Expert: James Ball - 9/24/2008

Question
We removed an old fireplace insert & want to use the fireplace as a wood-burning. It has a stainless steel flue cemented inside the regular flue. We had a damper installed as the original was part of the insert. When you open the damper, you can see insulation near where the flue begins, is this safe? If not, what do we do?

Answer
Hello Beth, I would have a local Certified Chimney Sweep (www.csia.org, there you can look up by zip code to find one near you) take a first hand look at what you have. There  might be to small a liner for your fireplace opening, the liner might need a cleaning, the liner might have to be pulled out. a certified sweep can give you a direction to go.
hope this helped
James Ball