Fireplace Safety

[It's me]

I wouldn't use the fireplace unless the chimney has been inspected fairly recently.

A crack in a flue tile + chimney fire = house fire.


Someone I am acquainted with (sorry for the intentional vagueness) had a standalone stove with a metal chimney and he would let the creosote build up to the point it caught fire. He figured a chimney fire was a good way to clean out the build up. Until one time the chimney fire burned through a thin spot and the entire house burned down. Idiot.

[Chromatix]

If there's a foot of tiles in front of the fireplace, then that's just about enough room to set up a proper fireguard in. There's two main kinds of fireguard I've seen:

1) the foldng type, which you need to set up in a zigzag pattern to that it stands up

2) the rigid type, which would basically fit around the edge of the tiled area.

Both need to be made of something that doesn't burn if when fuel or sparks fall on them. Metal is good, cloth definitely isn't, plastic would melt in the heat.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

http://www.dulley.com/firepl/ffirepl.shtml
seems like it covers a wide range of bases-- but it has advice on wood, safety and even has pictures of the layout of a fireplace.
... also, ashes are a pain in the ass to get out of carpet. the hearth is your friend-- buffer for ashes, place to put hot fireplace tools, place to put things to dry out/get warm... the like.
Maybe RecoveringKinkoid can give more pointers, I know she has and uses fireplaces regularly.

[Mikkel]

Oak, beech or ash are the best woods for fireplaces. It looks like there is a metal mesh to pull in front of the fireplace to catch sparks. It will probably stop most.
Get a sweep to inspect the chimney before you burn anything there, it should be inspected and swept every year if used.
I found this list when I googled firewood and California, some of them may deliver. Do you have room for storing wood? Storing much in the living room will probably please your cats but not you, there will be critters living in the wood.

[KiaKat]

Quick note: Your fireplace may not be good for heating.

It's a very shallow basin, and although I can't really see inside too well, it looks like it's lined with a relatively non-reflective coating. Fireplaces intended for heating rooms or houses tend to be quite large, with deep backs and heat-reflective linings like stone or certain types of treated brick. Yours will put off a lot of light, and a bit of heat, but in the end it won't be much good for keeping warm in the winter.

Then again, you're in Cali. I'm basing my info off the fireplaces in NH houses. For all I know, that's all you need in the winter.

[xx_wolfie_xx]

Also, take into account the size of the area she is heating kia, Whiskey is only heating a small apartment.

[Whiskey]

Fireplaces intended for heating rooms or houses tend to be quite large, with deep backs and heat-reflective linings like stone or certain types of treated brick. Yours will put off a lot of light, and a bit of heat, but in the end it won't be much good for keeping warm in the winter.

my apartment is like 650sqft. Not to mention, it probably won't go below ~50 degrees here. It also costs 80$/month just for this apartment to exist. Thats if i never turned on the lights, used the air/heat, or had anything besides the fridge plugged in.

[Seshat]

You're in California, so you also have access to Eucalypts. Here, we burn redgum fairly often as fireplace wood.

I second the 'get an inspection' or 'have your apartment staff arrange an inspection'. It's part of the amenities provided, they're responsible for ensuring it's safe.

I'd go for a glass or metal firescreen. The purpose of the screen is to prevent sparks that fly out from the fireplace from landing on the carpet or anything else burnable.

Cleaning the fireplace is a bit of a sucky job. Dustpan and brush and some sort of bag. Brush the ashes onto the dustpan, pick out the unburned wood that's big enough for tinder, tip the rest into the bag. Repeat until there's only tinder. Build the next fire. Dump the bag of ashes into the bin - or if your garden soil is acid or you don't mind it becoming alkaline, into the garden. Or into the compost heap.

[Magpie]

Whiskey, I'm with KiaKat. That fireplace isn't going to heat your apartment. In fact, it might make it colder. What happens is that a lot of the energy you get from burning the wood is used to burn more wood (rather than to heat the air). The air that does get heated goes up the chimney. Where it gets tricky, is that because the air is rushing up the chimney, more air is needed to take its space. In terms of the fire, this air is drawn from the room. Your room now needs more air, and it ends up getting drawn in from outside.

