this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2023
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Most chimneys in my neighborhood are open, thus water enters, yet fireplaces are blocked off. What happens to the water? (fedia.io)
submitted 1 year ago by ciferecaNinjo@fedia.io to c/homeimprovement@lemmy.world
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I have a few apparently cast-iron chimneys bedded in concrete. They have no hats on them. I’m not sure how the fireplaces were blocked off but it feels solid, as if they bricked them shut and plastered over it.

Isn’t this a bad idea? They don’t seem to be filling up with rainwater yet it rains quite heavily. I assume the fireplaces have been blocked off for over a decade at least. There must be quite an ecosystem of creepy crawlies going on in there.

So what if I want to open the fireplace back up and install a boiler, sewer vent, wood stove, kitchen range hood, or ventilation system? Can they be restored or must they just be treated as wasted dead space?

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[–] Thorny_Thicket@sopuli.xyz 3 points 1 year ago

It would have to be raining perfectly straight down for the water to reach the fireplace and the actual size of the chimney on the inside is not as wide as you might think. Water definitely gets inside and it's not ideal especially on the long run but it's still relatively small amounts so it's not a huge deal. Also not all chimneys lead straight into the fireplace. There may be bends on the way that trap the water.