Fireplaces, Heating Stoves, Flues and Chimneys - fireplace/furnace/venting, OH MY!
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eileen from OH
03-02-07, 01:00 PM
forgive bad typing - broken wrist. cross-posted to gas furnaces because prob involves both - hope that's okay!
A] we have a 1st floor woodburner fireplace which is hideous and we want to remove.
B] have a basement woodburner fireplace which we'd like to keep as a heat source.
C] have a very old gas furnace and newer gas water heater.
unfortunately we only have TWO pipe flues. really - this has been confirmed repeated times. B & C share a pipe flue in the chimney which is the cause of the water damage/rust /deterioration of B's firebox (and other probs.) A's firebox & flue pipe are fine.
have had 6 WILDLY DIFFERENT proposed solutions & estimates.
after researching a lot (this board is GREAT) we've come up with some possible scenarios. advice, feasibility comments, additional ideas very welcome!
* All involve getting a gas or woodburning fireplace insert in B cuz the firebox/damper are shot and this way we still retain B as a heat source.
1] retrofit furnace/water heater to direct vent through side wall and close off A.
2] buy new, direct-venting-to-side-wall furnace and either retrofit water heater to do same or tie into new furnace venting (if that's even possible.). close off A.
3] buy new combo gas furnace/water heater direct-venting-to-side-wall. close off A
4] divert B - woodburning insert - through A's pipe flue. will mean removing clay tiles for steel vent pipe of insert (or so we've been told). lose fireplace A which we don't want anyway. and allows B's fireplace flue pipe to be "dedicated" to the existing gas furnace/water heater.
know that we will need a new furnace sometime soon, but with everything we need to buy/have done on this project, would like a little breathing room, financially (still paying off roof from last summer)
thanks for any and all help!
eileen from OH
A] we have a 1st floor woodburner fireplace which is hideous and we want to remove.
B] have a basement woodburner fireplace which we'd like to keep as a heat source.
C] have a very old gas furnace and newer gas water heater.
unfortunately we only have TWO pipe flues. really - this has been confirmed repeated times. B & C share a pipe flue in the chimney which is the cause of the water damage/rust /deterioration of B's firebox (and other probs.) A's firebox & flue pipe are fine.
have had 6 WILDLY DIFFERENT proposed solutions & estimates.
after researching a lot (this board is GREAT) we've come up with some possible scenarios. advice, feasibility comments, additional ideas very welcome!
* All involve getting a gas or woodburning fireplace insert in B cuz the firebox/damper are shot and this way we still retain B as a heat source.
1] retrofit furnace/water heater to direct vent through side wall and close off A.
2] buy new, direct-venting-to-side-wall furnace and either retrofit water heater to do same or tie into new furnace venting (if that's even possible.). close off A.
3] buy new combo gas furnace/water heater direct-venting-to-side-wall. close off A
4] divert B - woodburning insert - through A's pipe flue. will mean removing clay tiles for steel vent pipe of insert (or so we've been told). lose fireplace A which we don't want anyway. and allows B's fireplace flue pipe to be "dedicated" to the existing gas furnace/water heater.
know that we will need a new furnace sometime soon, but with everything we need to buy/have done on this project, would like a little breathing room, financially (still paying off roof from last summer)
thanks for any and all help!
eileen from OH
hankhill6018
03-04-07, 04:59 AM
Sounds like you have a lot of food for thought there.
One thing I would stay away from is a shared vent or chimney for wood and gas appliances. Over time, the creosol buildup can prevent the exhaust from the gas appliances from venting properly.
That being said, one option is a new high efficiency condensing furnace. You can stay away from the chimney all together with these. They usually require nothing more than two pvc pipes (2 or 3 inch depending on furnace) coming out the sidewall of the house. If you were to change the water heater to a power vent type, one additional pipe would need to be added.
If you were to use chimney B for the gas appliances, get it inspected first. Regardless of the condition of it you may need to have a liner installed in it. If that were an option you would need gas burners appropriate to be vented into a chimney (as opposed to PVC).
I feel like I'm telling you every thing you described. It would be impossible to tell you which way to go without layouts of the chimneys, furnace and water heater. I'm sure there is a wide difference in prices.
What ever contractor you choose to go with, make sure you get references. If possible, in addition to the references, see if you can see the work that was done.
One thing I would stay away from is a shared vent or chimney for wood and gas appliances. Over time, the creosol buildup can prevent the exhaust from the gas appliances from venting properly.
That being said, one option is a new high efficiency condensing furnace. You can stay away from the chimney all together with these. They usually require nothing more than two pvc pipes (2 or 3 inch depending on furnace) coming out the sidewall of the house. If you were to change the water heater to a power vent type, one additional pipe would need to be added.
If you were to use chimney B for the gas appliances, get it inspected first. Regardless of the condition of it you may need to have a liner installed in it. If that were an option you would need gas burners appropriate to be vented into a chimney (as opposed to PVC).
I feel like I'm telling you every thing you described. It would be impossible to tell you which way to go without layouts of the chimneys, furnace and water heater. I'm sure there is a wide difference in prices.
What ever contractor you choose to go with, make sure you get references. If possible, in addition to the references, see if you can see the work that was done.
eileen from OH
03-10-07, 06:08 PM
we've decided to [gulp] by a new furnace - it's WAAAY old anyway - and get one that will vent out the wall. also will either retrofit current water heater [it's not old] to do same or buy that one new as well.
have found [finally!] achimney guy who isn't trying to rip us off, has good references, and will repair exterior of chimney and remove "The Beast" ["A"].
gonna wait - because we can - to fix the downstairs fireplace and get either a woodburning or pellet fireplace insert. gotta pay off all the other stuff first! [did i mention that we had the roof done last spring?]
thanks again.
eileen from OH
have found [finally!] achimney guy who isn't trying to rip us off, has good references, and will repair exterior of chimney and remove "The Beast" ["A"].
gonna wait - because we can - to fix the downstairs fireplace and get either a woodburning or pellet fireplace insert. gotta pay off all the other stuff first! [did i mention that we had the roof done last spring?]
thanks again.
eileen from OH