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I have a 2nd home in Maine with a heavily insulated roof, R-39, T&G boards on the inside, then covered with foam panels I believe and followed by Architectural grade asphalt shingles. The chimney vents a wood stove. everything is 7 years old or so.
I found that where the chimney penetrates the roofline, there is about a 4-6″ space between the brickwork and the foam/wood. My problem is that I have found at least one bat living there. I got rid of him, but assume that wherever he got in, another bat will find as well, not to mention the heat loss in this gap.
My question is, can I use expanding foam in a can to close up this space? I know there is a requirement to keep combustible material a certain distance from the flue, but I am not certain about the foam to seal this space. The roof penetration area is about 15′ or higher above the woodstove itself, so I am uncertain how much heat buildup is likely to occur at this point.
I am new to the house and have not fired up the stove yet, but would like to seal this space, if allowable, before we close the place in a couple of weeks. Any suggestions are appreciated!
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expanding foam would be a code violation next to the chimney....
there are now firestop foams in a can.. i've seen them at electrical supply houses .. since a lot of commercial work has to be firestopped at every penetration...
most bldg inspectors will allow fiberglass insulation next to a chimney.. but check with your inspector if you don't want to go the foam firestop route
*This may sound weird, but...Bats are your friend. They consume tremendous amounts of mosquitos in a single night. We are hanging bat houses in the trees around our house.Bats are NOT aggressive, do NOT attack mammals(humans, pets, etc.), and have the same likelyhood of being rabid as any squirrel, chipmunk, etc.If the gap isn't an entry point to yer house, leak point, or doesn't have any structural or asthetic properties, leave it.Just my 2 cents, Mike
*I agree that bats are friends. But bat guano is definitely not! So build a bat house http://www.batcon.org/.Then seal that chimney chase.
*If you can't do fiberglass, I'm sure you can do rockwool.
*Thanks for the info guys! I will explore both the firestop foam and the rockwool. It is a pretty big space to fill, so rockwool makes more sense. I may use aluminum flashing around the ceiling to also seal off the open space after filling the area. Unfortunately, the town has an overtaxed and underpaid building inspector who is unlikely to ever see what I do. That is one good reason for asking the pros and doing it right the first time, instead of doing something stupid just to get it done. I have no problem with bats around the place, I am well aware of the benefits they provide. (Do they eat Maine black flies I wonder??) I will put up some bat houses in the future but my wife definately wants them OUTSIDE the house.....the piles of dropping indicated a long term residence before I got rid of this one....and this will eventually be a closet so we really want to keep things clean in there!Thanks for all your ideas!Vic
*True, true.
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I have a 2nd home in Maine with a heavily insulated roof, R-39, T&G boards on the inside, then covered with foam panels I believe and followed by Architectural grade asphalt shingles. The chimney vents a wood stove. everything is 7 years old or so.
I found that where the chimney penetrates the roofline, there is about a 4-6" space between the brickwork and the foam/wood. My problem is that I have found at least one bat living there. I got rid of him, but assume that wherever he got in, another bat will find as well, not to mention the heat loss in this gap.
My question is, can I use expanding foam in a can to close up this space? I know there is a requirement to keep combustible material a certain distance from the flue, but I am not certain about the foam to seal this space. The roof penetration area is about 15' or higher above the woodstove itself, so I am uncertain how much heat buildup is likely to occur at this point.
I am new to the house and have not fired up the stove yet, but would like to seal this space, if allowable, before we close the place in a couple of weeks. Any suggestions are appreciated!