# Loud banging in stove pipe, chimney fire?



## Dug8498 (Oct 31, 2018)

Slightly embarrassed to ask this, but I'd like some feedback.... was watching TV with the wife and heard a loud banging coming from above us. We heard a total of maybe 4-5 loud bangs over the span of 5-10 min. It startled us both and I want outside to see if a tree branch had landed on the house or something. After finding nothing I am thinking it must have been the stove pipe. Did I have a chimney fire? There was no jet engine wooshing sound that others have talked about.

When I was outside, I didn't see anything crazy coming from out of my stack, just normal minimal white smoke. stove temps were around 650 and magnetic flue thermometer was reading high, close to maxed out, flue damper was completely closed. So I'm not sure how I was getting temps that high with damper completely closed and air about 1/8 open. 

I burned wet wood last winter for about 3 months as that's all I had access to so I'm sure I had some creosote buildup. I have a chimney sweep scheduled to come in two days but I have a feeling it'll be rescheduled out a week or two due to rain in the forecast. I was hoping to not burn before the sweep came, but it's been cold so I figured I could get away with doing a few fires.

New stainless steel 6" liner was installed last November. Should I hold off on burning until I can get it swept and inspected? I plan on doing a visual inspection of the liner today when I get home from work. Any suggestions on what to look for?


----------



## weatherguy (Oct 31, 2018)

Was it windy out? Maybe a branch banging


----------



## Dug8498 (Oct 31, 2018)

weatherguy said:


> Was it windy out? Maybe a branch banging



It was a bit windy but nothing crazy, but I walked all around the house and didn't see any evidence of that. We don't have any trees overhanging the house, so I'm not sure how that would have happened.


----------



## begreen (Oct 31, 2018)

Was the fire banked down quite a bit? Is it possible the sound came from the stove? How dry is the wood this year?


----------



## Dug8498 (Oct 31, 2018)

begreen said:


> Was the fire banked down quite a bit? Is it possible the sound came from the stove?


Begreen,

The fire was cranking pretty good. What does banked down quite a bit mean? The air was open maybe 1/8th and the flu damper was and had been completely closed for a while. I had just thrown in a bunch of splits 

It definitely wasn't the stove. I'm not sure what my Jotul F118 is made of, but it makes all sorts of noise when it's heating up. This sounded like it came from higher up in the stove pipe. I am concerned because i went on the CSIA website (https://www.csia.org/chimneyfires.html) and it mentions "loud cracking or popping noise" as one of the indicators. That's how I would describe this. Not the normal crackling/expanding contracting noises I will hear from the stove and the stove pipe immediately off of the stove.


----------



## Ludlow (Oct 31, 2018)

The hot temps could have made the liner expand and bang off the side of the chimney maybe?


----------



## begreen (Oct 31, 2018)

OK, what I was wondering was if there was a delayed combustion of unburnt wood gases. If wood is not well seasoned and the air is closed down too much, the flames can go out for a moment, but the wood is still hot and off-gassing (smoking). Eventually a flame reignites on the wood and when it does it ignites all the unburnt wood gases. This causes a mini-explosion or puffback. That is just a guess.

Moving thread to the Classics Forum for the F118.


----------



## charger4406 (Oct 31, 2018)

I've had a chimney fire a couple of times. and the sound they made was like a constant freight train roaring through the pipe,
never had any loud banging, if you hear it again just go out and look at the top chimney, if it's a fire you should see
flames out the top.


----------



## Ludlow (Oct 31, 2018)

A backfire (not unlike a lawnmower) in essence?


----------



## Dug8498 (Oct 31, 2018)

begreen said:


> OK, what I was wondering was if there was a delayed combustion of unburnt wood gases. If wood is not well seasoned and the air is closed down too much, the flames can go out for a moment, but the wood is still hot an off gassing (smoking). Eventually the flame reignites on the wood and when it does it ignites all the unburnt wood gases. This causes a mini-explosion or puffback. That is just a guess.
> 
> Moving thread to the Classics Forum for the F118.


Whoops, sorry put this in the wrong spot. 

