Why does my fireplace smoke only on windy days?
Flat Rock's historic homes are the reason — many date to the 1800s and were built with oversized open masonry fireplaces and wide flues that move smoke slowly at the best of times. A large, sluggish firebox needs only a modest downdraft to reverse, so gusty days push smoke in. Aging clay liners with cracked joints make it worse. A sealed insert is often the lasting fix.
Why a grand old firebox smokes so easily
The big, deep fireplaces that give Historic Flat Rock homes their character are aerodynamically the hardest to keep smoke-free. A wide throat and an oversized flue mean low exhaust velocity — the smoke drifts up slowly instead of shooting out. When wind pressurizes the top, there's little upward momentum to overcome it, and the draft flips. It's not that these chimneys are broken; they were built for a slower, more forgiving era of burning.
The clay-liner factor
Century-old flues here are usually lined with clay tile, and after that many freeze-thaw winters the joints crack and shoulders spall. Those gaps let wind into the flue partway up, so even a tall chimney can smoke when it's blustery. An inspection tells us whether the liner is intact; often it isn't, and a stainless liner both seals it and correctly sizes the passage to the fire.
Preserving the look, fixing the draft
You don't have to give up the mantel and surround you love. Dropping a sealed insert — wood, or since Flat Rock sits on gas mains a direct-vent gas unit — into that oversized opening keeps the historic face while ending both the draftiness and the wind smoke. We permit the gas work with Henderson County. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Flat Rock
We install and service fireplaces throughout Flat Rock and the rest of Henderson County — just 30 minutes south from our Asheville-area showroom.
Related questions
- Why does my fireplace smoke only when I first light it?
- Why does my chimney howl or moan when it's windy?
- Why does my fireplace backdraft when the furnace or a bathroom fan is running?
- Why does smoke come into the room when I use my wood-burning fireplace?
- How do I stop cold air from coming down my chimney?