Fireplaces

The best way to clean a limestone fireplace is by using a pH neutral stone cleaner. This cleaner is used with warm water and a sponge.

There should be a louvered intake outside the fireplace, and a steel door covering the intake tunnel, inside the house located towards the front, and in the floor of the fireplace.

By flue, I believe you mean the damper in the chimney, which has the effect of closing off the flue. Close the damper any time you are not using the fireplace. Remember -heat rises -so heated air will also rise up and out the flue in the winter. In the summer it is also good to keep the flue closed because heat and humidity will activate the smelly properties of the ash and creosote in the firepalce chimney and create a bad odor in the home. In order for a damper to do its job it must seal tightly/ If your existing mechanical damper is broken, missing or in a bad state you can repair it or replace it with a chimney top damper or a chimney balloon. But, open the damper before lighting a a fire, or it will rapidly get quite smokey in the house.

Yes

It depends on what area you live in. If you have any doubts, contact your local fire department who should have the most accurate information.

As for California, there are "no-burn" days in Central California. This is now the law in many other parts of the country as well.

of course it does, but not more than any other carbon fuel. Be sure your flue is open or your house will fill with smoke.

To me it sounds like your pilot light on the fireplace is out. That could happen from a strong wind coming down the chimney or a strong breeze in the house from a fan. Check your pilot light and be sure to have the gas off before lighting the pilot light if it is out.

Yes, IF they are installed to fully meet the specifications of the manufacturer, AND IF the reflecting surface is kept clean.

There are several different types of policy forms used by property insurance companies. For an owner occupied single family home (versus a rental property, secondary residence, or condo) the policy form typically used is called the Homeowners Form 3 (HO-3). The HO-3 policy will cover "sudden and accidental" water damage. What this means is that if you have a constant leak that was in plain view then the damage would not be covered. It has to be "sudden and accidental".

The best way to determine whether or not you have coverage for this is by looking at your contract. The HO-1 and HO-2 policy forms are more limited. In the HO-3 you will want to read everything under the Section 1: Dwelling Coverages, AND the exclusions for Section 1: Dwelling.

The reason that you need to refer to the Dwelling Coverages (Coverage "A" on most policies) is because a brick fireplace is a permanent part of the structure of your home.

Yes, IF the combustion chamber and flu system leaks and allows combustion gasses to escape into the area where you are.