It's a possibility, but I do know my wood all measures 22% or below (most splits measure around 17%) and isn't hissing or smoking at all as my wood did last winter. Definitely a possibility though. If this noise did come from the stove pipe should I be worried? Can I continue to burn if all passes a quick visual inspection later and the liner doesn't look warped etc?


----------



## Dug8498 (Oct 31, 2018)

Ludlow said:


> A backfire (not unlike a lawnmower) in essence?


Exactly. Loud. Bang.


----------



## begreen (Oct 31, 2018)

Like I said, just a guess. If the sweep finds no issues it should be ok to burn. How long has the liner been in and was the chimney completely and thoroughly cleaned before it was installed?


----------



## Dug8498 (Oct 31, 2018)

charger4406 said:


> I've had a chimney fire a couple of times. and the sound they made was like a constant freight train roaring through the pipe,
> never had any loud banging, if you hear it again just go out and look at the top chimney, if it's a fire you should see
> flames out the top.


Appreciate your input. I was asking as I showed very hot flue flue temps and heard the banging, but I didn't see any of the other tell tale signs of an overfire like glowing pipes, the roaring, flames out the top etc. My chimney cap looks fine, from what I can tell from the ground. I dont love heights, but I'm considering sucking it up and climbing up there


----------



## begreen (Oct 31, 2018)

What kind of flue temps and how are they being measured (surface or probe thermometer?)


----------



## Dug8498 (Oct 31, 2018)

begreen said:


> Like I said, just a guess. If the sweep finds no issues it should be ok to burn. How long has the liner been in and was the chimney completely and thoroughly cleaned before it was installed?



So we bought this house in January. The previous owner was required as part of the sale to have a sweep come out and inspect everything. The sweep found that the liner was "warped due to chimney fire". They installed a brand new stainless steel 6" liner in late November (the sale took another few months to complete). I unfortunately don't know if it was cleaned before it was installed as I wasn't there for that. I hope so! 

Alright, I was hoping to not have to wait for the sweep to come as that may be another week; all sweeps are booked up right now. Thanks!


----------



## begreen (Oct 31, 2018)

If the flue temps are excessively hot something is not right. Is there a key damper on the stove pipe? Here is another wild guess. Creosote flakes have dropped down to the bottom of the tee (at the thimble) and collected. Excessively hot flue gases are causing them to smolder and eventually ignite.


----------



## Dug8498 (Oct 31, 2018)

begreen said:


> What kind of flue temps and how are they being measured (surface or probe thermometer?)


It's a single wall pipe coming off of my stove so I have a magnetic flu thermometer (can I put a probe thermometer on single wall pipe?)

Usually the flue temps will stay consistent around 350-400. However, sometimes, if I have the air open even a little too much things start to get a little out of control and the flue probe will be pegged at the max (which I believe is 800-900) until I close the air down even more and the flue probe will go back to reading 350-400. It was during one of these times it was maxed out that this happened. This is maxed out with the damper completely closed

I checked the gasket as mentioned on a previous thread and it seems fine. If i shut the air off, the flames go right out and I pretty much create a backdraft when I open the door.


----------



## Dug8498 (Oct 31, 2018)

begreen said:


> If the flue temps are excessively hot something is not right. Is there a key damper on the stove pipe? Here is another wild guess. Creosote flakes have dropped down to the bottom of the tee (at the thimble) and collected. Excessively hot flue gases are causing them to smolder and eventually ignite.


Yup, key damper on the stove pipe


----------



## begreen (Oct 31, 2018)

It sounds like there is strong draft so for sure use that key damper and close it sooner. (probe thermometers are only for double-wall pipe). 900º surface is extremely hot. 

It could be that each "bang" is shaking down more creosote flakes. With a cold stove, I'd pull the stove pipe and vacuum out the tee with a shop vac. And get the liner inspected and cleaned asap.


----------



## Dug8498 (Oct 31, 2018)

begreen said:


> It sounds like there is strong draft so for sure use that key damper and close it sooner. (probe thermometers are only for double-wall pipe). 900º surface is extremely hot.
> 
> It could be that each "bang" is shaking down more creosote flakes. With a cold stove, I'd pull the stove pipe and vacuum out the tee with a shop vac. And get the liner inspected and cleaned asap.



