Rules of Thumb for Wood Burning Fireplace

Cherokeekid88

Cherokeekid88

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2007
Location
High Point, NC
So our new (to us) house has a wood burngin fireplace which I have always wanted. Inspector said everything looked fine but I still needed to get someone to come and clean it out.
First question : Anyone know of any good Chimney sweep companies or something that does it on the side?
How much does a cleanign usually run?

Second question: Id like to have right many fire this season. We spend most of our time in our den and would love to always have a fire going on the weekends and at night during the week. Any tips/advice on making sure everything is kosher when burning? can you leave the fireplace on to die out during the night while your sleeping? Do I need fireplace screen?
 
if its a stove with doors you don't need a screen and I've always left mine burning. Sometimes it'll still be going in the morning and I'll just toss on another log. Just make sure its drafting well and not leaking back into the house. Always ALWAYS use seasoned dry hardwoods, I'm sure you knew that already but it's important enough to mention. Most chimney companies will come out and clean/inspect for around 100 bucks maybe higher if its nasty. Owens is who I use around here but I don't know if they service your area.
 
I just had a chimney sweep come last season, it was $120. They clean and check the structural integrity. I can't remember the company that did it though, I can get that tonight. I usually try not to add any more logs to the fire 2-3 hours before I go to bed. There are still a few glowing embers, but I just let it ride. If I feel there are too many, I'll dump a gallon of water on it or something.
 
Don't know much about fireplaces, but it does have the glass doors and a chain like scrren when you open the doors. The inspector said the dampener was a tiny bit loose but still functional.

Also how well do fireplaces heat a house? my house is just shy of 1500 sqft and is 2 story.
 
don't use pine, etc.

you need a screen to keep random embers from making their way on to the floor.

don't forget to open the flue before starting the fire :lol:

keep the flue closed when not in use, it will keep the draft through the house to a minimum. Birds like to nest in some chimneys, so keep that in mind when firing it up the first time in the fall/winter; there may be an old nest up in there and possibly on the flue.
 
I think Im going to try and find a place to come out maybe at the end of this month and clean/inspect it that way, there are no surprises....it seems we have some chimney swifts either living or vacationing in our atm...we see them every evening flying around our house.
 
Cherokeekid88 said:
Don't know much about fireplaces, but it does have the glass doors and a chain like scrren when you open the doors. The inspector said the dampener was a tiny bit loose but still functional.

Also how well do fireplaces heat a house? my house is just shy of 1500 sqft and is 2 story.
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Mine keep thes 23x13 living room warm, plus a 15x15 bedroom and a bathroom. It won't keep the whole house warm, but should reduce your bill (which will be off set by the cost of firewood). I like to use soft wood like pine to get the fires started, then drop a big ass chunk of hard wood on top of it.
 
UTfball68 said:
Mine keep thes 23x13 living room warm, plus a 15x15 bedroom and a bathroom. It won't keep the whole house warm, but should reduce your bill (which will be off set by the cost of firewood). I like to use soft wood like pine to get the fires started, then drop a big ass chunk of hard wood on top of it.
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Nah, friend of mine has all I could use. He says, if I help him chop it, I can have as much as I want...so thats why I am on this so much. Our utility bill is not bad at all, but I would love to get it as low as we can....
 
Here's the thing about "seasoned" wood:

Get wood now to use NEXT winter. Burn whatever the fawk you can get your hands on for this winter. Try to make sure it's not too wet. But good luck getting "seasoned" wood that's as dry as it ought to be. Split wood dries faster, but it also burns faster. You need a good 12 mos for hardwoods to dry out.

And ignore any old wives tales about how you need a green log in there to make it burn right or anything like that. They're just that - stupid things your great-grandparents believed b/c they didn't know better.

Wood doesn't burn. Wood gets hot and emits combustible gases. Those gases burn. If the wood is wet, it also emits steam. The steam prevents the gases from burning, which means more soot up the chimney, less generated heat, and lots of wasted wood.

