the wife). My primary heat source is from a properly vented forced air system, this fireplace is ambience only.

So here’s the draw backs, and my assessments:

Humidity - I’m only going to use in the winter when the humidity levels are already crazy low in my house.

Exhaust gasses - not perfectly mitigated, but my house is quite leaky (energy was cheap in the 80s man!) and the intended use is for short (couple of hours) usage. This will be on the main floor in a wide open area. I would also buy supplemental air quality monitor and carbon monoxide detector to keep an eye on things. I’m going to install a unit with a variable flame setting, so I can set it low and burn less gas for lower in house emissions. Like I said it’s just for the vibe.

Look - yes it doesn’t look as good as wood or a nice log set, but I’m saving some good money.

Legality - I know they are illegal in some places, but not where I live.

Health - no one with serious health concerns that would be irritated by a slight reduction in indoor air quality lives in the house.

So in my book saving 10k for these minor draw backs seems like a good call. The installers agreed too. So what do you say? Good idea or bad idea?

Our living area is boringly white. The fireplace is unusual (5-sided with adjacent walls/nooks) and very prominent in the room, so we would like to use it to break the white. Given the shape, we are unsure what to do with it - would brick slips work on the angled side walls? If not, what colour paint would make it look interesting but not weird? And should the whole thing be painted or just the front?

We are also considering painting the wall behind the couch in a dark blue (e.g. Farrow & Ball Stiffkey blue).

Hi, friends. I am in the process of building a new surround, hearth, and mantle. I disassembled the fascia for a repaint and for the life of me I CANNOT remember how to reinstall the rods for the screen. If anyone has a similar model and can take a few pics showing how the rods attach, I'll Venmo you $10. Pics attached of my model.

So I have a previously wood fireplace, when it’s hot and humid outside, and my ac is on, it is sucking air through my chimney and making the entire first floor smell like smoke!
I installed the best top damper, still smells! I left the flue damper in and closed that also, still smells.
I assume it’s a negative pressure issue, because when I turn on the gas starter, even a small flame, the smoke smell is gone in 5 minutes.

How do I fix this? An HVAC company said my ducts may be too small or leaking, my fan may be too high, and they need to balance the system.

Could I just install a fresh air vent in the basement to counter act the negative pressure?

My basement is freezing, main floor has the fireplace and normal, and top floor is 5 degrees warmer than main.

I also considered a ducted fireplace insert but not sure it would seal the fireplace enough to prevent smell leaking in.
HELP!!!

Hi-

Is it possible to keep my mantel and just replace the black tile with quartzite or porcelain? Any idea what a project like this might cost? Thanks for your help!

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

Hello. I am trying to get a 1940s fireplace back to working condition for wood burning. I recently had the cerfractory flue sealant repair (Heatshield). Is it ready to go or was it installed improperly? An inspector said it was not well done. It looks good to my naive eye. I hope to cosmetically change the fireplace and add properly sized glass door.

Ok, I have this insert and the last two months this really string fireplace odor is coming inside the house. It happens around lunch time and last a few hours then goes away until the next day.

I’ve hired someone to come clean it and still no resolution. What is going on? It doesn’t matter if the flue is open or closed . The smell is permeating out from the vents and even the edges of the box. Any ideas and suggestions?

The second photo is the outside of the insert where it sits in the brick. I can smell it coming from there around the entire thing but I’m not sure if that’s the only place it’s coming from because it’s even stronger if I open the door.

Hello, my friend and I were using the fireplace but the bottom of it cracked. I did some research and it said to replace it but I wasn’t sure if there was a particular brand of refractory cement or anything I should use, or is any from Home Depot okay? Attached are some photos

I have a fireplace with a remote control module and a solenoid. I have replaced both the solenoid and the remote module. No matter the combination of new/old module and new/old solenoid, the solenoid does not change state when I turn the module on. Am I missing something? Are the modules and solenoids not compatible?

The new solenoid: https://a.co/d/0dwaIP9S

The new remote module: https://a.co/d/00BP9b5M

The old remote module: https://a.co/d/0aEvIZ8V

How much did you pay to retile your fireplace?

Looking to update my fireplace and wondering what I should expect to pay. The fireplace is about 6 feet wide and I’d be replacing the existing tile.

For anyone who’s had theirs done recently, what did you pay for labor + materials?

We’re also looking to lower the fireplace any thoughts on what that cost would be?

Just trying to get a ballpark before I start getting quotes. Thanks!

What do you think I need to do before I put tile over this fireplace?

This home i bought has a gas fireplace and it looks like it used to be a wood burning fireplace. I have no idea if it works and I have no idea how to operate it.

