OT - Can this chimney damper door be removed? - PIC

Big Trees

Member
I need to clean this chimney for the first time and I HATE heights so I'm trying to clean it from the inside going up using the chimney sweep ball and poles.

My problem is I don't think this door can be removed. There are 2 little pins on the door that go into holes in the flue and I can't get them out of the holes.

My damper door looks exactly like this one is this pic. Can anybody tell me if it can be removed and if so, how?

Or do I have to climb up on the roof and clean from the top?

Thank you all in advance!
 
Big Trees,I don't know how you would clean a chimney from the bottom up,unless you are Santa Clause.Use a brush ect. from the top-down,even rocks/bricks and some straw in a burlap bag on a rope will do a good job.
 

Den, thank you for the reply. I should have added a picture of the chimney sweep ball I was speaking of. I have this ball and poles that I connect together to be able to reach the whole chimney. I will be able to do it from the inside if I can just remove this damper door.

Thanks again.
 
I understand your dilemma. I am not afraid in high places (built many 3 and 4 story houses), but I am 'getting on'. I hire a guy now to clean the chimbly (sp.-;^)). Worth the $$. Last year he wasn't available - did it my self - gots the tool and extensions already - no biggy. As to the damper, hire a guy what knows. You might be successful with a Dremel and grind the ends off - it will fall down. HTH
 

Thanks for the reply, Bob Harvey!

When we bought the house last year I knew I needed to clean the chimney so I bought the chimney ball and extensions to do it but got so nervous as I was about to step on the roof that I just couldn't get up there. I called a chimney sweep company to get a quote and never hired them because I told myself that I bought the stuff to do it and that I needed to get over my fear.

I hadn't got up on the roof until yesterday but it was only to get something that I couldn't reach otherwise. So, if I need to get up there I'm sure I can but I'm hoping I can just clean it from the inside.

As far as the dremel and cutting the tabs off, I thought about that but didn't know if I did that if I'd have a problem getting the damper to close good enough after that.

That's probably what I'll end up doing. Thanks a lot for your reply and your advice. It's very much appreciated!!
 
Top down or hire it out. if you remove that you could cause more damage than you will save by doing it yourself.
 
(quoted from post at 18:28:03 11/15/15) Top down or hire it out. if you remove that you could cause more damage than you will save by doing it yourself.

I will follow your advice, HCooke. Thank you very much for the advice, sir!
 
[qu
ote="Big Trees"](reply to post at 14:32:14 11/15/15) [/quote]
i found this out the hard way , when you shove that brush up and down in the chimney block it off at the bottom to prevent a down draft or you'll get soot all over the inside of the house . and its really a pain to clean up.
rick
 
If the pin goes all the way through just pull it out from one side. Other wise you couldn't get it togethor to begin with.
 

Thank you guys for the replies and advice. I will make sure to block off the bottom when I do it.


Cowdog, I'm not exactly sure how the pin is fixed on there. It almost seems like it's made onto the damper door itself. I had the same thought you did though, it had to go in there some how.


Thank you all, I'm still not sure what I'm going to do yet.
 
(quoted from post at 17:11:48 11/15/15)


My advice, for what it's worth: Don't climb on the roof.

You say:
I HATE heights
AND
but got so nervous as I was about to step on the roof that I just couldn't get up there.

Just listen to what your inner gut is trying to tell you and don't do it. If you uncomfortable doing it a hundred bucks or so in supplies just does not anywhere near make it worth the risk. I was up on my roof once, 35 feet from the peak to the ground, 12 pitch. I looked around and said, yup, this is the last time I'll ever have this view. That was 27 years ago.

I clean my woodstove chimney from the bottom every year. The chimney lands in a crawl space right up against the cellar foundation, so I access the clean out door at about head level from the cellar. I just screw enough fiberglass poles together to do it. Cleaning from the bottom works well for me. Remember to wear gloves to avoid fiberglass splinters, and a dust mask too.
 
I haven't burned wood for heat in years so I'm sure things have
changed, but I would give your insurance agent a jingle.
Are you covered if you don't have it professionally cleaned?
 


Jimtrs - Thank you for the reply and the honest suggestion. I feel better getting on the roof than I first did because I was able to get enough confidence to get up there but I haven't cleaned the chimney yet. I will certainly be careful if I do get up there and I'm thinking about buying a safety harness and connecting it to something sturdy before I get up there again. I know I'll need to get up there many times in the future for different stuff so I feel that I NEED to be able to get up there. I appreciate you taking the time to respond. Thank you very much.


Royse - Thanks for the reply. You brought up a great point that I didn't even consider. We will make a call or send a email to our insurance agent to day to confirm that great point you brought up. Thank you as well for the response and the advice.


Very much appreciated you all!!!
 

Don't mess with it. Do it from the top or hire it done.

When I hired someone to come out to do ours we discovered that when they put an insert in the fireplace they cut the damper out, no way to replace it without a major rebuild. We ended up putting a top damper on it, on the new liner. They found there had been a creosote fire and the old liner was cracked badly so we had a stainless steel liner installed. Of course that caused an additional problem when a tree fell on the chimney a few years later, not only the top ten feet or so of the chimney needed rebuilt but a piece of the stainless liner had to be cut out and patched in. They discovered the furnace liner side was cracked by the tree below the level where the tree stopped, so the ins. company paid for a new liner for that too. I talked them into that saying that the chimney would have to be taken down several more feet and that would cost more than the new liner. The furnace has never run more efficiently, according to the HVAC guys (oil burning hot water system).
 

W_B - Thanks a lot for your reply and sharing your experience. I have not had it done yet due to rainy weather but I plan to get up there myself and do it. I'll probably buy a safety harness and tie myself to a tree before I get up there. One thing I do NOT plan on doing is cutting the damper door.

Thank you all very much!
 

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