Fireplace heats up neighbors wall
Hi All Several years ago A&A Chimney restored a non working fireplace to my brownstone. My neighbor complains that her wall gets hot and the heat is cracking the paint. I had Andre come by and explain to her that he had used all code materials, but she is fearful that the heat is destroying…
Hi All
Several years ago A&A Chimney restored a non working fireplace to my brownstone. My neighbor complains that her wall gets hot and the heat is cracking the paint. I had Andre come by and explain to her that he had used all code materials, but she is fearful that the heat is destroying or damaging her wall.
My walls to not peel or crack around or near the fireplace. I only use dura flame logs keep the damper open.
Anyone have any advice about her walls? Is it just the paint job? Should she be fearful of the wall getting warm?
Thanks for any insight
Yes, try here: http://www.fireplacemall.com/Fireback__Stainless_Steel_and_/Firebacks__Cast_Iron_Pineapple/firebacks__cast_iron_pineapple.html
I recommended them to a very close friend and theirs is holding up very well. Antique ones, regardless of age will do the job also.
I had a similar issue with my neighbor complaining of a ‘hot wall’ in their house, opposite of my fireplace. I called for a chimney company to assess the situation, they informed me that i needed to re-build the rear wall of the chimney with ‘firebrick’ and that would solve the problem, well they did rebuild it and it did solve my “neighbors” issue. they no longer get a ‘hot wall’ when i burn a fire. The company I used was Big Apple Chimney (they advertise on this site). I was very happy with the results and would recommend giving them a call…
-Mack68
Thanks so much everyone. David do you rec a company to buy a cast iron fireback?
Had this problem in the early 90’s, Was told by my fireplace expert that these fireboxes are quite thin on the back wall, were not meant to burn wood, and should not be used for extended periods of time. (all things you know by now.) What he did recommend (and what we have done in various houses for the last 20 years) is to use a cast iron fireback on the rear wall of the fireplace. Not only does it shield your neighbor’s wall, it also acts as a radiator by throwing back quite a bit more heat into the room.
David
I just had a couple issues fixed with my chimney so have some thoughts. In my early 20th century house, the fireplace was designed to burn wood but not as the main source of heat and the firebox and immediately above is built of regular brick, not firebrick. Some of the bricks above the firebox were missing so only the party wall separated this part from my neighbor’s house, although the neighbor has a fireplace on the other side of the wall. However, you could only see the missing bricks with a careful inspection and I didnt notice the problem myself. This is separate from the flue, which is lined and in good shape. I mention this on the chance that you have a similar issue where basically the party wall is serving as the upper part of the firebox and that’s why it’s getting so hot.
I think it’s worth getting another chimney/fire expert to come out and check things out on both side of the wall (inside your neighbor’s house as well) to just make sure that everything’s okay. Maybe have them check the fireplace and flue and then light a fire and see whether it seems normal or too hot. The $100-150 is small change if it helps you prevent an eventual housefire.
The flues Andre built for us are terracotta all the way.
A&A did my chimney too, but used a steel liner, not terra cotta. Another chimney guy i had over for some work on the marble noted it’s not insulated, should it be?
Does anything besides the fireplace flue go up that chimney? A couple of years ago I noticed that my wall behind my neighbor’s chimney was extremely hot. It turned out that there was a problem with their boiler flue.
My neighbor had a chimney done that sounds like the one IMBY describes. My wall gets very warm but I know the work was done up to code so I don’t worry. The wall is only one course of brick there.