Hi All,
We have a gas fireplace in our family room in our townhouse. In the whole house when we come to the family room we can see that we are pretty much sitting outside (its deadly cold) even though other parts of the house is relatively better.

When i pay attention, i can see that the cold draft is coming entering house from bottom of the fireplace.When opened the foot door of the FP, i noticed that the draft is coming from the whole where the gas pipe is entering the FP.
I am attaching the pictures.
Picasa Web Albums - Anika - House pics
For now i covered the hole with a thermocoal sheet and it feels little better.

In my whole hose this family room and the basement appears to be literally standing outside, irrespective of my heat setting.
Especially when the outside weather is soo cold.

Cold draft is as good as i am standing outside. That to me is something really wrong as nowhere in the house it should feel like i am standing outside.

Can you guys please throw some pointers what could be the reason. Could something be wrong with chimney and the cold draft is entering the house?

I also noticed that my attic has 2 -3 windows like things that is almost like holes to the outside. But it looked like its by design. I am not sure if that could be a reason the draft entering the house.

 

this means that you most likely have several air leaks into the living space, start by checking all switch plates and outlet covers, foam insulation for them is cheap and should be installed in each one. then check all doors and windows for weatherstriping
does the fire place have a damper? if not get a good set of glass doors to seal it off when not in use. you might talk to the local utility company most will do energy audits for free and give weatherstriping as part of it.
post back for more ideas and help.

life begins when the kids leave home and the dog dies

 

Hi va, is your chimney on an outside wall or does it go up through the center of the house? Outside chimneys tend to be colder, but both, by design, have space around then that rarely gets sealed up. Chimneys are not supposed to be built in contact with the wood framing, so they leave a 2 inch gap all the way around. The gap is covered by sheetrock on the inside and flashing and siding on the outside. If you can get to the chimney from the attic and basement, see if the gap is visible and cover with metal flashing and seal with a fire resistant can foam or caulking. The gas line has also provided another access point where cold air can get in. Since this line has to be serviceable, you should talk to the gas company to determine how best to seal out the cold air. Fiberglass insulation does not work well when trying to stop air leaks. If you want to get a jump on the problem, bring in an energy auditor with their testing equipment. An infrared camera will help to pinpoint those leaks.

Keep warm
Bud