Thread: fireplace flue now hvac duct

Bob Harper - I bet you've seen this. Old South Philly row - fireplace in living room is sealed over and turned into an HVAC register. The flue is used as an HVAC duct to the second floor, then closed up with bricks above that.

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Oh man, I see those things ALL over! Somebody made a killing on those cast grilles. I'll open it up and find loose ducts stuffed into all three flues yet the boiler and water heater are still trying to vent around one of the ducts! Another clue is when you find the boiler vented out the basement window onto the sidewalk to make room for the ducts. I've seen the fireplace bricked off where the ducts stop short then pick up farther on up. I guess they figured the air would find its way. Any time you see an A/C condenser on one of those old homes, you know you're in for a treat.

Another trick in West Philly is to brick up the fireplace, which is vented 90 degrees to the side about 8 feet into a masonry chimney at the front of the row home. Now that the central steam plant is defunct, everyone rigged up all sorts of disasters to get heat. They will brick up the fireplace, vent the boiler and water heater into the ash pit and hope the flue gases find their way out! Must be 100,000 + homes like that.

You guys just don't know what you're missing around Philly. A virtual inspection lab!
Bob

Here's the lovely chimney top at same house.