Switch gas fireplace to wood? Expect to write big checks
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Q: I have lived in older houses in the city my entire life and am considering a newer home (2 years old). These newer houses all seem to have gas fireplaces, but I actually prefer wood-burning for the authentic look and feel, and for heat when the power goes out. How difficult is it to convert from gas to wood-burning?
A: Almost all gas fireplaces will work when the power is out, despite the "electric" control switch on the wall. If equipped with an electrically powered blower fan, the blower won't run, but heat will come out just fine. If the fireplace has a pilot light, you will get burner ignition - they rely solely on heat from the pilot light to open the main gas valve. To prove this to yourself, shut off all the electric power at the breaker box, then turn on the gas fireplace.
Converting a gas fireplace to wood-burning? Forget it.
Most new gas fireplaces are direct-vented, meaning they have no chimney whatsoever, and vent directly through the wall. Wood smoke won't vent this way. If you still want to convert, bring your checkbook and lots of checks. Big checks.
If, however, the gas fireplace has a wood-framed chimney, it is more feasible, requiring only a completely new firebox, mantel, flue liner and cap. Again lots of checks, just slightly smaller due to the physical presence of a chimney frame.
Q: I have a strange problem, and after two plumbers, the septic man and a water-heater technician, I have made no progress. Banging noises occur in the walls by the upstairs and (right below it) downstairs bathroom walls in the front of the house. These are the walls where the plumbing vent lines run through to the roof.
We have a septic system with a sump pump. It is 24 years old and only started making these noises in January. Noises occur when the upstairs shower or upstairs bathroom tub (on other side of the house) uses hot/warm water. It bangs 1 to 4 minutes after the water has been turned off. It isn't the "water hammer" that happens right as a faucet is shut off, but continues for five to seven minutes.
Thinking it was water coming into the house, we used a big pipe and ran the shower (hot water) so it ducted out the window, not down the drain. No noises occurred. We then ran cold water from an outside hose in through the window and down the drain; no noises. But when you run hot water down the drain as a normal shower, the banging starts again.
I have been under the house. The pipes look fine, no leaks. The septic guy ran water down all vents, no plugged pipe. The water-heater guy checked all connections, gas burner, turned off the "hot" to the house and it did not make a difference, thus eliminating a possible water-heater connection.
The banging doesn't happen with the downstairs washing machine. Would pipe expansion with hot water be a factor?
A: You didn't mention if the waste (sewage side) pipes are copper or ABS (black plastic). Built in 1977, your house may have ABS, but copper is not unheard of, so to speak.
When expanding and contracting, ABS makes a ticking type noise, irritating, but certainly not a banging. Check valves in a pump could make these noises, as could water-heater ball-checks, but presumably these have been negated as the culprit.
Lacking any further information, or a schematic of the system, it would appear that you have a problem with thermally expanding and contracting pipes.
Whether it is supply, drain or a combination of both is irrelevant; it needs to be taken care of. Something in the wall or floor is too tight, loose, rubbing or catching, and it may require opening up a wall or ceiling in one or more areas to get it fixed.
A longer length of pipe is suspected, as it would have a larger area in which to expand. Get the pipe to make its noise, use a stethoscope and a lighted boroscope to locate it more precisely (remove baseboard and put the boroscope into the wall where no permanent hole is left).
Before cutting into drywall, remove insulation from around the pipes in the crawl space, see if you can feel and stop the banging by holding or pulling the offending pipe or other pipes that may be loose and hitting the framing, other plumbing or heat ducts. A shim, strap or isolator may have come loose, allowing movement.
Darrell Hay answers readers' questions. Call 206-464-8514 to record your question. Or e-mail dhay@seattletimes.com.