Chimney & Fireplaces/Old fire box

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Expert: - 1/16/2008


Question
Randy,

I have an old wood burning Elco brand fire box original installation 1984.  The prior owner of the house had put a gas insert in.  I took it out so that we could use it as a wood burning unit once again.  The back wall of the box is starting to crack due to heat and metal fatigue.  I would like to replace it.  The actual chimney is in great shape. My main question to you has to do with the damper.  It looks as though the fire box will come out easily enough.  Is the damper unit connected to this fire box?  The handle to open and close the damper is a front mount, outside of the stone facing of my fireplace.  Located about 8" above the box.  I'm trying to find out if this is going to be a job that also requires a mason?  Or if it is a simple pull out push in a new box.  The box also has a blower unit.  Everything still works fine I'm just worried about the box deterioration.  Any advice would be helpful.

Answer
Connie,

My apologies for not being familiar with an Elco brand fireplace. That being said, it sounds like a factory built fireplace? If this is the case, you are not at liberty to alter the system at all. Any modification beyond what the manufacture produced has not been tested for safety by UL and will void the listing the product had at the time of production. Certainly you cant reuse the same chimney system as this to will be part of the listing. I would recommend complete removal and replacement of the system and start fro scratch. Good luck, sorry again for my limited assistance.

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Randy Brooks

Expertise

Inspection of Masonry, Pre-cast Tilt-up, and Factory Built Fireplaces as well as Free Standing & Insert, Gas, and Wood Appliances. We also provide Hearth Fire Loss Investigations, Litigation Support, Consulting Services, Flue Sweeping, Installation and Repair. Additionally, I’ve been a chimney sweep for 23 years, service and install hearth appliances as well as being recognized by the Superior Court of California as an expert witness.

Experience

Brooks Chimney Sweeping Since 1989 Ojai, CA Owner / President www.brooks-hearth.com

Organizations
NCSG, MEMBER,(National Chimney Sweep Guild), Member since 1990, Board of Directors representing Region 6, (CA, NV, AZ, UT, OR, WA, ID, WY, MT, AK and HI,) 2004-2011, ethics committee chair, 2004-2005, executive committee member, Vice President, 2006-2008, President, 2008-2011. CSIA, BOD (Chimney Safety Institute of America,) Board of Directors, ethics committee chair, 2004-2005, executive committee member, Secretary, 2005-2006, Vice President, 2006-2008, President, 2008-2011. HPBA, MEMBER, (Hearth, Patio, & BBQ Association,) since 2002. NFPA Member, (National Fire Protection Association) Since 2009. Technical Committee member for the 211 Standard.

Education/Credentials
California State Licensed Contractor, C61-D34, #750710. http://www2.cslb.ca.gov C.S.I.A., (Chimney Safety Institute of America,) Certified Chimney Sweep, #2580. Held since 1990 re-certified in ‘93, ‘96, ‘99, ‘02, ‘05, '08,'11. http://www.csia.org F.I.R.E. (Fireplace Investigation, Research & Education Service,) Certified Inspector, #FP-006. Held since 2000, re-certified in ’03, ‘06. http://www.f-i-r-e-service.com Fireplace Investigation, Research & Education Service,) Advance Expert Consulting & Witness, certificate, ’05 N.F.I. (National Fireplace Institute,) Certified Gas & Wood-Burning Specialist, #133851. Held since 2002, re-certified in '05,‘08. http://nficertified.org

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