Hi:

We have a house built in 1925, and it has a small wood-burning
fireplace. Shortly after we moved in I had a metal liner installed in
the water heater/furnace flue. The fireplace flue was not treated. We
had some wood fires, and had a problem with smoke rolling out the front
of the firebox into the living room. After some research I purchased a
smoke guard from http://chimneykeepers.com/ It worked pretty well by
reducing the size of the opening, and we had a handful of fires again.
However, after a while we noticed a smoky smell in the upstairs bedroom
(just above the fireplace). We have had about 6-8 contractors look at
this and almost all of them have suggested less-than-ideal solutions:
A wood stove, a gas fireplace, a metal liner (which I think would
reduce our already small flue too much.) Our flue is 8X8 with a 36W X
30H firebox opening. Someone suggested a product called Chamber Tech
from a company named AHRENS, but they don't have a dealer in my area.
And besides I think that product is just made for the bottom of the
chimney, not the whole flue. Does anyone have any thoughts,
experience, suggestions for me? Thanks in advance!

--Mike