Expert: James Ball - 4/27/2009

Question
Hello,

I am having a very hard time finding someone to repair the dampers in my fireplaces.  I have 3 fireplaces needing repair.  1 of them has half a damper left.  The other 2 have no dampers and I am not sure the frame is there for them.  The house is somewhere around 100 years old.  Everything with the fireplaces works well other than all of my heat and cool air going up the chimney.  I live near Royston GA (zip 30662) and any help or advice you can give me would be very much appreciated.

Answer
Hello Mike with a 100 year old chimney has it ever been checked by a certified sweep? 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  install a top mount damper that opens and closes with a cable that runs down the inside of the flue.
keep me posted
James