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I have an existing fireplace that was originally used for gas logs. I would like to get rid of the gas, and burn wood. Are or is there any differences in the way the chimmeny was constructed? I am worried about smoke backing up into the room/house. There is a flue installed, and the morter, and lining seem to be in great shape. The house was built in 1921, and is a craftsman style, if that helps. Looking forward to responses, I really don’t want to pay to have someone tell me yes, or no.
Thanks to all,
Gerry
If pictures of the flue/fireplace would help, let me know.
Replies
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Don't think you have a choice in the matter if you value your home and your life. You are looking at a fireplace that is probably very old and that you say was built for gas and may not be able to handle wood. It may or may not be in bad condition. It may or may not handle the higher temperatures and the smoke from wood.
So, get a local inspector/contractor/engineer to give your fireplace a good going over and give you recommendations in writing. It's the only way to go.
*I'm with Fred. It is really inexpensive to have an expert look at it. You might even find out that it was originally a wood fireplace that was converted to gas!As far as smoke is concerned, do a small test. Burn a small wad of newspaper (3 or 4 sheets), I would even throw a few pine needles in. The newspaper usually is hot enough to get the chimney working, and you want to make some smoke. If it draws satisfactorily, the shape of the fireplace is probably on your side. Make sure the gas is disconnected before you experiment!
*You cannot ever burn wood in a fireplace meant for gas. It is not made for high temperatures, the flue is way small, and the chimney is likely unlined.
*A gas log fireplace in 1921? Maybe, but it seems more likely to be a retrofit into an originally wood-burning fireplace. Do the gas components look 80 years old?I'm with Fred and Rein on the recommendation for getting an inspection. It would about $50 if anything. Chimney sweeps will often inspect for free. If it is a one-story craftsman bungelow, a lot of them don't have very tall chimneys. If the inspector blesses it, start a wood fire and check for a good draw all the way through the fire (high flames, low coals, etc). I was in a one-story bungelow that needed another 3 feet on the chimney before it drew well.You say there is a flue installed, and the mortar, and lining seem to be in great shape. If you have been able to visualize most of the length of the chimney (drop light and a mirror on a pole?), you've done some of what an inspector would do. Other things I'd like to check is the spacing between the framing members (ceiling and the roof) and the chimney. Less important if there is space between the liner and the outer masonry. And if there has been any settling. (i.e. Did some of the chimney get suspended on the roof or the ceiling while the bottom settled and left a gap?) Looking ahead to your future contributions to global warming, get a book on burning wood from the library. The important stuff is buying/cutting your wood far enough in advance (one year) to have it well seasoned when used. You will get more heat, less smoke, and less cresote buildup burning dry hardwood than wet softwoods. If you can arrange for some wood storage inside, you can further dry the wood (and humidify your house) in the days before use. Just by hefting the logs, you'll find it makes a difference. -David
*i I really don't want to pay to have someone tell me yes, or no. Well Gerry....I will say i yes, and no....for free then....Absolutely no charge, near the stream,aj
*In areas of nat. gas wells you can find fireplaces that were not meant for wood burning. They were fine (maybe) for the ceramic/metal insert burners that formerly sat inside the box. Pay the piper for a look see if you value your health. Best of luck.
*Gerry:You've likely gotten a good sense of the risk from the previous posts. If you want to DIY, and assuming you have the time, take the time to read a few books on the subject (many phamplets available from US gov. printing office, lots of basics in old engineering handbooks on stack construction for power plants - you can skip the math on draft calc. etc.) and then decide if you are compentent enough to do the inspection yourself. After sufficent self-education to feel competent, you'll probably be as good as 95% of the inspectors. You will spend a lot more time doing research than $50 worth, but you will have the knowledge 'till you get old and senile and the time spent beats watching TV. P.S. Did the house originally have a coal furnace on a different flue? Are both constructed the same?, etc, etc.