Yeah I think I do have a very strong draft on my setup. Ok I will do. Thank you 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Ludlow (Oct 31, 2018)

You have had 900 surface temps? 

Maybe you said before, but how high is your chimney overall?


----------



## Dug8498 (Oct 31, 2018)

Ludlow said:


> You have had 900 surface temps?
> 
> Maybe you said before, but how high is your chimney overall?



Yessir indeed. My thermometer maxes out at 900 so it could be hotter than that?

 Not ideal I know and it’s happening less now that I’m getting the knack of this setup. 

A little over 25 feet tall 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## begreen (Oct 31, 2018)

Dug8498 said:


> Yessir indeed. My thermometer maxes out at 900 so it could be hotter than that?
> 
> Not ideal I know and it’s happening less now that I’m getting the knack of this setup.
> 
> A little over 25 feet tall


You need to be closing down the air much sooner. Don't let it get over 500 and shut down the stove pipe damper sooner too.


----------



## Dug8498 (Nov 1, 2018)

begreen said:


> You need to be closing down the air much sooner. Don't let it get over 500 and shut down the stove pipe damper sooner too.



Sounds good. I thought that I was doing that and the last time i checked on the stove all the numbers looked good. However, I had just reloaded the stove before I walked away, so maybe that had something to do with it. 

I will start shutting everything down even sooner. Thank you


----------



## bholler (Nov 1, 2018)

Dug8498 said:


> So we bought this house in January. The previous owner was required as part of the sale to have a sweep come out and inspect everything. The sweep found that the liner was "warped due to chimney fire". They installed a brand new stainless steel 6" liner in late November (the sale took another few months to complete). I unfortunately don't know if it was cleaned before it was installed as I wasn't there for that. I hope so!
> 
> Alright, I was hoping to not have to wait for the sweep to come as that may be another week; all sweeps are booked up right now. Thanks!


What type of chimney is this running through?


----------



## Dug8498 (Nov 1, 2018)

bholler said:


> What type of chimney is this running through?


There is a 25 foot 6” stainless steel liner that is inside of another larger pipe. In a previous post you saw a picture and referred to it as “class A chimney” I believe.

I’ve attached the pic again. If I remove that cap and look up I can see the stainless steel liner inside the larger chimney pipe. I looked up there yesterday and the liner looked quite clean to me, almost nothing coating inside.


----------



## Ludlow (Nov 1, 2018)

That isnt a liner. And is that concrete ceiling?


----------



## Dug8498 (Nov 1, 2018)

Ludlow said:


> That isnt a liner. And is that concrete ceiling?



Right, what you can see isn’t a liner, I thought bholler referred to it as class a chimney. Inside of it, whatever it is, is a stainless steel liner. The install paperwork from this past November says they installed a stainless steel liner. When I pulled out that circular cap in the picture and stare up there  is a 6” tube inside of that running vertically to the cap on the roof.

No, it’s drywall, normal ceiling. I’m sure it’s not up to code at all but it must have been when they built the house 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## bholler (Nov 1, 2018)

Ludlow said:


> That isnt a liner. And is that concrete ceiling?


There is a liner inside the class a


----------



## bholler (Nov 1, 2018)

Dug8498 said:


> Right, what you can see isn’t a liner, I thought bholler referred to it as class a chimney. Inside of it, whatever it is, is a stainless steel liner. The install paperwork from this past November says they installed a stainless steel liner. When I pulled out that circular cap in the picture and stare up there  is a 6” tube inside of that running vertically to the cap on the roof.
> 
> No, it’s drywall, normal ceiling. I’m sure it’s not up to code at all but it must have been when they built the house
> 
> ...


If that is a drywall ceiling you need to stop using it now.  There is no way that is or ever was to code.  And it could be extremely dangerous.  I assumed previosly that was masonry.  I should not have obviously.  Nice catch ludlow.


