Posts Tagged ‘fireplace’
It Missed!
It turned out that my concerns were unwarranted yesterday about even more rain falling on our already saturated grounds. From my repeated checks of the radar all day, it looked like a wall was keeping the surging mass of precipitation from moving north past a certain point. As it reached the southern boundary of our county, it stopped its advance and just seemed to slide past us to the northeast.
This doesn’t mean that we dried out any. On the contrary. The sky remained heavily overcast and the dew point high enough that wetness continued to be the order of the day.
It was a good day to have the warm glow of a fire in our fireplace!
Happily, the lack of actual falling rain was a break for our horses, allowing them to avoid the cold soaking that rain in December involves.
The bleakness of our landscape lingers on. According to forecasts, the next possibility for freezing temperatures comes at the end of this week.
Even if it doesn’t bring a dose of accumulating snow, I will be happy to at least have the wet ground turn frozen, to give us a break from the frustrating mud.
I’m pretty certain that frozen leaves will provide less hazardous footing than the wet leaves over slippery mud which we are currently enduring.
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Fires Return
Our chimney is fixed! What joy! But I don’t see how Santa is ever going to fit down it now.
It was back in the middle of October when we had our fireplace and chimney inspected, which I wrote about at the time in a post titled, “Important Inspection.”
They discovered evidence of there having been a chimney fire sometime in the past, which resulted in cracking of the original clay tiles lining the chimney.
Never fear, that company just so happens to also install chimney liners, for a (not so) small fee. At least they provide clear photographic evidence of the areas of concern, which our insurance company accepted without hesitation. Our repairs were covered in full, after we pay the (not so small) deductible amount on our policy.
This project benefited from the wonderful luck of the original chimney dimensions being large enough to make it one of the easiest installations possible, according to the guys.
They installed sections of stainless steel tubing inside the old clay tiles from the top of the chimney and didn’t need to break out any of the existing structure to complete the job.
A cement rated for high temperature is also used around the outside of the tube. Everything gets sealed and then checked for leaks. When they finished our installation, one of the guys burned some paper in the fireplace to verify the draft was good, and that was that.
It was instantly available for use. That meant I needed to haul some wood!
Cyndie and I filled the rack on the deck with one fully-stacked row of split logs from the wood shed. I had mixed emotions about the excitement of finally making use of wood that has been drying for a full year, and comical distress over seeing the stores in the wood shed decline at such a rapid rate.
I also found myself surprised over how moving it felt to have a fire in the fireplace once again. It has been almost 2 months since we learned of the problem, and at the time of year when we especially cherish the return of this cozy enhancement.
It refocuses the energy center on our main floor back to the special space that functions as our “living room,” with the couch providing a vantage point that takes in the fireplace centerpiece, as well as the doors and windows on either side providing views of the great outdoors beyond.
It doesn’t hurt that we just so happen to be undergoing a magical transformation into a Christmas wonderland this weekend, as a result of Cyndie’s never-ending visionary efforts.
I think the addition of last night’s fire provided her with just the right spark as a bonus.
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Frozen Season
The frozen season has finally arrived. It’s got me wanting to have a fire, and since we still aren’t able to have one indoors due to the cracks in the flue, I started one in our outdoor pit.
I was working nearby to change out the base of my Smart Splitter® log splitter. Having a fire nearby provided more than just a place to warm up, it created an ambiance of purpose and energy.
I get great pleasure from finally knocking off tasks that have lingered untended for far too long. The base of the splitter was a necessary project because the old one finally started to break up from the pounding that the old decaying wood was taking. In contrast, the task of adding boards to the pallets that form the floor of the wood shed was one of convenience which had been too easily postponed, again and again.
Yesterday became the day.
First, I needed to dismantle more of the spare pallets I had collected from work, just as I had done to build hay boxes recently. In previous years, the pallets I brought home from work had a full surface of boards, but the supplier figured out they could accomplish the same goal with less lumber. Now they come with half as many boards.
In July when we were stacking hay, I needed to steal some pallets from the wood shed. They were the old ones with a full surface of boards.
The next pallets that became available when I was seeking replacements, ended up being the ones with every other board. That became a real ankle twister when I was trying to stack wood.
Yesterday, I dismantled new pallets to get boards that I could use to create a complete deck on the ones already in the wood shed. My ankles are saved! Now it’s time to take advantage of the below freezing temperatures and split some logs.
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Important Inspection
We had our fireplace and chimney inspected yesterday. Closely inspected, this time, with a video camera dropped down the chimney even. In the 3 years we have lived here, we have had the chimney cleaned twice.
The first time was just to give us a fresh start, and the second time was because we wanted him back to follow up on some cracked fire bricks he said he could replace. Unfortunately, he didn’t do any thorough inspecting, so all we really got was a cleaner flue and false sense of security.
Having used this fireplace for 3 years now, I’m aware of areas where the firebox seems a bit worn out. When I spotted an ad in the local free paper for a discount price on fireplace inspections, I suggested to Cyndie we call them up.
They were more than happy to schedule an appointment with us, even though (we later learned) the advertised service was for electric fireplaces only. They kindly referred us to a company that could look at our old Kozy Heat and would do a video inspection of the flue.
