Fireplace Question
Hello All, I’ve attached a photo of our front parlor fireplace (I am in the middle of stripping it) and I was curious to know if these fireplaces ever functioned? The flooring seems to be original and the wood goes all the way up to the hearth. All of our fireplaces are the same (2) on each floor, and there are chimneys but they’re not very deep. Would these fireplaces have been gas originally, burned wood or would they have just been put in as decoration? Thanks for your thoughts. . . fitch
fitch
in About Brooklyn 10 years and 8 months ago
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13 replies
resident2 | 10 years and 8 months ago
The parquet floors were probably added fairly early on, but by an owner that did not want to use the fireplaces. During the early 1900’s it was status symbol to not use the fireplaces, because you had modern central heating.
pigthree | 10 years and 8 months ago
Installing an efficient wood burning insert is no more costly than a gas burning. It is highly debatable whether gas is more eco friendly as stated above. Wood is a sustainable fuel source. Wood is carbon neutral, gas is not. New stoves burn off particulate matter before it leaves the stove. It is less costly than gas. Wood inserts create more usable heat than an open fire place. Up to 70% of heat is lost up the flue (whatever fuel is used). My gas price increased 30% in 2013\. The effects of fracking for gas are still unknown.
avanvoor | 10 years and 8 months ago
Looks like I am in process of going through the same thing. We have 2 fireplaces per floor with similar wood surrounds. Where the floor extends all the way, it has been replaced or covers the original. A few of ours still have the gas lines in the middle, but they have long been capped. I’d be interested in hearing how this goes, and about whether the chimney venting is possible with a new liner. Happy to share anything I learn too, if there’s a way to get in touch. Also try restorationtile.com on the tile, if you haven’t tackled that yet. Ours were ceramic penny and hard to replace – I spent a huge amount of time on those tiny things.
NeoGrec | 10 years and 8 months ago
Agree with Cate about the likely date range. In which case, the fireplace might have burned gas or coal or… nothing. Your summer grille might be a vent for a forced hot air central heating system. These were quite common from the late 1870s onwards. A massive coal furnace in the cellar simply sent up plumes of hot air which naturally rose through the “chimney” vents. Remove the grill and look for soot marks behind it. If they are none, you’ll know it was a vent. We restored two such fireplaces to wood burning. It was a big, messy job that involved building entirely new terracotta flues within the old chimneys. A&A Chimney did the job for us. We use the WBF in the front parlor very occasionally but never the one on the 2nd floor — too much hassle. Actually I now wish we had installed gas inserts. They provide excellent zone heating. The one I have my eye on (see it on the gascoals website) is the President by Valor. There’s a dealer on Staten Island called Fire-Glow. I would also guess your flooring is not original if you have no hearthstone. Maybe the current floor was laid over the subfloor and the hearth is still there underneath.
fitch | 10 years and 8 months ago
Everyone’s input has been very helpful and is most appreciated! @resident2 should I assume that if the tiled apron in front of the fireplaces are not present then all flooring is not original to the house? We assumed it was original for several reasons but I guess we could be wrong. . .
resident2 | 10 years and 8 months ago
It looks to me like when the parquet flooring was installed they must have taken out the hearth (the tiled apron in front of the fireplace). So if you do make them working again, you may want to put a hearth back, even a gas fireplace may warm the floor in front of the fireplace to much to keep a polyurethane surface even or safe. To quickly see if the flu was relined, go up on the roof and look down the flu.
brokelin | 10 years and 8 months ago
It is possible to convert fireplaces with shallow fireboxes to wood burning – there are many like that in old brownstones, but it is expensive to do. I had one in a place I rented – it was great, and really provided more heat in the winter, which was needed in that cold place – though it was a bit smoky – my hair and clothes smelled after I had a fire – not sure if that was necessary, or a result of my landlord’s lack of upkeep or some defect in the conversion, as not all of them make one smell smoky. Adding a gas insert is more ecofriendly than burning wood (creates less particulate air pollution outside for the rest of us the breathe), and I think will eventually be banned here (burning wood) as it is starting to be elsewhere (one con only hope so for our lungs, much as I like sitting in front of a wood burning fireplace, when many are going in the cold weather, there is noticeable decrease in air quality outside in some neighborhoods). And it likely boosts heat much better than a wood burning fireplace. Just be aware that for folks with asthma, even the gas burning stoves are supposed to contribute to asthma. I like cooking with gas, but I do feel its effects now and then. I’d be tempted to leave them decorative.
daveinbedstuy | 10 years and 8 months ago
You can get a nice replacement gas burner with fake coals at www.gascoals.net. You can in fact, seal off the damper and flue and use these unvented. I had one and a friend who has four. They emit no more than having the burners on a gas stove on.
fitch | 10 years and 8 months ago
Thanks for weighing in everyone. I took a closer look inside and I think that they are gas from what I can see. The previous owner said she had the chimney in the front of the house lined so that she could get them working again but I’m not totally sure if that is the case. I’ll get a pro out here to take a look at everything. Thanks again!
cate | 10 years and 8 months ago
The mantel and cover are circa 1890s/1900, so most likely this was either a coal burning fireplace or gas. These typically had shallow fire boxes and were not wood burning. To get it working again, you will need to have the chimney inspected. If there’s a gas line there, you’ll probably see it. To convert to wood burning is a more involved and expensive operation but I have heard of people doing it.
brokelin | 10 years and 8 months ago
It really depends on when your house was built. Some of these have had different uses over different decades. But from the looks of it, and confirmed because you say the fireboxes aren’t deep, they were not originally (and likely never used for) burning wood. Most likely gas or coal – many like these had gas inserts originally for heat.
bconstant | 10 years and 8 months ago
What makes you think it’s decorative? I’d be surprised if it wasn’t functional at one point. Most likely wood, but could have been coal. If it hasn’t been used for a while, it could be unlined/collapsed, and would cost a bit to get running again.
fitch | 10 years and 8 months ago
Sorry – photo is found here.