*Why would you want to convert to wood?? Most people round here convert to gas because it is clean,cost about $.60 an hour to burn,and with all the burn bans due to pollution we never could burn our wood stove. When you consider the costs of buying a truck, chainsaw,gas,permits,loading,unloading,and draging all that dirt into your home, Gas makes sense. Bob
*David Thomas (#4) has it right. In the 1920's, purely gas burning installations were unvented, let alone provided with a chimney. I just pulled out an old unvented gas wall heater that had some sort of "Unsafe - do not use" tag from the city on it.By all means, get an inspection. After the Northridge earthquake, there were a lot of chimneys that seemed to be OK, but actually had cracks that allowed hot gases to get at the wood framing around them. Over a long time, this heating causes a chemical change in the wood called pylorisis, which makes it burn really well. This is from the Community Emergency Response Team training that the Los Angeles Fire Department provides for free. Very much worth the time and effort, other cities are picking up the program, too.-- J.S.
*In response to #8 about burn bans. If you had a Rumford fireplace, you could burn it even during a burn ban, because it burns so completely and cleanly.
*Unless it is a well designed fireplace, you are probably going to lose more heat from it than you will gain from burning wood. If you want a wood fire for purely esthetics, then good luck, but if you want to beat the high and rising cost of gas, then you probably won't come out ahead on BTUs for the bucks.I recently read that a strong exhaust fan in the kitchen can backdraft a typical fireplace enough to leave you with a permanent smokey smell in the house so there might be a few other things to consider.
*I would think that a 1921 fireplace would be built well enough to burn wood. Sure you have to check out the condition, but the neat part is that the thing will be grandfathered in. That means in some communities with restrictive ordinances you may still be able to burn. If you're a successfull do-it-yourselfer, read the books, go talk to a pro (when they aren't busy and pay him with a bottle of his favorite) and you should do O.K. Make sure that you have an apron of non combustable material in front, the sparks can and do start fires evan with screens. Buy a C.O. detector and use it. I bet a lot of the guys answering are thinking that you have one of those sheet metal things which should never be used for wood. By the way I saw a conversion like that done in Mpls. The original gas pipe had been removed and a make up air duct replaced it so the fire would draw outside air in. With sealed glass doors and a heat recovery sytem built into the grate, it was very efficent and kept the downstairs warm and toasty during Minnesota winters. The owner had access to an unlimited supply of pallets and would cut them into length using a craftsman skill saw. His total heat bill for the winter was less then I spend to heat my house in October. (he evan saved the nails that held the pallets together and sold them for scrap). I'm one of those who love wood burning fires. The only time I ever burned gas is when we used to lite farts in college.
*Frenchy,We had burn bans in college.
*Finally had to quit burning wood full time this year. Wife turned 56 and said she dina' want to cut and stack 10 cords of wood a year anymore (5300 ft sq house, water wall FP w/exchange to forced air is why it took 10 cords plus lots of pallets also).
*The solution is to burn Slab wood, it's cheap,clean, and presplit the thing that makes most of the ash is the bark so get the debarked variety. you can cut it to length with a chainsaw or I use my Sliding compound miter saw. Used to use a cheap Craftsman circular saw. I pay $25.00 for a little more then a full cord stacked as tight as they can get it.
*I'm so glad that adirondackJack responded. Now I know what to do! Isn't he great.
*Just an FYI, our city code prohibits building new wood-burning fireplaces. Also, once a wood fireplace is converted to gas, you can never convert it back.I'm sure this kind of code varied greatly from area to area, but you may want to look into it.
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I have an existing fireplace that was originally used for gas logs. I would like to get rid of the gas, and burn wood. Are or is there any differences in the way the chimmeny was constructed? I am worried about smoke backing up into the room/house. There is a flue installed, and the morter, and lining seem to be in great shape. The house was built in 1921, and is a craftsman style, if that helps. Looking forward to responses, I really don't want to pay to have someone tell me yes, or no.
Thanks to all,
Gerry
If pictures of the flue/fireplace would help, let me know.