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The surface texture above my fireplace damper is very rough. Will a Chimney Balloon be able to seal?

The surface texture above my fireplace damper is very rough. Will a Chimney Balloon be able to seal?

by | Mar 14, 2018 | Chimney Plugs

Surface texture above my fireplace damper

Q: Jason, The brick and mortar texture above my fireplace damper is very rough as you can see in the photo of my flue. The walls slant away in weird angles like looking up from the inside of a pyramid. Will the Chimney Balloon damper be able to seal this area ok?

I have a large rectangular metal damper. I believe you call that type of damper a “vestal” style damper. – RM

A: Hi RM, Thank you for the photo of the fireplace flue and your damper. You are correct that you do have a vestal style damper. This style is quite easy to fit with a Chimney Balloon even if there are slopping and slanting and rough texture walls in the flue above the damper.

Measure the area above the fireplace damper with a folding carpenters ruler and buy a Chimney Balloon that is at least that dimension (i.e. If you measure 37″x16″ buy a custom 39×16 Chimney Balloon. Do NOT buy a 36×15 standard since that will be too small). Take the un-inflated Chimney Balloon out of its packaging and tuck the Chimney Balloon material above the flue with the long side pointing in the length direction of the fireplace. The handle of the Chimney Balloon will stick down through the open damper door. It is OK to leave the damper door open since the Chimney Balloon will be serving as the damper when it is inflated. And quite frankly it will do a better job sealing than the old tired metal damper.

The type of texture you show if your picture is actually quite beneficial for the Chimney Balloon since it gives the Chimney Balloon membrane a nice surface texture to grab hold of when you inflate the Chimney Balloon damper in place. The Chimney Balloon material is very flexible and will seal around any mortar or texture as it inflates. Just make sure you do not attempt to move the position of the Chimney Balloon after you have it inflated in place. If you do have to adjust the position of the Chimney Balloon remove most of the air volume of the Chimney Balloon before you reposition it. – Jason

The Damper Handle is Off to the Side In My Fireplace

The Damper Handle is Off to the Side In My Fireplace

by | Mar 9, 2018 | Chimney Plugs

Damper Handle

Q: Jason, Most of the diagrams on the Chimney Balloon.us show fireplace dampers with the handle in the middle of the damper door. On my fireplace, I have the damper handle way off to the right side (see the two attached pictures with the damper open and damper closed). Does this make a difference? Should I still install a Chimney Balloon above my damper? I measured the area above the damper and it is 11″ deep and 30″ across – TY

A: Dear TY, Thank you for the two damper photos. The opening and closing mechanism are unique on this fireplace damper. I have seen this type of damper before, but have never take a photo of it. I can tell by the cobwebs hanging in your open flue (in the open damper photo) that you must not use this fireplace very much.

In this particular application, I would recommend that you install the Chimney Balloon above the damper. The handle and other damper hardware are on the way below the damper and it looks like the firebox opens to the hearth almost immediately below the damper so there is not much lintel there.

Since your measurements above the damper are 30″x11″ and it looks like the flue stair steps smaller as it goes upward I would go with a 33×12 Chimney Balloon in this fireplace flue. You can always go a little larger (up to 6″ or so) in the Chimney Balloon size you purchase, just never buy one smaller than your measurements. – Jason