famousfrenchy

My parents live in a old end of the 19th century house with 3 fireplaces in it. The one problem we seem to come across is when we light a fire the smoke not only goes up the chimmey but also into the house.

I am not every good at the terminology but I don't think the hearth is deep enough so this allows the smoke to just travel up and goes both sides of the lintel. The problem also might be there is not enought of a pull to force up the flue.

So my question is to fix this problem do we need to build the hearth out farther and pull the lintel and mantel out also or do we have some kind of leak in the flue that doesnt allow the flue to pull the smoke up and out?

thanks

andrew

inspectorD

You need a pro to come look at it. Ask around for a good chimney company in your area. Something like this needs to be evaluated by someone who can take into account many variables.
The total hieght of the chimney, the chimney hieght above the roofline, makeup air, flue liner condition, smoke chamber condition, size of flue....you get the idea?
Then there is also what else in the house is calling for air, hood vents, dryers , hvac systems and even the time of day and temp outside.
If you want to fix the problem once, ask for someone who gives you these variables as answers.
Another thing to consider is the smoke is not the deadly thing which is comming into your home..it is the carbon monoxide, which is ordorless, colorless and kills.

For this, get the pro to give you the pointers, even if you end up DIY.
Good luck.

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