Expert: James Ball - 12/19/2010

Question
Hello,
I have an old house (1917) in Baltimore.  Currently has a single fireplace facing the living room.  We have a sunroom on the other side of the chimney (used to be an exterior porch but has been enclosed for over 30 years).  Ideally I'd love to have a fireplace in the sunroom as well, both for aesthetics and for warmth (the sunroom is a tad cold, despite radiant heat in the floor).  I understand that it would likely prove difficult to do a full fireplace because I'd need all that new flue space and that the calculations would probably require quite a large flue.  But, I wonder if that would be the same situation since I would actually prefer gas inserts?  Given that the gas inserts can use simple (and often small, from what I've seen) liners, would that allow me to do it?  Would the structure of the chimney likely allow for it?  And if so, would it be best to do a 2-sided "see thru / pass thru" style insert or two back to back individual inserts?  Thanks so much.

Answer
Hello Rick, stop by your local wood stove store and see what they have that will work for you maybe a direct vent stove? I not a big fan of double sided fireplaces or turning a single into a double they never work right also check with your local building department before any install and  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