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Martin Bonner

wrote:
You are joking, aren't you?

MBQ

Yer'Know .... I'd started to answer that posting , using almost the same
words, then; instead of hitting 'SEND' , I hit 'CANCEL' - thinking ;"they
must be joking!"
I suppose such people have the vote?

Erm, nope. I wasn't joking! (Although I admit it does sound a
particularly dense question!)

I lived in a house with a fake fireplace for 20 years, and for some
reason it just never occured to me that the chimney in our new house
was open to the elements.

OK, so I will open myself up to further abuse:
Why do we need a vent in the wall, as well as a chimney?

The chimney is to let smoke/fumes out. The vent is to let fresh air in
(so that smoke/fumes don't come into the room and poison you).

How do people stop precious heat escaping up the chimney in the winter?

They insert some sort of blanking plate. Don't make it too air-tight
(you want to keep the chimney ventilated), but reducing the cross
section of the chimney will help.

(Presuming we never / rarely have a fire in there)

DON'T forget to remove the plate before you light the fire!