Open Fireplace Chimney

The most common case is 1 10 of the fireplace opening area but with a minimum size specified.

Open fireplace chimney.

Fireplace flue size specifications relation of fireplace size to flue opening dimensions table of required chimney flue size and flue dimensions for masonry fireplaces. But if you re tempted to see what s behind a blocked up chimney what do you need to know about building regs costs and how to do it safely to make sure you don t end up with a whole lot of mess. Anatomy of a fireplace labeled. Chimney covers protect your fireplace flue from rain animals and debris.

Examine the chimney breast if the chimney has been blocked up correctly there will be a vent in the wall just above the skirting board. To provide adequate draft and safe venting of combustion products the chimney flue for a fireplace has to be adequate in size or cross sectional area. This prevents smoke and fumes from blowing into your house on windy days. In order to uncover and unblock the fireplace you should first find the builder s opening.

If you start a fire when the damper is closed you ll realize the mistake quickly when the room fills up with smoke. The diagram shows the layout of a fireplace and chimney commonly found in a home but as all houses are built differently the layout and design of your fireplace may differ from the one shown above. For thousands of years humans have gathered around the open fire for a sense of safety and community and the fireplace is still the focus of family living in many homes especially around the holidays. Building codes typically require a minimum flue size expressed in terms of cross sectional area in relation to the area of the fire place opening.

Fireplace opening and flue size in creasing the chimney height in creases the amount of draft. This is likely to be a messy job so fold back the carpet or lay down lots of dustsheets to protect your furnishings. Opening up a fireplace is a great way to add character and value to a period property. For example my open fireplaces don t have dampers of ash pits.

Opening up the fireplace. Unless you have a vent free fireplace the first step you should take before lighting a fire in a wood burning fireplace or gas fireplace is to open the damper. The flue is essentially a channel inside the chimney the smoke is funneled through and it s controlled by the damper a pair of small steel doors. Finally they help block downdrafts.

This is the rectangular recess in the chimney breast into which the fireback is fitted which can be quite large in pre georgian houses but gradually reduced in size to no more than three square feet in modest victorian houses and smaller still. When most people think of chimneys they think of fireplaces. You need to open your fireplace flue to create an efficient fire and reduce the amount of smoke and carbon dioxide in the room.