Need help with fireplace smoking

[35remington]

We are having a problem with the house always smelling like a BBQ joint. Trust me, I'd use it as cologne if I could but SWMBO does not approve.

House was built in the '70s. Original fireplace. I had it professionally cleaned for $100 maybe a year ago. They took the top cap off and used some a brush/hose connected to a DeWalt. Said it was pretty dirty. We have a lot of fires, and I use mainly oak. When the fire is just getting started it is not uncommon for smoke to come out of the fireplace instead of going up the flue. The vent is definitely all the way open.

Thoughts? Places to start looking for problems? Love the fireplace but don't want all my furniture to smell like burned wood.

[DNTRanch]

The Chimney may need to be raised to get a good draft

[CabezaBlanca]

I had the same problem in my old house. The chimney was lower than the roof peak. It had to have a roaring hot fire so it would draft right but that made it to hot in the living room. I eventually just quit using it.

[Dale Moser]

You'll have to add length to the top of the flue.

How wide is the opening into the living room? Should be 36" or 42"

[hog_down]

Crack a door/window and see if it helps the smoke go up the chimney.

[44mAG]

We had the same problem when we moved into our house. We had a 2ft riser attached to the top of the chimney, as well as made the opening into the house smaller by attaching a 4" or so piece of metal across the top. I believe making the hole smaller on the inside is what did the trick, as it creates a smaller space, which in turn creates greater draft, not allowing smoke to roll out. At the end of the day, you aren't getting the draft you need. You just have to find out what is causing it in your specific case.

[mastercraftka]

both responses could be spot on you just need to check. One thing you need to do when first starting a fire is to make sure you get it drafting right away. If you start with a small little flame you will get smoke back in the house and then if the Heater comes on it will draw air down the chimney.

What I do when I have a cold chimney is use lighter fluid and get a big flame right away to get the draft going. if you don't like that get a stack of newspaper and let it flame up real big as your fire under the wood is starting.

Key is heating up the chimney fast and not slow.

[pyrobow]

Not unusual for a fire brick fire place to smoke the first couple of minutes, until the heat gets a good draft started. Start your fire at the back of the box until it warms up a little. That should take up the start up smoke.

If you house is sealed up good that will cause it to smoke a little. 70's houses are not usually sealed that tight but you might try a slight opening of a window to relieve the vacuum created by a sealed house.

The rule of thumb on chimney height is 2' above the peak or 2' above the closest roof structure within 10' level. This can vary because of trees of terrain around the house

[Casey]

How much of a "lip" does the opening have at the top? The smoke will roll in the top of the fireplace before going up the chimney. I had to have a fireplace rebuilt due to termites once. When the guy was finished it looked fantastic. We had replaced the original brick with limestone and we had this gigantic opening now. He had failed to leave an overhang large enough at the top and when I started the first fire, smoke billowed out of the fireplace into the living room. He came back and cut the stone, installed a new lintel and a short row of limestone at the top of the opening. Worked fine after that.

[dustoffer]

I had the same problem in my old house. The chimney was lower than the roof peak. It had to have a roaring hot fire so it would draft right but that made it to hot in the living room. I eventually just quit using it.

Yep--neighbor behind me had to add about 12-15 rows of brick to his chimney--easy to tell as the new bricks don't match the old exactly.

This too--"What I do when I have a cold chimney is use lighter fluid and get a big flame right away to get the draft going. if you don't like that get a stack of newspaper and let it flame up real big as your fire under the wood is starting."

I use my woodworking plane to cut curls off a piece of cedar fence board and use it to get things going---no big pieces at first, just the cedar shavings, sticks and twigs from the yard (I have 15 or so trees on our lot) and make sure the pile is as far back in the fireplace as I can.

[Dale Moser]

Everyone so far is at least a little bit right.

If your fireplace is a real masonry (made out of fire brick with a smoke shelf and steel damper) then it will have clay flue tile chimney liner. If the opening is 36" those flue tiles should be 13"X13", if it's 42" they should be 13"X17". In Wilco you will probably have to get them from Acme. I have stacked them on top before and secured with Liquid Nails Const. Adhesive. Need to establish that that is the type FP you have first though.

[35remington]

Dang y'all are chimney gurus!! Thanks for the suggestions so far. I will take measurements when I get home.

Here's how it looks from the outside.

[Dale Moser]

Looks like 13X13 flue, I'd buy 2 flue tile (that will raise it 2'") and stack them on, and see what happens. Truth is, it may never draw well with a cold clue. There's no need to go up any more with the rock.


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[mikemorvan]

As stated, you need more flue pipe. In your case, top of flue should be 2' above peak of gable / roof.

[brokeno]

You either need to lower your roof about 2 feet or raise your chimney about 2 feet.