I’m sure glad we followed through with this, because the guy discovered evidence indicating there had likely been a chimney fire at some point, and one of the results of that is a cracked flue lining. 
He pulled some scary looking chunks of creosote from the smoke shelf, which he said showed signs of having melted and boiled, which occurs with fire in the chimney.
We will be making an appointment to have a new lining installed, and until then, will be burning no fires in there.
I sure am grateful that I spotted that initial ad which prompted me to initiate this process. The fireplace is one of the areas of a home that should never be left to neglect.
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Dang Critters
I’ve got a lot to learn about mouse-proofing. Yesterday, I discovered that the fresh air intake for our fireplace, outside on the rock structure of our chimney, was again plugged by a nest. I assume it was a mouse’s nest.
The interesting thing about this is that I had cleaned it out last fall, and then put up a screen to barricade access. Or so I thought. I think what I did was make it even more secure for the little critters.
The actual opening to the tube that runs to the fireplace is protected by a wire mesh that is cemented in place. From what I can see, it appears intact. That screen is about 8 inches back in the structure,
about the depth of the stones that form the face of the chimney. That creates a wonderful crater for a nest.
When we bought the place, there was a bunch of insulation, and a lot of chewed acorns stored in there. I cleaned it out and improvised a screened cover to block the entrance to the cave. As I was hauling in some firewood yesterday, I thought I noticed some debris accumulated inside my outer screen. I grabbed a light and discovered it was filled. There were some pieces of insulation in there, but mostly, it appeared to be animal hair. In fact, it looked exactly like the deer hair that was strewn in the area around the carcass the 
coyotes took down in our woods last fall.
Did some critter really haul this from way down the hill in the woods? I don’t know. I also don’t know if the nest-builder was able to sneak around the edge of my barrier, or if there is an internal route that I can’t see, along the blocks on the inside of the stone facade.
I may resort to constructing some form of tube from the inner screen to the edge of the rocks, and then filling the surrounding space with expanding foam. That way the critter will have something to chew on in order to open up another entrance to build his next nest.
At least the fire was looking real good yesterday, with the return of a full dose of fresh air available at the intake again. Since the screen wasn’t keeping the nest-builder out, I didn’t put it back. For the immediate time being, I plan to watch for signs of activity in there, and just clean it out as fast as they try to fill it up.
I’ll know now, to check it right away if I notice the fire seems to be burning slower than usual. Before, I thought it was probably just the wood. Now I know better.
Nuisance Items
Sunday dawned to an open agenda for us at the ranch, and I had it in mind to chip away at some small nuisance items that have been lingering, but not demanding immediate action.
Recently, the rope gasket around one of the fireplace doors came loose and it flaps around, getting caught out of position when the door is swung shut. Also, Cyndie has been saying that the soap dispenser on the door of the dishwasher is not working correctly. I planned to do some online research for both topics, so started there.
I quickly refined my search for rope gasket replacement kits, and then learned that one of the pieces, specifically, the one that has come loose on ours, is glued in place. Seriously? What glue do they use for that!? Something non-flammable, and able to endure extreme heat and still hold, I hope. I redirected my search to looking for a dealer in my area.
Being located as close to the Twin Cities as we are, I often question whether I should be looking in Minnesota, or Wisconsin, for good and services. Usually, results are better when searching Minneapolis/St. Paul. I found a couple of options for moderately convenient dealer locations in Minnesota for our fireplace. Then I checked Wisconsin and discovered a renewable energy expert company just 5-miles from us in Ellsworth. That’ll do just fine. I’m hoping to visit them today and discuss my situation with a knowledgeable professional.
Next, to the dishwasher.
I had pretty good luck finding a service manual and parts list for our model. Troubleshooting advice was harder to uncover. It appears the dispenser assembly will be about $70, and is in stock, if that ends up needing to be replaced. I decided to remove screws in the door and get inside for a look. I’m guessing my odds of making it better are about equal with my chances of making it worse. It didn’t leak when I started, I sure hope it won’t when I’m through.
I got to the business side of the dispenser and found a solenoid that should release the soap door latch. I removed the solenoid and then rigged up a way to put voltage to the coil. It worked, so I put it back together to test it again, in place. That also worked. The soap door popped open when I triggered the solenoid. Unfortunately, that leaves me to think it isn’t receiving a signal from the controller during the cycle. I don’t know how to test that. We are down to calling an appliance technician.
With luck, we might find someone who knows a little plumbing, too. While I was working on the kitchen floor, and Cyndie was occasionally using the sink, I found we have a leak around one of the sink drains. I developed a suspicion about it when I reached for the box of dishwasher soap, and the bottom appeared to have gotten wet at some time. I was keeping one eye under the sink as she used it, and caught it dripping.
My plumbing expertise is limited to tightening a nut or a fitting, to get a better seal. I tried turning a nut under the drain, and it turned rather easy. I was hoping to feel it get tighter, but it didn’t. It started to deform the rounded metal underside of the drain that it pushes against. I stopped and checked to find it still leaks. Whatever I was doing, it wasn’t helping.
I decided to stop trying to fix things for the rest of the day. I’m gonna need to learn a bit more about plumbing or we’ll be facing the added expense of another visit from a service person.
Relative Something 