Spent a whole weekend trying to fix a draft from my old fireplace

I live in a 1950s bungalow in Westmount and the living room was always cold. I figured the draft was coming from the old, unused fireplace. I thought I could just stuff some insulation up the flue and call it a day. After about four hours of trying to make a proper plug with foam board and sealant, I realized the main issue was the old metal damper that was warped and wouldn't close fully. Fixing that meant getting into the chimney from the roof, which I wasn't ready for. The whole simple job turned into a three-day project of finding parts and finally getting a chimney sweep to help me adjust the damper plate. Has anyone else in an older home dealt with a fireplace draft that turned into a bigger fix than you planned?

3 comments

3 Comments

felix_lane991mo ago

Oh man, that's a classic old house story. Just a heads up, stuffing insulation up a flue can actually trap moisture and cause damage. Your fix with the damper was the right call, even if it was a pain.

brian_rivera591mo ago

Yep, learned that the hard way too!

elizabethhayes22d ago

Three summers ago I stuffed some rockwool up my flue and then had a chimney sweep ream it ALL out and yell at me for ten minutes. @brian_rivera59 your damper fix was way smarter than my approach, trust me.