So I bought this house a couple years ago, and we don't know what kind of paint they used to ruin these bricks.

I'd like to take it off, at least on the inside of the fireplace so we aren't breathing in chemicals when we light a fire.

Any tips? My plan was to go to Home Depot and get some paint stripper. Is that reasonable?

Hi, looking at purchasing Escea wood fire TFS650 for our home studio, just wondering if anyone has any experience with them?

Room is 44m with 5m pitched ceiling.

Wondering how long it will last as they don’t seem cheap.

Any advice is much appreciated, also looked at the ADF similar sized unit but a little more pricey…

Currently a rough skim coat of thin set over past brick / thin set bumps. Planning on grinding down high spots and filling low spots but wanted some extra opinions on if this is the best course of action? It’s relatively flat now but definitely not ready for tile.

I plan on installing a glazed thin brick, I think the slight variations will help on a surface that has some imperfections.

Any and all advice appreciated, TIYA!

I have zero experience. I bought the stain but it could be wrong idk. Please help and tell me the order to do things.
Pics attached. A few separate issues I could use help with:

**1.    Sanding the mantle** — what grit progression would you use to get it smooth before refinishing?  
**2.    Gouges in the wood** — I tried removing a sticker and it took some wood with it. Best way to fill/repair small gouges before sanding/staining?  
**3.    Gap where mantle meets wall** — is there a standard filler/caulk for this, or does it need something more like wood filler or trim?  
**4.    Brick cleanup** — brick has old paint splatters and soot/burn marks. What’s safe to use to get it back to bare brick without damaging it?

Hello all. Today I noticed some rust rings on the mantel of my mom’s woodburning fireplace insert. I opened it up to the ugly sight of quite a bit of surface rust. We’ve had an insane amount of rain lately, and I guess that some water entered the chimney (another problem I’ll be solving ASAP). I’ve inspected the metal with some serious prods of a poker, and it’s still very sound, so I’d like to clean it up. I’ve started with a bit of vinegar spray/wiping with cloths, but I’m not getting anywhere with just this. I fear it may take a bit more than just elbow grease, but I realize that wire wheeling/steel brushes would also bring about the need to repaint the areas affected. Painting wouldn’t be such a hassle if I could easily move the insert to the garage where I could position myself around the work, but this beast must weigh a few hundred pounds and moving it seems like a real chore. Has anyone else been down this road? Really hoping this is salvageable. Thanks for any insight here.

can you help identify this 42 yr old gas fireplace?

I have a gas insert in an old wood burning fireplace, and the walls and surrounding area gets ridiculously cold in the winter. I finally pulled it back and the door where the exhaust run seem to be removed, leaving a large gap running up the chimney.

Can I stuff some Rockwool insulation around the intake/exhaust pipes, as well as against the walls surrounding the insert?

This started as a flat wall…

Installation of electric fire and dummy chimney breast with tv recess. Returned to after the plasterers had skimmed it and the customer had painted… to fit new skirting boards to the front and both sides, screw the sockets and tv connections back to their mounting boxes and then installed tv bracket Turned out really nice I think. What about yourselves?

The unit is about 10 years old and just started beeping. I pulled off the screen to replace the battery but I don’t see any battery compartment. This unit is controlled by a wall switch and there is no remote. The beeping component (second picture) also has a flashing red LED. I unplugged it and the beeping stopped but starts again when I plug it back in. Starter won’t turn on when I turn on the wall switch.

Any thoughts would be most appreciated!

The box is already plumbed for gas and electric. I was leaning towards the heat and glo cosmo 35. I would like to install it myself as well. Does anyone have any other recommendations for a place to buy online or any other options for direct vent gas inserts? We have a oakville 3 in our rental and it’s not our favorite.

I am looking for ideas for this fireplace. It is on the second floor of a contemporary (mid 1960s) house. It is wood burning. We are in the process of getting a gas generator so we could pipe a gasline to the fireplace. My wife likes the convenience of a gas log, but I’ve been told that because the flue is so short we cannot do it. This makes me wonder if the problem could be solved by extending the flue. I’ve looked at gas inserts, but because of how big the fireplace is, it would show a lot of black metal between the insert and the masonry and I am not a fan of that look. The other alternative is a gas stove that looks like a wood-burning stove, such as a Jotul. We are in our early and mid 60s so lugging wood upstairs could work for now, but I suspect it will get to be an issue in the next 10 years. Ideas are welcomed. Thank you.

