| We understand that you are concerned about the smoke backing into your house
from the fireplace. We have written this letter to alleviate your concerns, and
provide you with information on the possible causes and solutions to your
problem. |
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| Your professionally installed fireplace system complies with the rigorous
specifications of BOCA, UL and the manufacturer. The fireplace and chimney have
been installed by our certified installers and has been inspected and approved
by the local building department. Typically, the fireplace can be eliminated as
a cause of the problem. |
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SO WHY IS THE FIREPLACE SMOKING?
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In a normal environment the heat generated by the fire will carry the smoke up
the chimney and out of the house. Today’s homes are designed to be totally
energy efficient and are built to restrict air loss. The air that leaves your
home through bathroom vents, kitchen exhaust fans, water heater, furnace flues
and other openings in the building envelope will cause the air pressure in your
home to be lower than the outside air pressure. Your home will actually draw air
down your chimney and out the fireplace in an attempt to balance the air
pressure. In order for a fire to burn and exhaust smoke properly, you will need
to overcome or eliminate the negative pressure. All new homes have a negative
pressure, but some design features such as cathedral ceilings with lofts,
skylight and recessed lighting will create a much larger negative pressure to
exist in your home. See through fireplaces are affected by other design
features. If the room sizes and ceiling heights of the two rooms that the
fireplace is in differ greatly, the flames and thus the smoke may be drawn to
the side with the largest volume and highest ceiling. See through fireplaces are
sometimes very difficult to operate without constant monitoring of the fire.
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| Here are a few simple steps which can help you start and maintain a fire in the
fireplace that does not vent smoke into your house. It may take a few fires to
determine which of these recommendations are effective in your home. |
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ELIMINATE ANY NEGATIVE PRESSURE WITHIN THE HOME:
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| 1. |
Turn off all vents or appliances which exhaust air to the outside.
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| 2. |
Open a window near the fireplace 3/4 of an inch.
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| 3. |
Open the flue and wait about two to three minutes for the warm air in the
house to begin to rise in the chimney. |
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| 4. |
Loosely crumple a piece of newspaper and light it while holding it as close
to the damper as possible. You will hear a low “rumbling” sound in the chimney
when a proper draft has been created. In really cold weather you may need to use
2 or 3 pieces of newspaper to get the draw established. |
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| 5. |
“Cross hatch” dry kindling and light it with newspaper. Once the kindling has
fully ignited, slowly add seasoned firewood starting with small pieces. Be sure
to stack the firewood in a cross hatched manner so that air can circulate
through the logs. It is critical that the logs are centered in the grate and
that they are totally confined to the grate area in a see through fireplace. |
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| 6. |
Once the logs have ignited open the outside air and close the glass doors.
Leave the doors closed for 30 minutes to fully heat the fireplace system. If you
notice water bubbling out of the ends of the logs or hear a hissing sound, your
firewood is not properly seasoned and it may cause the fireplace to “smoke”. If
this is the case, you should locate and use seasoned firewood and allow the wet
wood to season for a year. |
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| 7. |
Close the window. |
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| 8. |
Whenever you operate the glass doors make sure that both sides of the door
are fully open or closed. The doors in each room a see through fireplace opens
into must be in the same position, either fully open or closed. Partially opened
doors will alter air flow into a fireplace causing smoke to enter the room. See
through fireplaces operate much better with both doors closed. |
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| 9. |
Enjoy the warmth and beauty of your fireplace! |
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| We hope this answers your questions and concerns. If you require further
assistance, please contact us for a Service Authorization form. Upon its
receipt, we will contact you to schedule your appointment. |
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| Williams Panel Brick offers a complete selection of glass doors, tool sets, gas
logs and other fireplace accessories. As a fireplace customer, we want to
provide you with a discount for your next purchase. Please see a Williams Panel
Brick representative for details. |
