Hello, my home was built custom in the early 70's. There's a full masonry chimney on the outside of the home. Inside there are two gas fireplaces (Main level and basement) that are quite dated, one with a malfunctioning fan.
I'm not a huge fan of gas and would love to convert the main level to a wood burning fireplace. I understand that, that would be a much easier job if the chimney had previously been wood burning.
Prior to bringing someone in to check, are there any tell tale signs that the chimney was previously wood burning? Ie: Does a masonry chimney suggest that they may have been wood burning at one point? Or could that purely be for aesthetic and to house the venting for the gas?
Thanks for any help
Concerning whether or not you had an existing wood burning fireplace before the gas units were installed is very hard to determine without visual inspection. I strongly suggest you call a trusted Pro contractor who deals with fireplace installation so they can determine your question on site. If you were in Calgary Alberta I could have this checked for you relatively easily.
It's a 50/50 guess without seeing it first-hand unfortunately. Again all it takes is a phone call to the right contractor to determine if it's suitable for a wood burning fireplace.
Thanks, makes sense.
I didn't want to waste anyone's time if there was a simple way of doing it.
I'll get someone to come out.
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