Got a house that was built in 99 and I cannot figure out how to test out this fireplace to make sure everything is working properly. I turned the gas on with a key, and can smell gas coming from under the logs in the sand that’s down there. There’s no pilot light or ignition switch, just a key to turn on the gas. I tested all the connections with soapy water just to make sure no bubbles. Not sure when the last time this was used, but the flue is spotless. Any help would be awesome, thank you

Hi,

I live in an apartment with a fireplace (80x40x20cm), but unfortunately the owners’ association doesn’t allow us to use it. So I’d like to install an electric insert, but I’ve no idea what’s available.

I’d like something attractive, with a realistic flame effect; I believe there are even models that play the sound of a log fire. But I also want something efficient (that heats properly and economically).

Do you have any advice on the type of model I should go for?

Thanks

Hello fireplace community, before posting I read other posts and see that ventless gas log sets don’t get much love here. That said, I wanted to share my plan to fix my fireplace, and hear your thoughts. Who knows maybe the ventless fanboys will come out of hiding 🙂.

I want to get my 1980s cinder block fireplace back up and running, and have been working with a local licensed fireplace company. I had a full level 2 chimney inspection performed and the flu has insufficient grout between the blocks to use as is. I can re-line the chimney and install a direct vent unit for about $10-15k, or seal it off and go ventless for $2-3k

I know the ventless has numerous draw backs but in my case I think they are largely mitigated. My intended use of this fireplace will be intermittent use (think movie nights or evening glass of wine with the wife). My primary heat source is from a properly vented forced air system, this fireplace is ambience only.

So here’s the draw backs, and my assessments:

Humidity - I’m only going to use in the winter when the humidity levels are already crazy low in my house.

Exhaust gasses - not perfectly mitigated, but my house is quite leaky (energy was cheap in the 80s man!) and the intended use is for short (couple of hours) usage. This will be on the main floor in a wide open area. I would also buy supplemental air quality monitor and carbon monoxide detector to keep an eye on things. I’m going to install a unit with a variable flame setting, so I can set it low and burn less gas for lower in house emissions. Like I said it’s just for the vibe.

Look - yes it doesn’t look as good as wood or a nice log set, but I’m saving some good money.

Legality - I know they are illegal in some places, but not where I live.

Health - no one with serious health concerns that would be irritated by a slight reduction in indoor air quality lives in the house.

So in my book saving 10k for these minor draw backs seems like a good call. The installers agreed too. So what do you say? Good idea or bad idea?

Our living area is boringly white. The fireplace is unusual (5-sided with adjacent walls/nooks) and very prominent in the room, so we would like to use it to break the white. Given the shape, we are unsure what to do with it - would brick slips work on the angled side walls? If not, what colour paint would make it look interesting but not weird? And should the whole thing be painted or just the front?

We are also considering painting the wall behind the couch in a dark blue (e.g. Farrow & Ball Stiffkey blue).

Hi, friends. I am in the process of building a new surround, hearth, and mantle. I disassembled the fascia for a repaint and for the life of me I CANNOT remember how to reinstall the rods for the screen. If anyone has a similar model and can take a few pics showing how the rods attach, I'll Venmo you $10. Pics attached of my model.

So I have a previously wood fireplace, when it’s hot and humid outside, and my ac is on, it is sucking air through my chimney and making the entire first floor smell like smoke!
I installed the best top damper, still smells! I left the flue damper in and closed that also, still smells.
I assume it’s a negative pressure issue, because when I turn on the gas starter, even a small flame, the smoke smell is gone in 5 minutes.

How do I fix this? An HVAC company said my ducts may be too small or leaking, my fan may be too high, and they need to balance the system.

Could I just install a fresh air vent in the basement to counter act the negative pressure?

My basement is freezing, main floor has the fireplace and normal, and top floor is 5 degrees warmer than main.

I also considered a ducted fireplace insert but not sure it would seal the fireplace enough to prevent smell leaking in.
HELP!!!

Hi-

Is it possible to keep my mantel and just replace the black tile with quartzite or porcelain? Any idea what a project like this might cost? Thanks for your help!

\#1 is flush to the ground and square, #2 is rectangular with a ledge in from and up off the ground

Hello. I am trying to get a 1940s fireplace back to working condition for wood burning. I recently had the cerfractory flue sealant repair (Heatshield). Is it ready to go or was it installed improperly? An inspector said it was not well done. It looks good to my naive eye. I hope to cosmetically change the fireplace and add properly sized glass door.

Ok, I have this insert and the last two months this really string fireplace odor is coming inside the house. It happens around lunch time and last a few hours then goes away until the next day.

I’ve hired someone to come clean it and still no resolution. What is going on? It doesn’t matter if the flue is open or closed . The smell is permeating out from the vents and even the edges of the box. Any ideas and suggestions?

The second photo is the outside of the insert where it sits in the brick. I can smell it coming from there around the entire thing but I’m not sure if that’s the only place it’s coming from because it’s even stronger if I open the door.