ceiling dripping from where fireplace was

My fireplace was removed several years ago.

Now there’s a 15 inch wide line where rain drips onto my living room floor. Three wet spots have since surfaced.

The administration has suggested we rip into the ceiling to assess the source of the leak.

Can this be done from the roof instead?

venting a wood burning fireplace

Do I need a traditional brick chimney to vent a wood burning fireplace? I just bought a house with no chimney and want to install a fireplace. Is this possible?

Rotten Brick

My girlfriend and I are renovating a rather old (70+ years) house, and in doing so we’ve uncovered the masonry chimney that is now being used for the oil furnace.

From the roof up this chimney looks brand new, and in the attic it looks ok, but on the upper floor of our home the brick is damaged with some bricks seeming like little more than well packed sand.

We had a local mason take a look and he seemed to think coating the chimney in concrete would be enough to fix it up, but I’m worried about the structural integrity of the chimney.  Our plan for this house is to renovate it and sell, and I’d hate to have something happen to whomever buys the chimney because we did an inadequate job of repairing this damage.

Soot on ceiling and walls

Over the past several years, I have noticed these “shadows” on my ceiling. 

We noticed that they were mostly located along the outside wall of the living room.  Over time, they grew. 

Last spring, in preparation for a graduation party, we took everything off the walls in all rooms to paint. 

To our horror, we had soot everywhere.  Even in the back bedrooms.  We use our wood burning fireplace a lot.  I am afraid to use it now.  We have it cleaned often by a local chimney sweep.  The fireplace must have a vent issue.  We have also noticed a smokey smell in the house when we are burning wood. 

Hopefully someone will be able to fix the problem.

multiburning stove

i have a multistove in my sunroom the flue is taken through the wall and then up outside with an insulated pipe.

When we light the stove, we have backpuffs. Sometimes it is fine; other days it keeps putting puffs of smoke into room.

Tonight, it was really bad and we had to open all the windows and let it go out.

Would it help if we extended the flue or put on an H type top

Russian Fireplace - is it safe?

I recently moved into a rental home in the New England area.  In the home was what I was told was a Russian Fireplace (and google search of the term seems to confirm that). 

I am learning the workings of this thing through the internet, and at this point a couple things don’t seem right. 

1) All the hatches for the clean-outs are are mortered over and 2) I cannot move what I’m pretty sure is the damper (flat metal sheet with wooden handle, higher up). 

The house burnt down about 15 years ago because of a fire related to the chimney/fireplace (details not provided to me from landlord), and the chimney was possibly altered during the rebuild into another type while retaining it’s general look.  Landlord is son of recently deceased previous owner and supposedly has no info on fireplace. 

So, I’m particularly cautious about this. 

Questions: 1) Is there anything I can do to inspect this thing? 2) Would a general chimney sweep company be someone who could inspect it for me? If not, then who?  3) Anything specific to look for assuming this is a true russian fireplace.  Thanks in advance for replies.  I can post pictures if that would help.

Outdoor Fireplace Smoke

Hello,
My Outdoor Fireplace will smoke at the top of the firebox. I believe a Smoke Guard may fix the problem. I could extend the flue. Will extending the flue help fix the problem?
Thanks,
jim

Damper replacement

I need to replace my damper, as it’s rusted and will not fully close.  Where can I find a replacement, and is this something that a home owner can do himself?  What about purchasing and installing a chimney cap? 

If needs to be done professionally, what is typical price and longevity of the product?

Environmental safety issues

What about recent concern that smoke from a fireplace and from a cigarette are similar?  The literature says that the particulate matter in wood smoke is so small that windows and doors cannot keep it out—even the newer energy-efficient weather-tight homes cannot keep out wood smoke.

The EPA estimates that a single fireplace operating for an hour and burning 10 pounds of wood will generate 4,300 times more PAHs than 30 cigarettes. 

Does my Onyx 2 fireplace have features that keep it safe to use?
Thanks for your help.

Trying to identify this old stove.

I bought this stove from and old guy. he sandblasted it and painted it but I am not sure the coler is what it was. There are some parts I would like to buy and most I can make if I just see what they look like. Any help? I have more pictures if you want them but I think that one of the front will tell a story. Thanks and look forward to your reply Ted