Fireplace Insulation
Fireplace insulation is essential to prevent the wastage of fuel energy. Fuel-- wood, gas, electricity or coal- is precious and is getting costlier by the day. Its wasteful burning in your fireplace may burn a deep hole in your pocket. The loss in term of money may total up to thousands of dollars or pounds over a period of time.
Sometimes the fireplace insulation inserts are fixed in the fireplaces when the house is being constructed but the masons leave gaps, or, they are improperly installed with the result that the heat continues to be wasted as the home owner becomes complacent about it. It is, therefore, advisable to check the area around the fireplace. If you cannot do it yourself, get it checked by the fireplace installer. Quite possibly the house builder may have missed out on putting insulation between the firebox and the chimney siding. If this is diagnosed as the site of the leakage, the best option would be to rip out the siding and insulate it.
There are other methods also to insulate the fireplace. One way to do this is to use the heat-proof caulking to seal the gaps between the firebox and wallboard. If you observe keenly you may find that the wallboard may have gaping holes in it. To close the holes you need to reface the fireplace with cement board-thinset-granite.
If the problem is with your chimney flue, you may need to insert insulation material to prevent the heat loss. It is a very convenient and cost effective way to make your fireplace energy efficient. It is easy to cut the material for a tight fit and optimum efficiency.
Take 10 feet long and one and a half inch wide self-adhesive insulation strip and fix it between the insert and the existing masonry. It acts as a tight seal to prevent the leakage of the smoke and gas. To get the best insulation results you need to replace insulation each time the insert is removed for cleaning. Hopefully it will seal off the gaps and holes. This adhesive tape can also be used to seal the fireplace doors.
Yet another method is to use the fireplace insert insulation plug. This plug is very easy to remove and reinstall. You need not put your fireplace out of operation. The fireplace insert insulation material used with the plug is moisture resistant because it is made up of rigid closed cell polyethylene which remains unaffected by the moisture and provides an effective solution to drafty fireplaces. It can be cut and trimmed easily with knife and delivers incredible heat loss prevention.
