A neighbor of mine had a fire last night that caused extensive damage to his
house. They may total it.

Seems he came home from a month travel, and built a fire in a wood stove.
Not a good idea because there was time for bird to nest, and for other
reasons.

His is the same as mine, a double walled chimney pipe, about ten inches
diameter of the largest piece.

His ran from floor through a framed opening two stories up, then through the
ceiling, attic, and roof. Distance from ceiling to roof, approximately five
feet.

The stove had two pipes, one for a wood stove on each floor. Upon looking
at the framed vertical rectangular space around the two flues, it seemed
very small, with only about six inches clearance on the sides. At the time
of building, I'm sure it was code compliant. Not absolutely sure yet as to
what caused the flue to get so hot it ignited the framework.

I have a slightly similar situation, but my flue only goes through the roof
a distance of three feet, my pitch being less than his. I have the
sheetmetal standoffs (jacks, I think they're called) that go through the
ceiling and roof.

What else can I do to get up there and make sure that my framing and trusses
and roof are not getting too hot? Is there fireproof or fire retardant
sheeting that I can box in with as far out from the vertical flues as I can?
Is there special insulation wrap for the flues?

I'm going to go to a fireplace shop and ask for a pro to come look at it,
but wanted to get some slight idea of what is involved.

My insurance doubled this year upon installation of a wood burner, even
though all the measurements are within the limits set by stove manufacturer
and safety codes. I'd just like to give it a little extra margin of safety.

Thanks in advance.

Steve

SteveB wrote:

A neighbor of mine had a fire last night that caused extensive damage to his
house. They may total it.

Seems he came home from a month travel, and built a fire in a wood stove.
Not a good idea because there was time for bird to nest, and for other
reasons.

His is the same as mine, a double walled chimney pipe, about ten inches
diameter of the largest piece.

His ran from floor through a framed opening two stories up, then through the
ceiling, attic, and roof. Distance from ceiling to roof, approximately five
feet.

The stove had two pipes, one for a wood stove on each floor. Upon looking
at the framed vertical rectangular space around the two flues, it seemed
very small, with only about six inches clearance on the sides. At the time
of building, I'm sure it was code compliant. Not absolutely sure yet as to
what caused the flue to get so hot it ignited the framework.

I have a slightly similar situation, but my flue only goes through the roof
a distance of three feet, my pitch being less than his. I have the
sheetmetal standoffs (jacks, I think they're called) that go through the
ceiling and roof.

What else can I do to get up there and make sure that my framing and trusses
and roof are not getting too hot? Is there fireproof or fire retardant
sheeting that I can box in with as far out from the vertical flues as I can?
Is there special insulation wrap for the flues?

I'm going to go to a fireplace shop and ask for a pro to come look at it,
but wanted to get some slight idea of what is involved.

My insurance doubled this year upon installation of a wood burner, even
though all the measurements are within the limits set by stove manufacturer
and safety codes. I'd just like to give it a little extra margin of safety.

Thanks in advance.

Steve

One of the most critical things is having the correct chimney pipe, and
there are two basic types.

There is an air insulated double wall pipe that is used for gas
fireplaces and the like, just two galvanized steel pipes with air
between them which is normally vented at the ends to allow convection
cooling.

The chimney pipe used for a wood burning fireplace / stove is made of
stainless steel (at least the inner pipe is), and has an insulating
material between the pipes, not just air. Wood burners produce more
corrosive content in their exhaust, hence the SS, and significantly
higher temperatures.

Covering all surfaces close to the chimney pipe and stove with 5/8" type
X "fire code" sheetrock is one easy upgrade, though not always
cosmetically appealing. Placing another fire and heat resistant material
over the sheetrock, such as stainless sheet or tile can improve the
aesthetics.

Residential fire sprinkler systems are available as well, and in some
cases can be quite simple and inexpensive, i.e. a wet system with a
couple thermal sprinkler heads directly connected to the house city
water supply is very inexpensive compared to a commercial grade dry
system.

Asking your insurance company what upgrades would be acceptable to them
to lower your rates would certainly be appropriate, as would quoting
from other companies since they aren't all the same.

SteveB wrote:
A neighbor of mine had a fire last night that caused extensive damage to his
house. They may total it.

Seems he came home from a month travel, and built a fire in a wood stove.
Not a good idea because there was time for bird to nest, and for other
reasons.

His is the same as mine, a double walled chimney pipe, about ten inches
diameter of the largest piece.

His ran from floor through a framed opening two stories up, then through the
ceiling, attic, and roof. Distance from ceiling to roof, approximately five
feet.

The stove had two pipes, one for a wood stove on each floor. Upon looking
at the framed vertical rectangular space around the two flues, it seemed
very small, with only about six inches clearance on the sides. At the time
of building, I'm sure it was code compliant. Not absolutely sure yet as to
what caused the flue to get so hot it ignited the framework.

I have a slightly similar situation, but my flue only goes through the roof
a distance of three feet, my pitch being less than his. I have the
sheetmetal standoffs (jacks, I think they're called) that go through the
ceiling and roof.

What else can I do to get up there and make sure that my framing and trusses
and roof are not getting too hot? Is there fireproof or fire retardant
sheeting that I can box in with as far out from the vertical flues as I can?
Is there special insulation wrap for the flues?

I'm going to go to a fireplace shop and ask for a pro to come look at it,
but wanted to get some slight idea of what is involved.

My insurance doubled this year upon installation of a wood burner, even
though all the measurements are within the limits set by stove manufacturer
and safety codes. I'd just like to give it a little extra margin of safety.

Thanks in advance.

Steve



A properly built and maintained chimney/flue does not just get too hot
and one day start a fire. However a chimney fire will do that. At over
2000 deg. F it will severely damage and even melt metal flue pipes.
Heat can burn through or transfer enough heat through a brick and morter
chimney to start a fire in surrounding structure. The key is to prevent
chimney fires from happening in the first place by having the chimney
inspected and cleaned.
Google [chimney fire]. Here is one with photos:
http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/i...imneyfire.html

Kevin

"SteveB" wrote in message
...
A neighbor of mine had a fire last night that caused extensive damage to
his house. They may total it.

The stove had two pipes, one for a wood stove on each floor. Upon looking
at the framed vertical rectangular space around the two flues, it seemed
very small, with only about six inches clearance on the sides. At the
time of building, I'm sure it was code compliant. Not absolutely sure yet
as to what caused the flue to get so hot it ignited the framework.

If this pipe is single wall, the code is 18" from combustable walls and 24"
from a combustable ceiling. There is double wall stove pipe that can lower
clearances based on manufacturer testing. DuraVent is 6" to wall.


I have a slightly similar situation, but my flue only goes through the
roof a distance of three feet, my pitch being less than his.

The height requirement is 2 feet above ant point within ten feet, with a
three foot minumum penetration.

What else can I do to get up there and make sure that my framing and
trusses and roof are not getting too hot? Is there fireproof or fire
retardant sheeting that I can box in with as far out from the vertical
flues as I can? Is there special insulation wrap for the flues?

The Class A chimney normally has 2" clearance, this must be air. Do not
cover this area with anything, including insulation.


I'm going to go to a fireplace shop and ask for a pro to come look at it,
but wanted to get some slight idea of what is involved.

I suggest a certified chimney sweep. A listing can be found on this
industry site: http://www.csia.org

John Galbreath Jr.
www.FireLogs.com