----------



## Dug8498 (Nov 1, 2018)

bholler said:


> If that is a drywall ceiling you need to stop using it now.  There is no way that is or ever was to code.  And it could be extremely dangerous.  I assumed previosly that was masonry.  I should not have obviously.  Nice catch ludlow.



Ok, I assume it is but have never gone in and touched it or anything to verify. These houses were all built with this odd setup, so Somebody signed off on this, or they simply didn’t get necessary inspections. Houses were built in early 80’s. Probably 40 houses that were built with a setup just like this 

If it is drywall, is there some sort of heat shielding that I can buy and install myself? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Ludlow (Nov 1, 2018)

Well, if that is drywall touching Class A, and you hit 900 surface, I am impressed with class A pipe now more than ever. I didnt know that a liner would fit in class A pipe. Interesting.


----------



## Dug8498 (Nov 1, 2018)

Ludlow said:


> Well, if that is drywall touching Class A, and you hit 900 surface, I am impressed with class A pipe now more than ever. I didnt know that a liner would fit in class A pipe. Interesting.


 
I get those measurements about 6-8 inches above the key damper. Temps measure quite a bit lower after the 90 degree bend above it, and then it makes another 90 degree turn to go up the chimney, not sure if that makes it any less perilous. Note. That is not where I measure temps, it’s the only pic I have on me now 

Glad you guys noticed this
	

		
			
		

		
	

View attachment 232230


----------



## bholler (Nov 1, 2018)

Dug8498 said:


> Ok, I assume it is but have never gone in and touched it or anything to verify. These houses were all built with this odd setup, so Somebody signed off on this, or they simply didn’t get necessary inspections. Houses were built in early 80’s. Probably 40 houses that were built with a setup just like this
> 
> If it is drywall, is there some sort of heat shielding that I can buy and install myself?
> 
> ...


If it is drywall that drywall needs to come out.  You then need to inspect to see if you have proper clearances from that class a pipe after that you need a proper firestop to maintain 2" clearance from drywall.


----------



## Dug8498 (Nov 1, 2018)

bholler said:


> If it is drywall that drywall needs to come out.  You then need to inspect to see if you have proper clearances from that class a pipe after that you need a proper firestop to maintain 2" clearance from drywall.


Yikes, sounds expensive. Better than burning to death in our sleep though.

OK well I have a guy coming shortly to do an inspection and sweep. He is CSIA certified, so hopefully he can guide me in the right direction/ provide a quote for what you're talking about. Any idea on price range for such a project? Or are there too many variables here?

Also, the company that came and inspected this setup back in November while owned by the previous owner did not mention that any of this was unsafe during their inspection. Their paperwork only refers to an unsafe flue liner that needed a replacement due to chimney fire. They are CSIA certified. Shouldn't they have seen this/said something when they did the inspection, sweep, and installed the stainless steel liner?

On their website they state "We are current on all state and national fire safety codes, which is mandatory with the CSIA certification process."


----------



## begreen (Nov 1, 2018)

Another speculative thought... the liner is too tightly pushed into the class A pipe and as it expands it creates a bang as tension is released when the liner moves inside.


----------



## Dug8498 (Nov 1, 2018)

begreen said:


> Another speculative thought... the liner is too tightly pushed into the class A pipe and as it expands it creates a bang as tension is released when the liner moves inside.


Interesting idea, I like it. I will ask the guy when he comes to do the inspection if this is a possibility


----------



## Ludlow (Nov 1, 2018)

That piece of stainless going into the class A looks pale yellow, which means it hit about 500 degrees at one time or another. It would be brown to blueish if it hit 900. Maybe try a new thermometer.


----------



## Dug8498 (Nov 1, 2018)

Ludlow said:


> That piece of stainless going into the class A looks pale yellow, which means it hit about 500 degrees at one time or another. It would be brown to blueish if it hit 900. Maybe try a new thermometer.


That makes sense, I think the temps get quite a bit lower by that point. I'm only reading that high slightly above the key damper. It's a brand new condar thermometer, so hopefully it's not off.


