Thread: Bill Hubric, Discovery Home Inspections, LLC.

Hello All,

I inspect in CT. and NY so most homes have fireplaces in my area. Understanding that there are clean outs at the base of most, if not all chimneys. Usually one for the HVAC flue and one for the fireplace.

I am however finding in many inspections that the the trap door in the base of the fireplace that is used to dump ash into a clean out area is just dumping the ash out of a chimney opening and onto the floor of the basement. This just can't be correct. I'm thinking a log accidentally opens the trap door while a fire in burning and dumps hot ash into the basement.

I would think the trap door should dump into the chimney clean out at the base of the chimney.

Kindly sent your thoughts and thank you for your input.

Regards,
Bill


From Fireplace cleanouts - InterNACHI Inspection Forum InterNACHI Inspection Forum

Definitely a fire hazard.