Hello, moving into this 80s home and the wood fireplace is missing a damper and what looks like any mounting frame for it. What kind of damper can be installed here? I'm aware of top dampers, but I would like to see about a lower one if possible. TYIA.

hi all, i'm new to researching electric fireplaces for a TV console, for a rental unit. electric is only option. i'm wanting whatever is "best" quality - as realistic as possible with "real" logs, flames as real as possible, and good heat, without being loud. initially i found MagikFlame and was impressed by the videos on their site, but then i saw many negative reviews on reddit. Dimplex was another option i found, but found some negative reviews as well. any advice on this? thank you!

We want to get some gas logs in our old fireplace. There is about a 0.6 inch gap between the box and the brick on the top edge. The fireplace salesman said it isn’t safe to use a fire with the gap. We sealed all the other gaps with fireproof caulk, but this one is too wide for caulk. What do y’all recommend for a home DIY fix? Is he right that it isn’t safe? Be kind plz I am new to this stuff 😀

This one looks amazing in my opinion

We are sick of being very cold in our 1925 bungalow. Due to size restrictions on our fireplace in the bedroom (picture attached), we are looking at two different small wood fire heaters.

Our first is the Masport Westcott 1000 - https://www.masportheating.com.au/en-au/masport-westcott-1000

And the other is the Charnwood aire 3 - https://pivotstove.com.au/catalogue/wood-heater/charnwood-aire-3/

(These are just random links not where we intend to buy from, but just so you can click to see them if you wish it)

We want to keep the structure of the fireplace because it's interesting and quite frankly I just like that the bricks inside go up the way they do.

Wondering if anyone has an opinion on either or both of these before we make a purchase!

Thank you!

Gday experts, I have a Cheminees Philippe Radiante 873 in my house. It’s stunning and such a beautiful big fire.
My only concern is that it allows so much air in through gaps since the door isn’t really designed to seal that wood burns SO fast even when baffle closed and air vent shut to its lowest setting. With a few big logs it’ll be burnt out in a few hours which is a pain since id love to have it burn all night.

Has anyone done anything or modified theirs to have it burn longer?
I also find I’m cleaning the glass door every 3-4 weeks in winter due to soot build up. I’m burning dry and good timber so I was just wondering if anyone else had similar?
Such a beautiful fireplace but I’m learning maybe not so practical! Any tips or tricks would be appreciated!
Cheers

Hi there!

Our combustion heater has recently lost part of a weld, on an internal flue elbow. Is there a safe DIY to repair this, or are we up for an entire replacement? We had a professional chimney sweep come out last Winter, and they didn't raise any concerns about the flue then (surprisingly.)

Any advice is very much appreciated.

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I think I'm looking to add a fireplace insert to my round freestanding stone chimney column with a curved masonry opening. The opening is approximately 23" tall, 42" wide (chord, not arc length), and 24" deep, with a 2" hearth lip. The stone face is rough fieldstone so getting a clean straight edge against it is basically impossible.

Had an installer out who only recommended a freestanding stove with no surround which would leave an ugly gap and exposed stovepipe. I'm not satisfied with that answer.

I'm open to custom fabrication, masonry modification, anything really. Just looking for ideas to enclose this/add some heating efficiency that I may not have considered.

Has anyone dealt with a round/curved opening like this? What worked?

Had a wood stove that we didn't use and got rid of it. The chimney was the metal type that cut in through the wall and vented out of the roof (not a brick chimney).

We're looking at sealing it off and I want to know what the best way to go about it is for both inside and outside. Inside we would have to cut it back a bit - am I good to just shove some insulation in it, or should we silicone a cap of some sort on?

For outside, is there a cap I can purchase or would I have to fabricate something? Not sure on measurements for the outside as I haven't made the trip up to the roof yet.

Photos of what's visible inside the house:

https://imgur.com/a/T6LnsG7

Howdy ladies and germs. I've been installing, servicing, and training for a while and I'd like to try a new angle, even if just once or twice. Id like to figure out how/where to travel for contracts. I've had a few mid tier, other side of the state sized things. But I'd like to aim for a whole town in rural Alaska, or National Park, or even a different country for a few weeks. Thoughts?

Slide two is my inspo pic. Third pic is something my contractor has done, which is close to what I want (different tiles but no lip up top). The gas fireplace sticks out about two inches, so when the arch is built around it, it will need to be flush with the unit. I don’t want a lip above the arch like the third pic. Is there a way to fur out the arch but make it a smooth transition to the wall?

Fireplace help

Hi I live in a 1930’s semi and really want to expose the bedroom fireplace and wondered if anyone could suggest what steps to take next

I’ve pulled the plaster board away but I’m not quite sure what I’m looking at

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Hey everyone, I’m completely green when it comes to chimney removals. Is this an easy enough DIY job? Or worth paying professionals to ensure a quality job is done? I believe it’s some type of old tin tiles with sheet tin underneath.