----------



## bholler (Nov 1, 2018)

Ludlow said:


> That piece of stainless going into the class A looks pale yellow, which means it hit about 500 degrees at one time or another. It would be brown to blueish if it hit 900. Maybe try a new thermometer.


The color changes vary greatly depending on the alloy used.


----------



## Dug8498 (Nov 1, 2018)

bholler said:


> The color changes vary greatly depending on the alloy used.


Bholler, I know you are a chimney sweep and would greatly appreciate your input on the two questions I asked previously. I just don't want them to get buried in the thread:

(1) "The company that came and inspected this setup back in November while owned by the previous owner did not mention that any of this was unsafe during their inspection. Their paperwork only refers to an unsafe flue liner that needed a replacement due to chimney fire. They are CSIA certified. Shouldn't they have seen this/said something when they did the inspection, sweep, and installed the stainless steel liner?" I'm wondering if I should be contacting them about this. 

(2) You stated "If it is drywall that drywall needs to come out. You then need to inspect to see if you have proper clearances from that class a pipe after that you need a proper firestop to maintain 2" clearance from drywall." If I do this, do you have any idea of a potential price range for this kind of job or are there too many factors?


----------



## bholler (Nov 1, 2018)

Dug8498 said:


> Bholler, I know you are a chimney sweep and would greatly appreciate your input on the two questions I asked previously. I just don't want them to get buried in the thread:
> 
> (1) "The company that came and inspected this setup back in November while owned by the previous owner did not mention that any of this was unsafe during their inspection. Their paperwork only refers to an unsafe flue liner that needed a replacement due to chimney fire. They are CSIA certified. Shouldn't they have seen this/said something when they did the inspection, sweep, and installed the stainless steel liner?" I'm wondering if I should be contacting them about this.  The fact that they lined the class a instead of replacing with new class a raises some red flags to me from the start.
> 
> (2) You stated "If it is drywall that drywall needs to come out. You then need to inspect to see if you have proper clearances from that class a pipe after that you need a proper firestop to maintain 2" clearance from drywall." If I do this, do you have any idea of a potential price range for this kind of job or are there too many factors?


1.  Yes if that is a drywall ceiling they avsolutly should have seen that.  Just because they are csia certified doenst mean they are reputable and follow the professional code of ethics they should.  Also just because the company advertises csia certified that doesnt mean the people they sent out were.

2 just to pull the drywall and inspect i would not expect a huge bill.  If they find problems it can get expensive.


----------



## Dug8498 (Nov 1, 2018)

bholler said:


> 1.  Yes if that is a drywall ceiling they avsolutly should have seen that.  Just because they are csia certified doenst mean they are reputable and follow the professional code of ethics they should.  Also just because the company advertises csia certified that doesnt mean the people they sent out were.
> 
> 2 just to pull the drywall and inspect i would not expect a huge bill.  If they find problems it can get expensive.



OK thank you. I will see what the chimney sweep coming soon says. Appreciate the catch on the drywall by you and Ludlow. My wife is pregnant and it scares that crap out of me that I've been potentially putting her at risk every time i light up the stove. I'm hoping it's not drywall; I will check when I get home, but I'm pretty sure it is.


----------



## bholler (Nov 1, 2018)

Dug8498 said:


> OK thank you. I will see what the chimney sweep coming soon says. Appreciate the catch on the drywall by you and Ludlow. My wife is pregnant and it scares that crap out of me that I've been potentially putting her at risk every time i light up the stove. I'm hoping it's not drywall; I will check when I get home, but I'm pretty sure it is.


If it is drywall that doesn't nessecarily mean there are other problems but it does raise concerns.


----------



## Ludlow (Nov 1, 2018)

If the framing is at clearance it shouldnt be very much money at all. Trimming it back and adding a firestop ring would be cheap.


----------



## bholler (Nov 1, 2018)

Ludlow said:


> If the framing is at clearance it shouldnt be very much money at all. Trimming it back and adding a firestop ring would be cheap.


Yes i agree.


----------



## Dug8498 (Nov 1, 2018)

I will provide an update when the sweep comes. Thank you 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Kingdaddy3247 (Nov 24, 2018)

Any updates?


