I have run across a few of those in South Florida in years past and every single one was rusted out.

I forgot what my comments were, but it was basically something like "Be glad you are in South Florida where YOU WILL NEVER NEED OR WANT TO USE THAT as you could burn your house down, good thing you have heat, not that you even need that either very often. DO NOT USE THE FIREPLACE - IT IS A FIRE HAZARD. The fireplace will need to be de-constructed and then re-constructed with a new fireplace.

__________________
Jerry Peck, Construction / Litigation Consultant
Construction Litigation Consultants, LLC ( www.ConstructionLitigationConsultants.com )
www.AskCodeMan.com