I have a 2 story with walkout basement 1970s house with two flues in the chimney. The fireplaces are on the basement and main floor level. The chimney is located on the north exterior wall of the house, total length approximately 30 feet. I removed the firebox and part of the flue from the basement level and the main level currently has a non-working gas insert (Gas line has been removed from that side of the house) . I want to put electric inserts in both openings and seal up/insulate the chimney which is a giant heat suck for the house. Rooms in this area are always much colder then the rest of the house with the basement rarely getting above 50 degrees in the winter. There was insulation in firebox in the basement opening which seems to not have helped at all.
What would be the best way to go about fixing the cold? I am attaching photos of the openings on the basement and main level and pictures looking up from the basement opening to the flue that was removed from there and the existing flue for the main level.
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What are we looking at in the second photo? Specifically, why is there wood framing there?
The framing in the second photo is the first floor joists with a cantilever. I know the cantilever was added to the original home and perhaps the chimney in the basement level was an addition at some point as well. I have only been in the home 5 years and found the basement fireplace when I removed a wall which was hiding it. When I go back and research property history records with the county, it indicates the home only has one fireplace.
There should be fire-blocking in that chimney every 10 feet, but I guess that ship sailed a long time ago. I'd pressure fit 2x blocking in the opening of that bottom fireplace and cover it with pretty much any sheet material - plywood, drywall, cement board.