Fireplace info
We have a courtyard model in N. Cal and have had smoke backing up into the house when we use the fireplace. We had a fireplace guy come out and he told us that the flu was too small, and the chimney was too short. He demo'd the original flu, replaced it with a stainless steel tube of greater diameter, and extended the flu to 10' above the fireplace with a wind directional cap. He guarantees that smoke will no longer back up, but the stainless steel flu now sticks up 5' over the top of the chimney.
Has anyone had this problem? We are hoping that we can have him remove much of the excess height of the flu and just have it stick up a foot or so with a wind directional cap. He says that he couldn't guarantee no smoke, but does anyone have a similar situation that has been satisfactory?
Just a quick comment, since no one has responded. You may want to try posting on the fireplace forum at http://www.thathomesite.com. If no one answers here, someone over there may have an opinion, though it would not be Eichler specific.
Cathye
We have a courtyard model in N. Cal and have had smoke backing up into the house when we use the fireplace. We had a fireplace guy come out and he told us that the flu was too small, and the chimney was too short. He demo'd the original flu, replaced it with a stainless steel tube of greater diameter, and extended the flu to 10' above the fireplace with a wind directional cap. He guarantees that smoke will no longer back up, but the stainless steel flu now sticks up 5' over the top of the chimney.
Has anyone had this problem? We are hoping that we can have him remove much of the excess height of the flu and just have it stick up a foot or so with a wind directional cap. He says that he couldn't guarantee no smoke, but does anyone have a similar situation that has been satisfactory?
I just made an entry regarding the same problem and intuited the same solution as your expert, however, in searching the web I discovered that another problem with the fireplace is make-up air or the lack of it. We find that if any exhaust fans are on or it is a windy day the smoke spills back into the house. One possible help might be providing a air supply directly to the fireplace by creating a passageway through the chimney to the outside. I'm sure some purists would find this unaccepatble, but to me an unusable fireplace or a 5' extension to the flue is unacceptable. I too would like to find an asethetically pleasing solution, preferably one that was energy efficient as well
Hi,
I didn't have that problem with the fireplace until I put forced air into the house. I think it just sucked the smoke out and into the house. I ended up putting gas in the fireplace, and I'm very satisfied with that.
Nancy
Hi, we had the same problem with smoke coming out of the fireplace. The smoke was so bad I would have to open both sliding doors in the living room to air out the living room when the smoke built up. It also was bad int hat it sucked the warm air out of theroom. We were told that the firebox was too large and we could never burn logs without a smoke problem. We went with firelogs for awhile, installed a glass door and had a slight extension and chimney cap installed. It helped a little but we could never have a nice decent sized fire. Eventually we installed a gas fireplace. They now look very realistic and add instant heat to the living room and kitchen area. It is a good heat supplement to the radiant heat. I also like the fact I never have to clean the fireplace. It is a great alternative.Susan