----------



## Dug8498 (Nov 24, 2018)

So, here are the updates so far:

I haven’t followed all suggestions here but am Doing the best I can considering I really can’t afford to heat the house with our electric heat; so I am still burning. Both appointments I’ve had scheduled with sweeps were cancelled due to inclement weather. I’m having an awfully hard time getting them to reschedule. I did, however, call the previous sweep who did the inspection, cleaning, and installation of stainless steel pipe inside the the class a chimney last November. I also called my close friend who is a chimney sweep but who lives too far to come inspect himself. Both assured me that the setup I have is not unsafe, that the drywall ceiling is a safe distance from the stove and that the insulated class a chimney would be safe going through the drywall... so I’m not sure what to think. I’ve also gone into multiple neighbors houses to check out their setup. They’re all the same as mine and everyone has been burning wood for 30+ years, no issues. 

Regarding the banging- I still hear some occasional ticking/ small popping noises coming from the chimney when the fire is running really hot and the chimney pipe thermometer is reading 500 or so, but I seem to have gotten my burning practices under much better control in terms of shutting down the air much sooner and closing the damper earlier so I haven’t seen the pipe get nearly as hot as it was getting before. I haven’t heard the same backfiring/ banging noise that I heard that night. 

I really hope to get a sweep here as soon as possible and will report once they do.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## begreen (Nov 24, 2018)

Dug8498 said:


> that the insulated class a chimney would be safe going through the drywall... so I’m not sure what to think


That is not good advice. The paper on drywall is combustible.


----------



## Dug8498 (Nov 24, 2018)

begreen said:


> That is not good advice. The paper on drywall is combustible.



Right, that’s what I would have thought as well. Why am I having such a tough time getting a professional to confirm this? Everyone on here is telling me this is safe, and everyone not on here is telling me it’s absolutely fine.

I see plenty of stove setups where the pipe goes directly through the ceiling; how is this done to code so that it’s safe?


----------



## begreen (Nov 24, 2018)

If there was a contractor doing work in a development that got away with improper installs then that might explain it, but that doesn't make it right or safe. It makes it a time bomb that is ticking.


----------



## Dug8498 (Nov 24, 2018)

Not disagreeing with you at all. I’m in a difficult position here where I can’t seem to find any professionals that will even acknowledge that it’s unsafe which makes it difficult to establish a starting point of how to address this and move forward. 

I’m do trust what you all are telling me, but as I don’t know how to remedy the problem myself, I’m in a tough position if I can’t find a CSIA certified professional in the area that will remedy this for me. I will keep trying. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## bholler (Nov 25, 2018)

Dug8498 said:


> Not disagreeing with you at all. I’m in a difficult position here where I can’t seem to find any professionals that will even acknowledge that it’s unsafe which makes it difficult to establish a starting point of how to address this and move forward.
> 
> I’m do trust what you all are telling me, but as I don’t know how to remedy the problem myself, I’m in a tough position if I can’t find a CSIA certified professional in the area that will remedy this for me. I will keep trying.
> 
> ...


You have one here that confirms it is unsafe.  Also look at the installation manual for any prefab chimney it is pretty clear


----------



## begreen (Nov 25, 2018)

Ask any sweep that says it's ok to provide documentation.


----------



## Dug8498 (Nov 25, 2018)

begreen said:


> Ask any sweep that says it's ok to provide documentation.



The one who came out last year did provide documentation, but I will ask whoever I can get to come out this year to do the same. As of now I have someone scheduled to come out this Friday, hopefully they stick to the plan 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Dug8498 (Nov 25, 2018)

bholler said:


> You have one here that confirms it is unsafe.  Also look at the installation manual for any prefab chimney it is pretty clear



Yes, I do trust what you are saying and if I could get you to come do the inspection and work at my place I would! But I think that may be a bit far...

