Expert: Bart Ogden - 11/5/2009

Question
We bought a house built in 78 a little over 7 years ago.  The fireplace is limestone on the interior and brick on the exterior.  We have a Forrester insert and the model looks to be 85442.  We burned about a cord per winter for the first 2 years.  We then had the chimney cleaned and found out the prefab firewall had been cut so that they (the previous owners) could get the insert in.  The chimney sweep said that this was our of code and that the only way to fix it was to tear down our existing chimney and put a new lining in or make rebuild it as a masonary fireplace.  Cost quoted was $7000.00.  I recently looked at the problem and you can see where the firebox was cut, about 10 inches above where the insert is.  Is it possible to use a stainless steel chimney liner with a cast iron insert boot that get attached/bolted to the Forrester insert(8 inch liner)?  Would that put me in code? Also, would it be possible to line the interior of the chimney with firebrick and fire resistant mortar up to where the liner was cut (to include the walls and the floor of the fireplace)?  My question here is also, can a prefab firebox be converted to a masonary fireplace from the inside.  With stone and brick on the interior and exterior, to me it would make sense.  I want to get this safe so I can burn wood again...I live in the woods.  Any other suggestions for getting to code would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Answer
Hi Bruce,

A factory-built fireplace that has been modified in ANY way must be replaced.  It is not acceptable to make field repairs on these units.

You MUST replace the unit and piping.

A wood burning insert should NEVER be installed into a factory-built fireplace insert.

I would recommend removal of the unit and replacement with a high-efficiency fireplace like a Fireplace Xtrordinair, a BIS or something similar.

Thanks for using AllExperts.Com and good luck with your project.

Sincerely,
A. Bart Ogden, President
Home Safe Hearth & Chimney, Inc.
Wichita, KS
Voice 316-265-9828
Fax 316-265-9890
www.HomeSafeKS.com

CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep #2653
CSIA Certified Dryer Exhaust Technician #10
NFI Certified Wood Specialist
NFI Certified Gas Specialist
NFI Certified Pellet Specialist
NFI Master Hearth Professional
NCSG Technical Advisory Council Member

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