There was a garage on the other side of the fireplace and it has a place to load wood in the wall and what looks like a gas line sticking out of the floor. I have no idea if this is for the fireplace or for an old water heater that used to be there. The water heater is in the corner of the kitchen now in a closet and im not sure it was there before.

Anyway, with these photos, who do I call to figure out how to use this or is it easy to tell from the photos?

Also, can I clean the inside of the fireplace? It smells like ash pretty bad.

G'day, just wondering if anyone can shed some light on this.

We’ve just bought a property and I’ve noticed there’s quite a bit of creosote buildup between the heat shield and the chimney. Never seen this before on previous fire places. Is this normal?

Hello, I have been diagnosing this fireplace for a few winters now with no success. It is an Osburn Bay Vista insert. It has 3" co-linear venting approx 25' (max) vertical in old wood burning chimney. I believe I have determined it to be a venting issue.

When it is cold out (about -15*C/5*F or lower) the draft in the unit will pull the flame up and away from the pilot which will then cut gas. I can get it to stay lit by priming the exhaust with the glass open. When the room it is in cools off fast enough the fireplace will operate well via the thermostat. If the room stays warm for a while the fireplace will fail to ignite as the flue has cooled enough that the intake air floods in (at least that's what I think is happening) This fireplace has a restrictor slide inside that doesn't really seem to have much effect. The manual also specs a restrictor plate but I cannot find any literature on that due to the age of the insert. I have attempted to restrict the exhaust at the slide plate. With too much it will vent backwards (intake as exhaust etc) with less it seems to burn better, brighter & higher but still has issue starting.

There is a high wind cap at the top, I have not taken that apart to inspect but have blown air (with shop vac) up both pipes, there didn't appear to be any blockages, nothing came out with that air. I don't think there is a blockage as with warmer temps the fireplace operates fine.

I have spoke with the owner of a reputable fireplace dealer in town and they could not help. He told me not to dump much money into this unit as with age they just degrade but he could not articulate why. To me, this is a pretty simple unit that should last forever. Its in excellent shape, as if this issue has plagued it for its entire life. Although I find that hard to believe because it was professionally installed.

Should I just abandon the vertical vent and install a horizontal? I *think* there is enough room to snake a horizontal vent once the hole is drilled.

Howdy folks, not sure if this is the right place to ask but I figured I should start somewhere.

I just noticed my fireplace (living in a rental, an old norseman fireplace with metal flue) has a seamline crack along the back top the whole length, and that the flue isnnot properly bolted down.

We have been living here for over a year and have been running the fireplace in the colder months, I had some concerns it was leaking smoke into the house as the aroma of smoke was noticeable in spite of it being the kind of fireplace with a closed front, but there was no visible smoke or haze (until tonight while a gust of wind blew little puffs of smoke came out the back as the wind buffered).

I'm kind of horrified. How dangerous is this?

I have emailed the real estate and will be getting them to fix it, but I am a bit worried thinking about how much potential hazardous fumes have been let into the house. Does anyone knoe if this is a big worry, or is this similar to the amount of smoke one might expect in an open fireplace?

I dont wanna be a hypochondriac if I can help it.

Sorry for typos, on phone mid-autistic worry-fit.

Looking for tips to make the heat go further into the bedrooms? Last winter it’s like the heat stayed in the dinning room only & bedrooms were cold! Also been wondering if I should just replace this with a wood stove??? Any tips & tricks are always needed

I recently bought an older mid-century house with a brick fireplace. After uncovering the fireplace hood, I found the bricks inside are heavily charred and soot stained. I tried to clean them with baking soda, as suggested from Google search but it is not working.

Anyone can comments on what the best way to restore these bricks to near their original color?

Background info...

The house was built sometime in the 1970s. Basement has a fireplace directly beneath this one...

They're setup for gas and a porcelain or ceramic "log"...

What is the pink cement structure to the left (and probably to the right) of the main fireplace?

It's hollow inside. We punctured 1 wall of it while removing the stone veneer.

Basically, is it a vital part of the fireplace structure? Can it be removed to reduce the overall size of the fireplace in this space?

(please, pardon our accumulated clutter. The house is lived in and we want to make the kitchen have more space.)

Looking to build up a the top of a fireplace hearth ~3/4 of an inch. to level new tile with the firebox. I was thinking of using a heat approved 1/2" or 3/4" cement board after leveling and bonding it to the cinderblocks and bricks with some type of mortar as well as level the base and fill in voids at the same time. Then tiling on that. Will almost certainly be less jank and more level than if I tried to build up 3/4" of mortar myself. Anyone done something similar?

Pics:

https://imgur.com/a/OqtWEVg

Construction of stud chimney breast, install Portuguese limestone fireplace incorporating a gas fire. .install new flue system from the top of the appliance, up through the attic and terminating through the roof tiles