I asked begreen this before but didn’t see an answer: I’ve seen many setups where the stove is freestanding in a living room, for example, and some type of pipe goes directly through the dry wall ceiling. How is this installed to make it safe with proper clearances? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## bholler (Nov 25, 2018)

Dug8498 said:


> Yes, I do trust what you are saying and if I could get you to come do the inspection and work at my place I would! But I think that may be a bit far...
> 
> I asked begreen this before but didn’t see an answer: I’ve seen many setups where the stove is freestanding in a living room, for example, and some type of pipe goes directly through the dry wall ceiling. How is this installed to make it safe with proper clearances?
> 
> ...


Using the manufacturer's support box which provides the proper clearance.


----------



## begreen (Nov 25, 2018)

Sorry I missed that question. A ceiling support box is used to make the transition through the ceiling. The come in a variety of forms, round and square. Ours is round. They also make them for cathedral ceilings with a box enclosure extension.
If you look at new installs posted in the main hearth forum you can see more examples.





Bholler instructed you correctly earlier. Is there access to the chimney pipe on the other side of this drywall? If not, the drywall should be cut away to determine that the chimney pipe has at least 2" clearance from combustibles all the way up through the roof. If it does, and there is a firestop on the other side of this drywall, then cutting back the drywall 2+" from the pipe and covering with a trim ring may suffice. But we can't know this. Some exploratory work needs to be done on site.


bholler said:


> If it is drywall that drywall needs to come out.  You then need to inspect to see if you have proper clearances from that class a pipe after that you need a proper firestop to maintain 2" clearance from drywall.


----------



## Dug8498 (Nov 25, 2018)

begreen said:


> Sorry I missed that question. A ceiling support box is used to make the transition through the ceiling. The come in a variety of forms, round and square. Ours is round. They also make them for cathedral ceilings with a box enclosure extension.
> If you look at new installs posted in the main hearth forum you can see more examples.
> 
> View attachment 234092
> ...



Ok great, thank you for the starting point on this. I have already trimmed back the drywall to take a peek and there is a fire stop on the other side of the drywall. I will have to cut back more to see about the clearance up through the rest of the house. 

Hopefully the sweep that comes this week (fingers crossed he shows up) will know what he’s talking about 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## begreen (Nov 25, 2018)

Good deal, hope all you need is to cut back the drywall and add a trim ring.


----------



## Dug8498 (Nov 25, 2018)

begreen said:


> Good deal, hope all you need is to cut back the drywall and add a trim ring.



I’m hoping that’s all I need to do! Appreciate your help as always 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## jnalexis (Mar 1, 2019)

Digging back deep in this one here but did you ever get a chimney sweep out? Curious to see how all this planned out.


----------



## Dug8498 (Mar 3, 2019)

jnalexis said:


> Digging back deep in this one here but did you ever get a chimney sweep out? Curious to see how all this planned out.



So I did have a sweep come out and they also told me that my current setup was fine.. a bit frustrating. I told them what I had been told by you guys and they said they could certainly install a ceiling support box, or something or that nature, but that they didn’t think it was necessary. 

It’s on my to do list for this spring. I wish I could say I hopped on this right away but I just haven’t  done it yet [emoji2373]

On the plus side, I’ve been up in my attic doing a little insulation project and was able to look down/ up and confirm that other than this bit of drywall that is too close, there is definitely 2” of clearance to combustibles all the way up from the stove through the roof so it should be a pretty simple install. Planning to either install a support box or trim back the dry wall and install a trim ring as begreen suggested. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## maple1 (Mar 4, 2019)

Would like to see a pic of what it looks like inside that T. That's one of the oddest looking setups I've seen.

My dumb question - if there is no support box, what is supporting the chimney?


----------



## Dug8498 (Mar 5, 2019)

maple1 said:


> Would like to see a pic of what it looks like inside that T. That's one of the oddest looking setups I've seen.
> 
> My dumb question - if there is no support box, what is supporting the chimney?



well when you take that cap off, there is a stainless steel liner inside the class A chimney. The pipe coming in horizontally ties into the stainless steel liner. Yeah it's odd for sure. Very drafty setup.

I don't know anything about chimneys so i guess I don't really know the answer to that, but after having been in the attic it looks like it's braced in multiple times up there but I would have a hard time describing how exactly as I don't remember the specifics.


----------

