Expert: Richard Taylor, AIA - 11/30/2008

Question
We have a colonial house built in 1752 in Connecticut. In
several areas on the first and second floor there are
little doors built into the walls that open onto the back
side of the center chimney. Is there a name for these
doors? Were they built to allow access to the chimney for
maintenance, or for some other reason? Thank you!

Answer
Susan - thanks for your question!

It's a tough one to answer without a photo, but I'll give it a shot.

There's a pretty good chance that the chimney in the original home was completely exposed to the interior; the walls with the doors were probably added later.

Chimneys for wood-burning fireplaces sometimes have doors in the back, below the hearth, that are used for cleaning out ashes that are dropped down through the hearth (usually a small metal door in the back of the hearth).  The new walls may have had doors built to access those.

Some chimneys were built to vent wood-burning stoves; in these you wouldn't have a fireplace opening, but rather a small hole (about 6 inches) in the chimney at about eye level for connecting the stove fluepipe to the chimney.  Perhaps the doors were built to access those?

You should consider contacting your local historical society for more information - chances are they have (or know) someone who knows all about this (and maybe all about your house!).

Hope this helps,

Richard Taylor, AIA
<a href="www.rtastudio.com">Residential Architects</a>