By Barry Stone
Dear Barry:
We purchased our home about 10 years ago, and one of the features we liked was the firewood storage cabinet next to the living room fireplace. Now that we're selling the property, the buyer's home inspector found a problem apparently gone unnoticed since the house was built. The interior of the firewood cabinet provides open access to the metal casing behind the fireplace unit, and firewood and other kindling materials are in direct contact with this metal surface. How could this condition have been allowed at the time of construction? -- Maria
Dear Maria,
In the course of constructing a home, there are always a few defects that escape detection. In most instances, shortcomings are limited to cosmetic flaws or items of inconvenience. Sometimes, however, they involve elements of critical safety, as was discovered behind your fireplace. It is also possible that the firewood cabinet was not part of the original construction but was added later.
Regardless of when the error was made, this is a significant fire hazard and should be corrected immediately.
A manufactured fireplace consists of a sheet metal box, lined with special ceramic tiles, known as refractory plates. The purpose of the plates is to prevent overheating of the metal box. But when large fires are maintained for prolonged periods, the metal surfaces can still become quite hot. Direct contact with firewood or other combustible materials can cause spontaneous combustion within the walls.
Although direct access behind such fireplaces is prohibited, this kind of construction defect can be found in a number of homes. In some instances, utility closets or storage areas provide such exposure, and homeowners may unwittingly store flammable objects such as magazines and brooms against firebox surfaces.
Anyone with open access behind a metal fireplace unit should hire a licensed general contractor to construct an approved fire separation around the fixture.
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