Fireplace vent

[fadal]

The exhaust is blowing back into home instead of outside. Its a gas fireplace,and it vents on the side of the townhouse? Who could I call to figure out the problem? I called a couple heating and cooling companys the said the dont do that?

Thanks for the repies

[Roofer]

Yes they do. they make service calls, but maybe they only want to service their own. You should find out who the builder is and call him. If you are having a hard time finding the guy, try the local lumber yard. They may have supplied for the house.

How old is the house?

[King Canada]

What leads you to believe the fireplace is exhausting into the house? What brand is it? The fire box is a sealed unit and the direct vent pulls fresh air and exhausts though the vent apparatus you see on the outside. My experience is they won't operate at all if the exhaust has been compromised. Is there a contractor contact at the bottom of the unit by the gas fittings?

[fadal]

Thanks for the post. This is a townhouse built in 1999 by Orrin Thompson. I'm not sure of the brand of fireplace. We are renting it and the renter said she smelled gas when she turned the fireplace on. She had CenterPoint come out and they said it isn't a gas leak but the exhaust is circulating back into the house, and they cannot repair that. We can check the unit by the fittings for the contractor but let us know if you have other ideas.

[King Canada]

They are very simple devices and about the only way they can exhaust into the house is if the seal on the glass is not secure, Perhaps the renter misunderstood what the Gas Company was saying. I would be curious as to how the Gas Rep could tell there was an exhaust problem. Call one of the Fireplace outfits to check it out.

[trackerbrent]

Automatic Garage Door and Fireplace out of Champlin would be a good bet. They install for big builders all over the Twin Cities.

[sparcebag]

KC not all gas fireplaces have doors there are open ones,even so the vents should handle it.Did anyone check the vent for clogs?? Mouse nest squirrels????The gas Co. has a sniffer and can read monoxide,or gas.

[King Canada]

Any fireplace installed in an Orrin Thompson house of that era would be a sealed direct vent...probably Heat and Glo...so there...ever fish Big Kandiyohi...I have a place on the island..

[sparcebag]

I'll fish it once a year but thats just sittin in the camp ground,SWcorner,mostly catfish.Just to get away from work at home a couple days.PS I once worked on some OrrinThompson homes with a bunch of young guys,they kept borrowin my tools,I was hired to cut stairs,I quit after 2 weeks.no organization and really shoddy work!! I quit after my job requirement changed to remodler,walls placed wrong,fireplaces ROs all too small!!

[King Canada]

I hate to single out one of the national builders as they are all pretty pathetic and with the downturn they're only going to get worse. I souped for them for about 6 months along time ago and got away as fast as I could.

[Bigsmitty]

If the fireplace has a horizontal vent on the side of the house it is a direct vent unit. It is next to impossible for the exhaust fumes to come into the home. Unless a window is open and next to the vent. On a direct vent unit the glass is sealed and there is no other way that exhaust fumes could get into the home.