Question: "Can a window air conditioner be installed in a fireplace? I'd build a simulated window. My apartment doesn't have a convenient window." I did this many years ago in a region where temps in the summer routinely reach over 100 degrees F. Having once been an engineer, I analyzed the problem and solution as follows: 1. I did not want an unsecured access to the outside of the house (a window-mounted A/C unit), because of deteriorating social conditions in the area (I have since sold the house --- after removing the fireplace A/C, as it was not "common"). 2. All common window A/C units use no "makeup" air --- that is, no air is brought in from the outside at the A/C unit. The air inside the house is just recirculated, and depends on door and window "leaks" to provide some fresh air. Further, most window A/C units use no active air movement past the exterior heat exchange coils to take away the heat which has been removed from the inside of the house. They depend on wind and convection to take away the heat --- with variable results, as you probably have heard of units shutting down from overheating -- that is, not getting rid of the heat to the outside fast enough. 3. The chimney for a fireplace is a narrow access to the outside --- just like a visionless window. If necessary, the chimney can be "temporarily" divided into two vertical columns --- one supply, one exhaust --- extending down to the back ("outside" section) of the A/C unit when it is placed in the fireplace. MAKE SURE THE DAMPER TO THE FIREPLACE/CHIMNEY IS FULLY OPENED ! It helps to have the chimney cleaned (swept) first, also. 4. Now, the keypiece: The placement of the A/C unit REQUIRES air movement past the back of the unit to take away the heat. The heat WILL build up in the fireplace and chimney to trigger the overheating and shutoff of the A/C unit ---- VERY quickly ! The answer: A. If you are lucky enough to have an "ashcatcher" in the floor of the fireplace which leads to the outside of the house (which is what I had), a properly-sized fan in the top of the chimney will draw outside air INTO the ash-removal opening, PAST the back of the A/C unit inside the fireplace, up the chimney, and vent the hot exchanged air into the atmosphere. B. If you have no ashcatcher, you will need to use a simple chimney divider (made of sheet metal for safety) lowered into the chimney, and put a properly-sized fan into the top of the EXHAUST side (the downwind side of the prevailing hot-weather winds) of the divided chimney. Try to divide the chimney across its narrowest horizontal dimension for simplicity. C. By always putting the fan at the exit point of the exhaust duct, you reduce the amount of air leaking into the house from the heat-removal air pathway, since it more approximates a negative-pressure side on the A/C unit (most window installations can have wind-driven dust coming in at the unsealed margins around the unit). D. How to power the exhaust fan at the top of the chimney? I measured the opening of the chimney and shopped around until I found a cake tin which would fill the chimney opening completely with a lip to hold it onto the top of the brickwork by gravity, cut a fan (exhaust air) hole in it with tin snips, and mounted the fan in it. Then I threaded the fan power cord through a SMALL slot I cut in the outer edge of the cake tin near the brickwork (it's always good to put a rubber wear grommet around the slot to prevent vibration wear on the cord), and just plugged the fan power cord into an extension cord which reached down the chimney, out the fireplace face, and over to the closest outlet (with some slack). I then plugged a properly-rated, outlet plug-in switch into the outlet, and plugged the extension cord into the switch. The A/C unit is usually plugged into the same outlet, but you may have to plug into a circuit which has ONLY the A/C unit on it, as the units draw a LOT of amps ! E. The "properly-sized fan" (cubic feet per minute) is the trickiest part of the whole operation. If you have a chemical engineer friend, he or she can do the sizing calcs for you with just a few operational assumptions, such as heat load, heat transfer efficiencies, ambient air characteristics, etc. If you can't find a chemical engineer, you can try various fan sizes from industrial suppliers like Grainger's, etc, until you find one which works without having the A/C unit shut down because of overheating. You may be able to find the necessary algorithms in chemical engineering or mechanical (HVAC) engineering texts. F. Proper operation of the system: 1. Turn on chimney fan at outlet to establish airflow; then turn on A/C unit. 2. Turn off A/C unit; wait 10 minutes; then turn off chimney fan. 5. Details: A. Mounting the A/C unit on the fireplace floor is usually easy and straightforward, but you may have to put a block under the back end of the unit to make sure it is level enough to work properly --- be sure to read the manufacturer's requirements and instructions; B. Use a screen on the outside intake if you use an ashcatcher --- to keep out the "critters" from outside; no filter is required, as no significant amount of air should enter into the house past the A/C unit from this installation; C. Use flexible foam to form a seal around the A/C unit and the fireplace opening. D. If you wish to push the cold air coming out of the A/C unit inside the house into the ductwork system for distribution around the rooms of the house, I do NOT recommend it because of: the need for you to close off the heating duct at the furnace to prevent loss of cold air from the furnace fresh air intake; because of the need for a fan and ductwork at the A/C unit to the nearest register; and because most window-based A/C units do not have the capacity to cool a large space...... E. Be advised that the popular "roll-around, portable" A/C units for sale usually waste some of the newly-cooled air to push the waste hot air out a window, unsealed fireplace opening, etc. 6. Enjoy! (and take it with you to your next apartment!)

A cord is defined as 128 cubic feet (3.62 m3), corresponding to a woodpile 4 feet (122 cm) wide, 4 feet (1.2 m) high and 8 feet (244 cm) long. So the weight would depend on the type of wood. Cherry or apple would weigh several times what balsa would.

Also, the pieces of wood are irregular in shape so you would not be able to weigh a "cord" of wood with precision. That is why "cord" is a term of measure not weight, just like inch, foot, yard, mile, square ft., etc.

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A cord of wood, dried and stacked well, will vary in weight from about 2000 to 4000 pounds. Clearly, softwoods, such as pine, will weigh on the lighter side and hardwoods on the heavier. If the wood is not dried, it is likely to weigh from 3000 to 5500 pounds, but different woods contain different amounts of water, so it is a little harder to predict without knowing the specifics.

