Expert: James Ball - 10/13/2009

Question
We are not savvy at all about fireplaces.  Earlier this year we had our basement fireplace checked out.  We were told that our damper was broken and needed to be replaced.  Also, there is a square uncovered hole on the side about 10"x10" and we don't know what that is used for.  We were quoted a price of about $2000.00 for the repair but it seemed quite pricey.  Is this something we could do ourselves?  My husband is commercial heating and cooling and is quite handy but knows zilch about an old fireplace.  House was built in 1940 and the fireplace is brick.  Also, could we apply a soapstone backside of the fireplace to radiate heat more efficiently?

Answer
Hello Caroline, with out seeing it I really cant say what you have, 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 they should be able to help.
Hope this helps
James