You will need a screen. I burned spots in the rug from wood popping and throwing embers out into the room while I was turning & loading more wood. We would build up a big fire and let it burn out. If you keep it up for several days, it will heat the entire brick chimney, and that will store heat that radiates back out into the house, too.

The log holder things you buy at the store mostly all suck. To build a "pretty" fire, you want to have two flat bars, preferably adjustable, but roughly 12-18" apart. Find a good set of andirons. You put one big log, unsplit, on the bars against the back wall. Put a smaller unsplit log in the front against the andirons, then fill the space in between with your newspaper, small kindling, split wood, etc. You can keep adding to the pile to keep the flames up. Roll the front log into the middle and add a new front log once that one burns down. The backstop log should be as big as your firebox and andirons will accommodate. The idea is that log will take most of the night to burn through. It also helps protect the back wall of the fireplace from excessive heat.
 
I had a house down here with a fireplace. It was worthless for heating. My wife's parents have a fireplace with a metal stove insert with a fan unit. That thing is very efficient and can generate some heat. My 2 cents.

I grew up in the great white north. We used a wood burning stove for heat and they work well. We would clean the chimney once a year, before the cold season

If your fireplace is one like they have down here, good luck trying to keep it burning. With a stove, you can limit the amount of air it gets and make it burn all night with no problem. You will go through some wood. Starting a fire every day or two will get old quickly

Oh, and lastly, burning with a typical 'open' fireplace will put soot all over your house. You probably won't notice it but over time your walls will go from white to grey.
 
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^^agreed my moms place has two fireplaces, one was purty like you described. Downstairs was the work horse with an insert, we actually burnt the walls out of the first one. The purty one now has gas logs and mom doesn't burn wood anymore dad passed. The most efficient wood head is either a free standing stove with blowers, insert with blowers, or a water stove. I have the later in conjunction with solar panels. Thus far I agree with the advice above (strange huh). I have witnessed two ragging chimney fires in the room next to my bed room. It ain't pretty. My childhood next door neighbors house burnt to the ground for this reason, as did two other houses in my community. Do clean the chimney, do not burn pine period! The only thing you can do is choke all the air down and pray with a chimney fire. With a drafty fire place its near impossible. You can try suppressing powder but crisote (sp?) burns like napalm. If the fire dept. sprays down the chimney its a last resort it usually cracks it. Fireplaces are pretty looking and dangerous. Great for a cabin and makin out in the den. The house I live in has 7 of them and the heat is out side in a building!
My mom would like to get rid of her insert. Its all powder coated steel with a insulated door with glass, has fire brick, grate, and fancy brass trim (used). Blower motor had 3 speeds and worked years ago. Pm me if you have questions. I've burnt wood all my life I have 6 cords cut and split already for this year.
 
Four drafty dangerous 1890's fireplaces.:eek:ops:
old part.jpg

One 1910's with the glass doors and screen. Now plumbed with flu pipe for oil furnace!:confused:
bed room.jpg

One 1950's was the front porch. Changed when the indoor plumbing arrived. Just a screen. :(
front porch.jpg

One when the kitchen was added to the house some time between 1910-1930. Notice the later technology plumbed into the chimney in front!;)
old kitchen.jpg

Better than the fireplaces, but who knows when or why? My guess was the old man needed space from the wife!:)
down stairs.jpg

And now the best modern alternative to heating a pieced up drafty very old house. Which is located in a old wood fired smoke house. Go figure.:lol:
water stove.jpg
 
You would get ALOT more heat into the house w an insert woodstove w a blower. We heated our house for many years w only a woodstove when I lived w my folks. Dad put a duct and blower in the attic that pulled the hot air from the ceiling in the Wstove room to the other end of the house and w a few ceiling fans and the fan from the central gas furnace, it kept the house comfortable unless it was below 30 for days/nights. The stove ran almost constantly when it was cold and had an ashpan like a drawer that pulled and could be cleaned w a roaring fire in the stove. W a woodstove you can burn greener wood once you have a fire going, adjusting the draft you can make it pull air like a jet engine to get green wood going then choke it back down to burn slow for hours, all night and longer. I've been looking for a stove for a while and they are expensive and I can't seem to find one like the ones we had. I guess the gubmnt has regulated them obsolite or non conforming. I would suggest getting a fireplace mat to put infront of the fireplace cause sparks and embers can pop out on the floor while your adding wood or messing w the fire w the doors/screens open.
 