There is a good web page with information about this, run by the University of Nebraska, at the link below. It provides a good deal of information, including weight of a cord, by species, dried and not.

you are probably out of gas, or if it(the tank) was recently filled, there may be an air bubble, that happened with mine. Also, there could be a dirt particle on the lense of the pilot blocking it, usually the propane or gas company can come out and check it or clean it if necessary. They told us to take the extensions from our vacuum cleaner and lightly clean the logs and the pilot, of course turn it off and take the logs apart first, you could be suprised at how nasty they can get in a short period of time.

Added by Todd O:

If it is a gas log set, ( normally in an existing wood burning fireplace converted to gas, that turns on with a knob inside the fireplace.) Be very careful with a vacuum. Gas log sets produce soot were the flame contacts the logs. If you vacuum up this soot it will go right through the filter on your vacuum and dust everything in your house.

If your pilot will light but goes out as soon as you release the knob, you probably need a new thermocouple. If it is a simple gas log set most of them use the same type found in a water heater. There are a large variety of gas fireplace appliances all of which use different parts. You should never replace a part with anything other than what the manufacturer specifies.

You must rough up the old finish, use sandpaper. Then apply the heat resistant paint

In March 2011, Washington State, cost to add a gas fireplace and standard size/quality unit, including construction costs and plumbing gas lines where service already exists: about $5,000.

Could cut costs to as little as $3,500-$4,000 by going with a very inefficient smaller unit, but if you're spending money on natural gas you might as well actually put the heat "in" your home rather than outside by getting an efficient model.

hearth

No, it is not safe to burn. It is toxic.

First, research the venting codes in your area. First, research the venting codes in your area.

A firewall (also called a fire shield) can be used to reduce the safe distance between a stove and a wall. A wood stove can radiate heat for long periods and it will accumulate in materials that are too close. A standard design goal is to leave 2 or 3 feet of air between an uninsulated stove (or stovepipe) and any flammable materials (paint, wooden wall interiors, insulation, wooden or plastic trim, floors, etc). As a rule of thumb, if a nearby surface is too hot to rest your bare hand on, then it is too close to the stove. When properly designed and installed a firewall can reflect or dissipate heat from the stove, protecting the wall behind it, thus permitting the stove to be moved closer to the wall without creating a fire hazard. The installation guide or contractor can assist in determining the safety clearances around a stove with or without a firewall. For example, an asbestos fire shield installed with a one-inch air-gap behind and below it may permit the distance to the stove to be cut in half (i.e., 18 inches minimum, less if the stove design permits it).

if you are talking a stove flue [free standing] the handle on the flue will indicate open or closed. if handle is horizontal flue is closed. if vertical flue is open. if you mean fireplace flue usually pushing flue handle to rear or back of fireplace will open it and pulling it toward you will close it. you can check by moving handle slowly while looking with flashlight up in the chimney. be careful as soot can come down and out if you get too aggresive.

$400 in parts and $2-300 for labor I live in the southeastern U.S. and you wont get a deck built here for that price. You need to consider the height from the ground,do you want hand rails around it ? In some counties and cities you have to put hand rails on it if it,s so many inches off the ground. Do you want steps?.

A fireplace can be placed inside of a gazebo. There are several plans available. The trick is finding the right fireplace design to fit your gazebo and building it properly as not to present a hazard.