To put it in perspective: a fireplace like that will go through 3-4 cubic feet of wood in an evening. It will make the room that you're in warmer (and you'll feel really warm if you're in that room), and the rest of the apartment will be as cold as the thermostat lets it get. That much wood would last an entire day in an airtight wood stove, and would actually heat the place.

Let me know if I was too technical/not technical enough with my explanation and I can modify it.

[lordlundar]

To start off with, that's a largely decorative fireplace. Yes, you said it works, but it's not really designed to heat a place so much as look pretty. A small period to see if it's actually doing the job would be a good idea.

BIG FREAKING HUGE NOTE: Most laws require a fire extinguisher nearby in case the fire gets out of control. Regardless of how careful you are, make sure you have one. No, I don't care that there's one in the hallway, that's too far. Have one nearby.

Step one: Get it inspected and cleaned. An inspector will tell you of any problems and recommendations. Listen and follow to what he tells you. Because he's not saying it to feel good about himself. Don't forget, California is known for shifting earth, so if he says it's shifted, don't light it. If he gives an all cler, don't use a cleaning log to clean it on a first time. Get it professionally done. Those cleaning logs are made for fireplaces with regular use and dust can cause more trouble than it solves.

Step two: Get proper wood. Avoid softwood (evergreens) and pressure treated. The former smells bad when it burns and the latter is toxic. Hardwoods are plentiful in your area and depending on the specific location, cedar or redwood are ideal. They have the added benefit of taking a lot longer to burn so it comes out cheaper overall. Lumberyards and furniture shops are ideal places, though he former if they run a side business selling the scraps usually charge by the chord which is a pretty large supply of wood. A number of places just allow you to haul out an amount you want for free, so ask around.

Step three: Learn to build a proper fire. Before you actually build a fire, have something nearby to smother it first. A bucket of sand is usually the best choice for an indoor fire, as it doesn't stir up the ashes too much. Now anyone can build a fire, but a smart person builds it right. Split some pieces into thin strips. That will be your kindling. Now place your large pieces as far back as you can, with some air between the pieces. Then place your kindling in and around the large pieces. Finally place your paper below the kindling. The idea is to light the paper, which which will ignite the kindling, which will then ignite the large pieces. Once the large pieces light, all you need to do is stoke the fire with more large pieces as you see fit.

Hope this helps.

[Sonoma]

Another option, if you're not comfortable w/ a full fire in the fireplace...burn candles in it. My friend didn't want to deal with the risk & mess of a full fire in her apartment fireplace, so she got a candle-holder that holds multiple pillar candles. It still emits light, and gives the effect, and is much easier to clean up, plus no risk from sparks. Still have to keep the kitties away, though.

[Whiskey]

To put it in perspective: a fireplace like that will go through 3-4 cubic feet of wood in an evening. It will make the room that you're in warmer

Thats all I want it for. I have blankets and socks for my bedroom. I sleep in my living room more than I do my bedroom. I found out I can get free wood from my aunt who has a fireplace and burns regularly. yay.

I wore a light jacket and flip flops all last winter, i think i'll survive my bedroom being moderately chilly.

[Magpie]

I wore a light jacket and flip flops all last winter, i think i'll survive my bedroom being moderately chilly.

So I take it that you don't have thermostatically controlled heat? I know that most apartments here you can't turn the heat below a certain point. However, we have a season known as "winter", which makes heat more necessary.

[Whiskey]

So I take it that you don't have thermostatically controlled heat? I know that most apartments here you can't turn the heat below a certain point.

i dont even know what youre referring to? i just turn the heat on if i need it and it goes.

[zombiequeen]

If you're in an area where it gets below freezing, or even below zero, the thermostats tend to have a thing that prevents the heat from being shut off, so granny save-a-penny doesn't turn the heat off and turn into a granny-sicle. It's happened so many times out here in Michigan I think apartments all have special thermostats now.