mommucked said:
I've been looking for a stove for a while and they are expensive and I can't seem to find one like the ones we had. I guess the gubmnt has regulated them obsolite or non conforming.
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Yup. And you CAN NOT run green wood in the new ones. The steam kills the catalyst function.
 
I've built papa bear stoves for a few cabins, work shops, barns, and a fellers house. Regulations are just the gov't way of getting your tax dollars. I tell them I have no liability and have fun.
 
most fireplaces put in homes since the 90's have been made for looks anyways... people are too lazy to go out, get wood, stack wood, split wood, etc..... and would rather pay 10 bucks for a bundle of kindling that's gone in an hour... they just want the ambiance of a fire... that's why gas has gotten so popular... gas sucks!
 
wood stove insert.jpg
i have a "smallish" wood stove insert and a 1680 sq. ft. ranch.
I typically burn about 1 cord a year as I only burn it during the coldest days to reduce my gas bill.
if all of the bedroom doors are open, on a 10-20 degree night, the main room will stay at 78-80 degrees and the bedrooms 74-76 degrees. I have ceiling fans in all rooms and I leave them on low to circulate the heat.
whenever you open the door to either get the fire going or add wood MAKE SURE THE DAMPER IS OPEN ALL THE WAY OR YOUR HOUSE WILL FILL UP WITH SMOKE. as you can see in the pic my back door is right next to the fireplace and i'll crack that open a tiny bit when I get the fire going. it helps the heat column go up the chimney quicker (cold air - and especially moist cold air - is dense).
like mentioned, you can "choke" it down to slow the burning process. I can stuff mine full of wood at midnight and it'll go all night. i'll have to either top it off at 5-6am if it's a cold day or just throw a couple on to keep it going until the evening. I can only burn it 4-5 days straight (maybe more haven't tried yet) until the ash bed gets to the point where you want to empty it.
BUY A STEEL BUCKET so you can shovel out the ashes and dump them outside - be prepared to hose them down, they can smolder for A LONG TIME - POSSIBLY A DAY OR SO WHEN IN THE STOVE.

that's all that comes to mind off the top of my head. good luck and enjoy! :)
edit - oh yeah, this insert (like most) has a blower - it's tstat controlled with an override and a separate variable fan speed knob.
 
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Holding a piece of burning newspaper up the flue before you start the fire will help get the column of cold air moving up and out of the stack. That's particularly a problem if it's a cold night and the damper has been closed. That cold air wants to settle down into the room, and brings the smoke with it.
 
This is some good reading! I've got an old Fisher "Grandpa" wood stove out in my shop and I'm going to put it in my new shop once it gets built just to have some heat when I'm out there working. It's also a great way to get rid of a lot of paper and cardboard boxes :D

My buddy's dad works for the forest service and he brought me a piece of light wood that barely fits in the back of my truck, so I'm covered there too!
 
I agree with most everything above. I have a Buck Stove fireplace insert, came with my house. Once I get a good fire rolling in the thing I can keep my house warm indefinitely (1500 sqft ranch). It has the blower in it and combined with the ceiling fans and the whole house fan on my furnace I can skip burning gas if I want to.

Fireplaces, on the other hand, send most of the heat right up and out the chimney. Nowadays they do not usually design houses to best utilize the heat from a fireplace. Lots of old homes had the fireplace on an interior wall of the house instead of an outside wall, so it could heat more area. They had a lot of brick to hold the heat in once they got warmed up. Expect it to run through wood fairly quickly.
 
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