Front Page Forum: Fireplace Smoke Fest
Does anyone have good advice on fireplaces smoke problems, or a referral to a great pro? During my 2004 gut rehab, I had my chimney system entirely rebuilt from cellar through the roof (like the cost!). Two fireboxes in that system, on the garden and parlor floors, were expanded so they could burn wood. Everything…
Does anyone have good advice on fireplaces smoke problems, or a referral to a great pro? During my 2004 gut rehab, I had my chimney system entirely rebuilt from cellar through the roof (like the cost!). Two fireboxes in that system, on the garden and parlor floors, were expanded so they could burn wood. Everything looks to spec, although the fireboxes themselves are rather small (dimensions below). They tested the fireplaces upon completion and they worked. But now, 30 minutes after lighting a fire, smoke comes into the rooms and I have to leave the house (the original mason, J & B Chimney, won’t return calls). What to do?
One culprit may be my air-tight house, so maybe cracking a window should do it, or creating an air inlet to the firebox. Another could be the dimensions: 21″ W x 28″ H (x 20″ D) and the flues are 8″ x 8″ square. This would be more than a 10:1 ratio of firebox opening to flue size. Is my firebox opening too large (or too small)? Thanks for any advice!
75% of all smoke is cause by two things:
1) Not warming up the flue properly
2) Using unseasoned wood
Call Mr. Chimney! 1.800.834.3155. You may need a fan placed at the top of chimney on the roof.
I have a bit of experience with this issue, as I also had the chimney flue relined and firebox totally redone in my brownstone. The fireboxes in these fireplaces are often very shallow.
Anyhow, you should try preheating the chimney with a little torch of newspaper (as mentioned in another post above). This helps to get a draft flowing. Also, cracking a window can be helpful if your house in pretty air-tight. Also, putting a couple of flat firebricks under the legs of your fire-grate can help because it raises the flame and smoke closer to the chimney and provides more room under the fire for a draft to flow thru.
Another thing is to be careful about the quality of your firewood. The stuff you buy from the corner bodega is often wet wood that doesn’t burn well and smokes a lot.
Finally, if all else fails, you can do what I did, which is have a fan installed on your chimney – this is not cheap of course, since wiring has to be run up there. But, I basically just flip a switch to turn on the fan and light up and no matter how smokey the fire, I have an adequate draft. The switch is variable, so I can adjust the draft as needed.
My fireplace guy was an outfit called Fireside. We were very pleased with the service and professionalism.
just to clarify the people responsible: it’s J&B Chimney Consultants, 3786 Surf Ave., 718-449-8051. This appears to be a different outfit from the one tried above.
Just to check on the really simple things..do you warm up the chimney? We’d burn a little torch of newspaper up the flu after opening it and before lighting the wood.
To test if your box is too high, you can tape a piece of alunimum foil across the top and see if that works.
try leaving a window open until the fire is going normally. let it burn for a couple of minutes more and then close your window.
TRY CALLING THEM AGAIN THEY ANSWERED WITH NO PROBLEM MABY YOU HAD THE WRONG NUMBER J & B Chimney & Boiler Cleaning Co
244 E 94TH St Ste 12
Brooklyn, NY 11212-2016
(718) 851-9292
My parents had this problem. You might–and note, I say might–be able to solve it by lowering the height of your opening. The theory seems to be that the smoke needs some room to curl before it goes up the flue. You should really talk to a pro, though. My suggestion would be a place that sells gas/pellet/wood stoves and fireplace inserts.