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If you buy a home with a fireplace using gas or regular logs and you never intend on using it how do you maintain it??? Is there a cover you can buy to keep out all the animals that may crawl from trees to your roof and down the chimney ? Can they get into your home if you don't cover the top.Any info on fireplaces will be helpful.

Thanks!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: perplexed,

If you don't have one of these on the top it can certainly be easily added:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_127455...rrentURL=&facetInfo=

I would completely seal off the flue if you are not going to use it. It will be a major heat loss. Locate a Chimney Sweep in your area he will know what to do. Keep down the road in mind. Do not make it inoperatable for future use or future owners.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: redoverfarm,

quote:

Originally posted by redoverfarm:
I would completely seal off the flue if you are not going to use it. It will be a major heat loss. Locate a Chimney Sweep in your area he will know what to do. Keep down the road in mind. Do not make it inoperatable for future use or future owners.

If it has a working damper I wouldn't seal it off.

Aren't fireplace chimneys sometimes used to vent the furnace? (I'm thinking older type furnace). Glass doors would prevent heat loss, still leave the ability to use it and would look better for resale in the distant future. Just my opinion.

I've had fireplaces for years. Current house has one in living room we have not used for 20 years. Never have we had anything come done the chimney and we live in the woods where there are lots of critters. Just have the chimney cap Sparky showed.

The top-of-the-chimney cap that Sparky showed is required in SoCA. You can't sell a house without one. And that is in a very urban area.

They are very good to have even if you use the fireplace, to keep burning embers from flying out.

thanks to all of you,how do I tell if it is used to vent the furnace, the house has central gas heat.

Thanks!

Unless you do a super good job of insulating the firebox and it's opening cold air ( last I heard) does fall in comparison to warmer air. So you will get cold air moving down the flue from the top. The top cap serves two purposes. One being to prevent water from coming into the flue and the other is keeping bats, bee's , bird and other creatures out. Doesn't do anything to keep the cold air out. It does not take much just seal it off temporiarly to keep the cold air from falling into the house.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: redoverfarm,

If the damper is closed does that keep out the air?

It will keep the majority out but they are not air tight.

quote:

Originally posted by perplexed:
thanks to all of you,how do I tell if it is used to vent the furnace, the house has central gas heat.

Thanks!

Your furnace should be on a separate flue, it can be in the same chimney but there should be a separate flue.

If your firebox doesn't have a damper right above the firebox you can add a damper at the top of the flue. http://www.build.com/lock-top-...uU_LECFUWc7QodzCIAbw

I don't like the idea of permanently closing the flue because you may want to use the fireplace at sometime. Some gas logs can make your fireplace a fairly efficient room heater.

Here is a picture of a chimney. http://theultimatehomesolutions.com/?page_id=16

The flues in the picture are the two clay pipes coming out of the top of the chimney. Your furnace should have its own flue. If your house was built in the last 60 years with any kind of code enforcement it should have flues for each combustion source.

I thought the original question wasn't about heat loss but about keeping animals out.

I just don't see animals as a problem. It can happen but it is very, very infrequent. Why are you worried about this?

thanks for the picture sparky

metwo I am just trying to prevent issues and problems that may happen . I know nothing about fireplaces and I am trying to be informed.

The home was built in 1979, It has central air/heat I don't think that would be vented through the fireplace.

Thanks!

Perplexed, it would help considerably if we knew where you are. Put it in your profile as I have done. If you are in Florida, for example, the whole issue is probably academic.

I can't imagine a fireplace without a damper to close it off. I know a proper damper in SoCA would be quite adequate to seal for heat. The screened cap ala Sparky would keep burning embers off the roof (also would help to know what kind of roof) but such a screened cap would not control insects. If the screen or grille is that tight it would not vent smoke; I know from personal experience. If you permanently seal the fireplace, that could be a serious issue when you go to sell later.

Some how a bird fell into our fireplace, landing on the closed damper. It fluttered around, annoying me but soon the noise stopped and I put a plastic bag over the opening and opened the damper....the poor bird, all sooty, fell in the sack and I disposed of him. My husband climbed on the roof later and put a screenlike thing over the flue and no more troubles.

A spark arrester cap would be my first suggestion too, as it keeps birds and other critters out as well as keeping most of the rain from entering. Then you "could" stuff/wedge a good size piece of some fiberglass batt insulation up against your existing (or non-existing) damper by reaching up into the chimney from your inside firebox. It should not be visible from the room and easy to remove if someone wanted to once again use the fireplace.

quote:

Originally posted by metwo:
I thought the original question wasn't about heat loss but about keeping animals out.

I just don't see animals as a problem. It can happen but it is very, very infrequent. Why are you worried about this?

We had a squirrel get into our chimney in our last house, we opened the damper and made a path for him out of the house. He bounced out of the fireplace and came screaming out looking for an exit. I had a cap already but there wasn't screening, I added a screen after that incident.

I live in Ms