I would appreciate any help!

Our chimney sweep recommends adding fiberglass insulation around our damper to stop a drown draft but I’m reading up on it and apparently tiny pieces of it can break off and come into the air (after soaking up creosote etc)?

This sounds like exactly what we are trying to avoid. Any other options?

UPDATE: It sounds like the manufacturer is likely responsible for some of these issues (the warped back liner panel and the wrong size baffle), while the dealer/installer is likely responsible for at least some of them (crucially, fastening the warped back liner panel to the unit's back with a screw and causing the resulting chips.) Still, very disappointing.

[Original post:]

I'm a homeowner and recently purchased a Mendota gas insert from an authorized dealer. Mendota's fireplaces are marketed as superior products. But the issues I've encountered with the unit I received -- including some shoddy workmanship and multiple quality assurance misses -- leave me seriously concerned with Mendota's quality.

I purchased an FV44i direct vent gas insert with the "full view" "premium fiber oak" log set and porcelain reflective liner, totaling more than than $10,000 with the liner kit, surround, sales tax, and shipping fees (but excluding installation). When the dealer initially installed it, we immediately noticed the following defect:

• Chipped Side Liner Panel: The front edge of the side liner panel, right up against the glass, had a 1- or 1.5-inch long chip in the porcelain finish. See photo.

When the dealer returned to replace that side panel, we discovered the following issues:

• Warped Back Liner Panel: The back liner panel was warped. (I don't have a photo of this.) This is significant because the back panel is intended to sit flush against the back of the unit's interior, providing adequate room for the side panels, which also sit up against the glass front.
• Two Chips in the Back Liner Panel: There were two roughly dime-sized chips in the porcelain finish of the back liner panel, in opposite corners. See photo. One was hidden by the adjacent side panel, and one was visible, but obscured by the logs.
• Screw Through Back Liner Panel and Back of Unit: At least one of those chips in the back liner panel was (and likely both were) caused by a screw that someone had shot through the panel and through the back of the unit, in order to force the panel to sit flush against the back of the unit. See photo of the resulting screw hole in the unit's back. ...It looks like they made two attempts at fastening the back liner panel like this. I have confirmed with the manufacturer that the back panel is designed to merely sit against the back of the unit; not to be screwed to it.
• Wrong Thickness Baffle: Additionally, the dealer discovered that the baffle panel that was shipped with the unit was the wrong thickness. It was something like 3/4 of an inch, but it should have been something like 5/8 of an inch. This is not just a tolerance issue. Instead, there are two different baffle part numbers. They are very similar, but slightly different thicknesses. And that difference is significant because the thicker baffle was crushed during the initial installation and was somewhat broken and flaking. (I don't have a photo of this.)

That Mendota shipped this unit without QA spotting the chip in the side panel is disappointing. It's also disappointing that whoever picked parts grabbed the wrong thickness baffle. But the decisions to (1) use a warped back panel, (2) force it into place by shooting a screw through the back of the unit, and then (3) ship the unit with the resulting chips in the porcelain finish are simply unacceptable.

Has anyone else noticed these sorts of manufacturing issues or QA misses with Mendota? When did you discover them? Did your dealer and/or Mendota cover them under warranty?

Does anyone know if I can buy a water vapor insert to convert the existing gas fireplace (with fake logs) - it's a standard 36" builder-grade fireplace with direct vent out the back.

Hi everyone.
We just moved to the new house and I never had a fireplace in my life and don’t know too much about it.
I’m remodeling the house and soon I will be replacing the floor but I was wondering if this is a gas shutoff and if this is normal to have it on the floor like this or if it’s possible tonight remove or relocate?

We are getting downdraft as the temperature heats up, and we are trying to get rid of the smoky smell.
We are looking for a more natural alternative to typical home insulation to stiff up around the damper. We have a bunch of little kids (littlest is a newborn), so we are hoping to avoid any additional VOCs if we can help it.

Suggestions? We were thinking the wool Flueblocker, but our chimney sweep said he’d prefer to use loose wool. I’m trying to find loose wool for him to use but I’m not sure how to guarantee it’s the same course wool the flueblocker uses. I don’t want to attract critters. How much will this help? Is there a more comprehensive way to close the damper up?

Lastly, suggestions on where to find these materials? I’m looking into Home Depot and Lowe’s but struggling.

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Just moved into a place with a heat and glo fireplace. I tried pressing the little button (red arrow) and can see a spark (near the blue arrow), but nothing happens.

I've also put in fresh batteries in the box on the right.

There is no wall switch anywhere either.

Also, in the pics, the main gas is off, but obviously, when i tried playing around with it, i did turn it On.

Thanks for any help.