"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
"komobu"

Purchased a rental home with a fireplace. There was a piece of steel
closing off the chimney. I removed the piece of steel and discovered
that there is no throat damper. Could I just install a top damper on
the top of the chimney? Do I need the throat damper?

I saw on Ask This Old House where they retrofitted a chimney with a cap
that was spring loaded. You may find more information at the ATOH web
page as they have videos of their projects.

Also for Pat (missed first message, sorry) have it inspected before use. A
missing damper is one of the signs of a water damaged fireplace (rusted out)
so it *may* not be safe to use. If the folks who rented the place don't
know much other than 'looks like a fireplace' they may not know better.
It's probably ok, but you do not want to catch fire and have to evacuate and
lose all your stuff.