Not sure if it's the right forum but... My fireplace, which I have yet to use in the year I've been here) has a nice 4" slab of wood on two end supports of the same material. The wood is rather rough and I would like to finish it somewhat. Is there anything I should know about this, as far as a sanded finish, maybe a sealer or stain on it, being it's a fireplace mantle? The fireplace is/was a gas unit - doesn't seem to have a gas feed to it due to a finished patio on the backside of it. I haven't had a chimney sweep inspect it yet, as far as my using it for either gas or wood and I might not ever use it anyway. But in the chance that I might I thought I should check to see if there was anything to concern myself with, as far as finishing the mantle.

Hello: My home has two fireplaces, both of which suffer from the same problem due to the previous owner not installing chimney caps to keep out rain water. One is on one end of the house and was original to the 50's home. The second was installed in the basement on the other end of the house. I'm guessing it was also built in the 50's as it seems to duplicate in size and appearance, the first one. The damper has rusted out, or at least the connectivity to the open and close handle has been rusted away. Sure, I can reach up and in and with my bare hands open and close the damper, but that has gotten tedious, plus when the time comes to sell, I'll have to correct this anyway. Now, I have had a few companies come by to look at the problem, but all they want to do is install a chimney cap with a damper and then run a chain down the chimney to open and close with. That's not what I want. I want the fireplace to work as it should.... In that regard I have a few questions. Considering there is a fair amount of rust, can the damper be repaired. If not, and the entire fireplace unit needs to be removed and a new one inserted, besides having to repair or replace the damaged brickwork and stonework, what other problems am I facing? For instance is there any danger of chimney parts dropping down when the fireplace is pulled? Anything else I need to be aware of. Is this even something I should consider doing or am I totally in over my head? I'm not afraid of big projects. Last year I built a 50-foot long, 18-inch wide, 4-foot high free form stone wall entirely alone, so the masonary part of the job in not intimidating. Still I'm a total novice regarding chimneys so I could sure use some advice as to what needs to happen, and whether or not I could tackle it... Thanks much, Bob