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When the Chimney is Passt, Seal It Off

JessicaAckerman | Jul 21, 2010 |

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There are few things more cozy than snuggling up in front of a crackling fire on a crisp, cold evening. However, many people do not like using their fireplaces simply because it is too labor intensive to constantly restock it with firewood. However, if you do not use your fireplace, you are probably losing a lot of heat through your chimney during the colder months of the year. Therefore, if you are not planning to use your fireplace, it is important to seal so that it is not leaching heat from your home.

First Think Safety

It probably goes without saying that once you weatherproof and seal off your chimney, you cannot use it: Lighting a fire in a sealed fireplace will quickly fill your house with smoke and could even cause a house fire. So you only want to seal off an old fireplace if you are absolutely sure that you are not going to be using it for fires ever again. And as a side note, if you have a gas burning fireplace, do not seal it because you run the risk of carbon monoxide contaminating your home.

The Steps for Sealing a Fireplace

The first thing that you want to do when you are sealing off a fireplace is to close the damper. If your chimney does not have a damper system, you will want to install one so that you can close the airflow up through the chimney. A damper system is available at your hardware store, and you can follow the instructions on the kit to properly install it. If the opening to the fireplace has glass doors, you will want to make sure to keep them closed. By adding weather stripping around the doors, you can increase their effectiveness for keeping heat from escaping from your home. Weather stripping is extremely easy to install, and you can also find it at the hardware store. After the weather stripping is installed, your doors will fit snugly, and they will do a good job at keeping any drafts to a minimum.

Insulation and the Seal

You can also use standard rolled insulation to weatherproof an out-of-commission fireplace. This type of insulation does an extremely good job of blocking the chimney opening. To install it, just roll a section of insulation into a tight tube and wedge it into the chimney. Then let it expand to block any air and heat that may be trying to escape up the chimney. This method of weatherproofing your fireplace is not only effective, but it is not visible from inside the room, so you can decorate your mantle and fireplace as usual. This is one of the better ways to seal off a chimney for the long haul.

Temporary Seal

However, if you plan to use your fireplace off and on, using insulation can be a time consuming and tedious way of weatherproofing your chimney. Instead you can use an inflatable plug to temporarily seal off the chimney. These inflatable plugs are very convenient and easy to use. They have a small tube that hangs down into the fire box that you can use to deflate and inflate the plug. Since the plug is actually in the chimney itself, you will not see it from the room, so you can decorate your hearth and mantelpiece as you normally would and then hang a striking metal outdoor wall art or metal tree art above it.