Leaking Air Around Base of Hearth

[LadyInDistress]

I'm going to describe this the best that I can but bear with me - I'm all female While visiting my daughter's house yesterday I noticed quite a bit of cold air blowing in from the base of the brick/woodburning fireplace where the hearth meets the floor. Now I know the young man that I purchased this house from did a "junior ranger" job of putting this cheap wood floor in but I had never noticed this air leak before. Is there anything that I can buy to put around the base of the brick to minimize this air leak? I doubt that I have the cash on hand to fix this properly right now so any suggestions to "buy me some time" would be appreciated. I've attached the best picture that I currently have to give a better idea of the type of fireplace.

 

[wood-fan-atic]

You have a cold-air leak under your hearth!? I cant see how thats even possible. Is this living room built on a concrete slab? If it is, perhaps youre feeling the coldness of the slab? Either way, thats far enough away from the heat that you could use any caulk in the gap and then add some trim (quarter-round) where the floor meets the hearth. This should stop your cold chill coming from the gap. Oh, and wheres my manners? Welcome to Hearth.com!! :cheese:

 

[LadyInDistress]

Yes, this is built on a concrete slab but I'm quite certain this isn't the highest quality construction job. There is definate air flow though - the fireplace is on the outside wall by the driveway. It's possible that I could see daylight if I were to get on my hands & knees & look through there. Caulking is a great idea - thank you. There is actually already quarter-round trim around the hearth but the brick/stone is so "lumpy bumpy" that is is actually funny to look at. The quarter-round MIGHT actually make contact with the stone every inch or so!! This sweet young "junior ranger" that installed the floor worked at Home Depot & as we all know....just because he worked there didn't mean that he knew what to do with the products that they sell Thanks for the advice and the warm welcome.

 

[wood-fan-atic]

No prob. Happy to help. My house is also on a slab, and when its real cold (like today, less than 20 °F), the stove has to fight with the cold coming up thru the concrete. If I were you, I'd yank that moulding off the wall(carefully) and caulk the entire perimeter, then replace the moulding. Keeping the cold OUT is the first (and most important) step to a warm house!

 

[LadyInDistress]

That sounds like the plan I'm going to go with. I don't think I'll have to do much yanking on the moulding though - I'm pretty sure it's not affixed that firmly (not real sure what junior did there). I may let the caulk ooze out enough to stick the moulding back to it (teehee)

Thanks again and stay warm!!

Happy Holidays!!

 

[LLigetfa]

My guess is the fireplace has an outside air kit and that is the source of the cold air. Some OAKs don't have a positive seal to the stove. If you burn often enough, you could probably just ignore the leak as it provides make-up air to the home without which you could have draft issues. If you don't burn often, you could pack rope gasket into the space between the stove and the hearth to seal the gap or you could add a positive shutoff to the OAK.