Hi,

I have owned an operated a 120 for about 22 years and they are awesome and are very dependable shotguns. I purchased mine from Smoke and Gun in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-Microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Waukegan</st1:City> <st1:State w:st="on">Illinois</st1:State></st1:place> in 1986 for the upcoming deer season. They are a varient of the Model 1200 and are exactly the same gun as the model 1300 only the stock and fore grip are made of hardwood and the 1300 had Birch or Walnut or a Synthetic stock. As far as a manual you can get a manual at came with mine was a 1300 Manual and you can get one form WWW.Reapeatingarms.com for free. It takes about 2 weeks for them to get it to you. It is very informative for cleaning and care of your shotgun. The 28 inch vent ribbed barrel was a standard barrel for the 120 although most were sold as combos that came with a smoothbore slug barrel with rifled sights. However a small amount of them had a smoothbore slug barrel that was able to except chokes like mine. These barrels are 22 inches long and have rifled sights and came with both a X-Long, X- Full Turkey Choke as well as a Rifled Slug tube. To shoot slugs in the 28 inch barrel use rifled slugs or Foster slugs as they are known and use the Improved Cylinder choke in the barrel. Never try a tighter choke than the improved cylinder. For about $45.00 you can purchase a rifled choke tube from WWW.WHOLESALEHUNTER.COM that is a Winchoke and then you can shoot Sabot slugs. But remember your barrel is smoothbore and only the 2 3/4 inch slug tube is rifled. You will get better accuracy from a slug tube than a smoothbore but not as good a fully rifled barrel. This is because when the shell is fired it gains speed going down the smoothbore barrel than when it gets to they choke they have a tendency to skid a little on the rifling. Because they skid the slug never gets the real twist it needs before exiting the barrel. However they will shoot straighter than a rifled slug and fly true further. Speaking of barrels a 120 or a 1300 barrel will fit each other plus a 1200. However a 1200 barrel only fits another 1200. And the 1300 model defender 18 inch barrels will fit only a defender due the magazine length. I have seen them mounted though but you have to purchase a special magazine extension. Model 140's and 1400 are semi autos and will also work with each other but not on pump shotguns. If you look on eBay it is still possible to get a rifled slug barrel new for a 1300 from some dealers for as low a $250.00 although before I would buy one I would buy a 5 inch slug tube from www.Hastings.com for about $60.00 and use it. <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Hastings</st1:place></st1:City> has never made a paradox barrel for the shotgun although they did make one for the Model 12 shotguns. There is also a nice 24" turkey barrel available for the 1300 that will fit. The stocks for the 1200 and 1300 will fit the 120 but the fore grips are different. Because the 120 has shorter breach slides on it like a older Model 12 shotgun. I like mine that way because it is harder to short shuck it and that could cost you a tasty critter. The 120 I own has been flawless for me. I have taken more deer than the number of years I have owned it. I have taken Pheasants and Ducks and Geese and even a Wild Bore in <st1:State w:st="on">Arkansas</st1:State> near the <st1:place w:st="on">White River</st1:place> with it. I sold an 870 in order to buy it because the 870 had a problem with different types of shells. Some would work perfect and some were horrible in the 870. It was shocking actually since it was a top grade Wingmaster and not a cheaper express version. The <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Winchester</st1:place></st1:City> 120 is the fastest pump I have ever seen and works well with everything brand of shell I ever tried. I have used in snow and rain and even carried it out of a muddy field or two and when I got home I cleaned it and it still looks great. Always clean the barrel with the slug tube in it the soft bristles can come off and lodge in the threads. And always make sure your choke is in tight before using it. If you don't you could damage the barrel because this is the thinnest part of the barrel. Many of my friends have switched to the 1300 after trying the 120 out. And many of them prefer the 120's hardwood stock I have. These shotguns were only made for a couple of years and a lot of people consider them to be valuable. I read an article that said they are worth $2000 to a collector. The article said there was on 5000 made in 10, 12, 16 and 20 gauges. However I feel they are only worth what you can get for them. And when you call the folks at <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Winchester</st1:place></st1:City> the shotgun is so obscure there just is nothing they can really tell you about it. In fact I have told you more than anyone else probably ever will about them. If you have any other questions about the 120 email me at zmopar1@yahoo.com my name is Pete and I will try to get you an answer. Good luck you have a fine shotgun!<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-Microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

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Remember never drink down stream from a herd or look straight up at a bird

There are about 1030 BTUs in a cubic foot of natural gas. If one wishes to know the gas consumption (in feet3 per hour) for a given BTU per hour usage rate, one would divide the amount of BTUs by 1030. That would yield the number of cubic feet of gas that is used per hour. Q: I'm heating a space using 10,300 BTUs per hour and I'm using my natural gas heater to do it. How many cubic feet of gas am I using per hour? A: 10,300 BTUs (the heat generated per hour) divided by 1030 (the number of BTUs per cubic foot of gas) equals 10 cubic feet. You're using 10 cubic feet per hour. You apply 10,300 BTUs to heat the space per hour, and you use 10 cubic feet of gas per hour to do that. (And yes, I picked easy numbers.)