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Expert: - 10/30/2007


Question
I have recently purchased a house that came with a wood burning insert inside a brick fireplace. There seems to be quite a bit of cold air coming from around the insert. I had a chimney sweep clean and inspect it and he said the chimney cap around the liner was installed properly and was caulked. The fireplace is on an exterior wall and I suspect the brick is acting as a giant heat-sink and is radiating cold air back into the room. Is there anyway I can insulate around the liner as it is already very cold in the room and winter isn't even here yet. The insert is a Heritage Renaissance.Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank-you very much, Ward.

Answer
Ward,

Provided your insert was installed with a listed liner system from the appliance, all the way to the termination, it should be wrapped with insulation already. If it is not, you will experience a few problems. The first concern is potential heat transfer from the liner that could migrate to combustible areas. Secondly, you will never maintain the internal flue gas temperature at the required level of highest efficiency. If all is well with the liner, you can further insulate an effective barrier at the former trout / damper area of the firebox. This will prevent the stove from having to heat the large area of the former chimney system and will prevent the passage of cold air from the same structure from entering the living area.

Not knowing the qualifications of the chimney sweep you had inspect the system, I always recommend a qualified inspector perform a level II inspection as defined in NFPA-211.

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Randy Brooks

Expertise

Inspection of Masonry, Pre-cast Tilt-up, and Factory Built Fireplaces as well as Free Standing & Insert, Gas, and Wood Appliances. We also provide Hearth Fire Loss Investigations, Litigation Support, Consulting Services, Flue Sweeping, Installation and Repair. Additionally, I’ve been a chimney sweep for 23 years, service and install hearth appliances as well as being recognized by the Superior Court of California as an expert witness.

Experience

Brooks Chimney Sweeping Since 1989 Ojai, CA Owner / President www.brooks-hearth.com

Organizations
NCSG, MEMBER,(National Chimney Sweep Guild), Member since 1990, Board of Directors representing Region 6, (CA, NV, AZ, UT, OR, WA, ID, WY, MT, AK and HI,) 2004-2011, ethics committee chair, 2004-2005, executive committee member, Vice President, 2006-2008, President, 2008-2011. CSIA, BOD (Chimney Safety Institute of America,) Board of Directors, ethics committee chair, 2004-2005, executive committee member, Secretary, 2005-2006, Vice President, 2006-2008, President, 2008-2011. HPBA, MEMBER, (Hearth, Patio, & BBQ Association,) since 2002. NFPA Member, (National Fire Protection Association) Since 2009. Technical Committee member for the 211 Standard.

Education/Credentials
California State Licensed Contractor, C61-D34, #750710. http://www2.cslb.ca.gov C.S.I.A., (Chimney Safety Institute of America,) Certified Chimney Sweep, #2580. Held since 1990 re-certified in ‘93, ‘96, ‘99, ‘02, ‘05, '08,'11. http://www.csia.org F.I.R.E. (Fireplace Investigation, Research & Education Service,) Certified Inspector, #FP-006. Held since 2000, re-certified in ’03, ‘06. http://www.f-i-r-e-service.com Fireplace Investigation, Research & Education Service,) Advance Expert Consulting & Witness, certificate, ’05 N.F.I. (National Fireplace Institute,) Certified Gas & Wood-Burning Specialist, #133851. Held since 2002, re-certified in '05,‘08. http://nficertified.org

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