electric fireplaces at big lots image
You Know W
We just bought a house and the fireplace is neither gas or electric. Do I just put wood in the fireplace and open the damper. This is the first house I ever owned with a fireplace. We live in Southern California and it only gets cold in the winter. But I just want to prepare myself. Don't want to burn the house down or smoke the house if you get my drift. Any suggestions how to start my fireplace that is neither gas or electric?
Answer
You would build a fire there just like anywhere else (ie: campfire). Start with rolled up paper or twigs and light that, when it's burning add medium sized pieces of wood, when that is burning well add a big log or two. The lighter stuff will burn up leaving the big logs smoldering for awhile. Make sure your damper is open when you do this! Also close your damper in the warmer months so that you don't leak a lot of air conditioned air to the outside.
You would build a fire there just like anywhere else (ie: campfire). Start with rolled up paper or twigs and light that, when it's burning add medium sized pieces of wood, when that is burning well add a big log or two. The lighter stuff will burn up leaving the big logs smoldering for awhile. Make sure your damper is open when you do this! Also close your damper in the warmer months so that you don't leak a lot of air conditioned air to the outside.
How do you take paint off of brick?
Sherry R
Tudor brick home built in 1926. Homeowner painted the fireplace. We want to know the steps to restore the fireplace back to the original brick. Thanks!
Answer
Getting paint off of anything is always a messy business. With brick, it's extra messy, and hard, because the mortar between the bricks is not at the same level.
Sandblasting works, but requires a lot of equippment, and gets a lot of sand (potentially wet sand, depending on the machine used) all over the room... better for exterior work.
Chemicals may work, but I am not impressed. Usually this just dissolves the paint, and you have to wipe it off. The paint spots you're sure to miss will often seep deeper into the cracks and crevices... but if the paint is some sort of earth tone, this may not be too big a deal, might just make it look like "used" bricks. As a bonus, chemicals usually do not damage the bricks themselves, which would otherwise get some amount of apparent weathering.
A wire brush is probably the second best way to do it. They don't get sand all over like a sandblaster. You have more control over what gets removed, and what does not get removed... but doing this by hand will literally take forever.
Rotary wheels with wire bristles on them can be attached to dremel tools, electric screwdrivers, drills, or even some rotary saws. They sacrifice some of the accuracy of a wire brush for a much faster overall process. This will probably take less time than using paint remover chemicals, but slightly more time than a sand blaster. You're likely to get paint chips and bits of brick and mortar dust everywhere, but at least there will be no wet sand. You might be able to find rotary wheels of different sizes and thicknesses... one like a big roller would be great for the brick surface. A much thinner one should get the horizontal mortar between the brick layers, and a very small one could get the detail work in the vertical mortar between individual bricks in a layer.
Getting paint off of anything is always a messy business. With brick, it's extra messy, and hard, because the mortar between the bricks is not at the same level.
Sandblasting works, but requires a lot of equippment, and gets a lot of sand (potentially wet sand, depending on the machine used) all over the room... better for exterior work.
Chemicals may work, but I am not impressed. Usually this just dissolves the paint, and you have to wipe it off. The paint spots you're sure to miss will often seep deeper into the cracks and crevices... but if the paint is some sort of earth tone, this may not be too big a deal, might just make it look like "used" bricks. As a bonus, chemicals usually do not damage the bricks themselves, which would otherwise get some amount of apparent weathering.
A wire brush is probably the second best way to do it. They don't get sand all over like a sandblaster. You have more control over what gets removed, and what does not get removed... but doing this by hand will literally take forever.
Rotary wheels with wire bristles on them can be attached to dremel tools, electric screwdrivers, drills, or even some rotary saws. They sacrifice some of the accuracy of a wire brush for a much faster overall process. This will probably take less time than using paint remover chemicals, but slightly more time than a sand blaster. You're likely to get paint chips and bits of brick and mortar dust everywhere, but at least there will be no wet sand. You might be able to find rotary wheels of different sizes and thicknesses... one like a big roller would be great for the brick surface. A much thinner one should get the horizontal mortar between the brick layers, and a very small one could get the detail work in the vertical mortar between individual bricks in a layer.
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Title Post: Any suggestions how to start my fireplace that is neither gas or electric?
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Rating: 100% based on 99998 ratings. 5 user reviews.
Author: Unknown
Thank FOr Coming TO My Blog
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