Chimney Services in Wall Township, NJ

What the numbers suggest for chimneys in Wall Township

Census estimates date about 11% of Wall's 10,397 housing units to 1939 or earlier and 20% to 1940 through 1959. Another 24% come from the 1960s and 1970s and 32% from 1980 to 1999. The older houses are likely to have masonry fireplaces with clay tile flues, or in the oldest cases possibly no liner; flue vs. liner explains why that distinction matters. The later decades bring more factory-built fireplaces, whose manuals control what may be attached to them.

About 89% of occupied homes heat with utility gas, 5% with electricity and 3% with fuel oil. Where gas is in the house, some wood fireplaces end up with gas logs, and that changes how glass doors are used, as described below. Gas logs vs. gas inserts lays out both conversions.

Detached houses make up about 81% of units. None of these figures can tell you the condition of your own fireplace.

What doors and screens each do

A mesh screen's job is to keep sparks and tumbling embers inside the firebox. A screen, glass or metal, is the U.S. Fire Administration's recommended barrier against embers jumping out, and its safety card also asks that anything flammable stay at least 3 feet from the fireplace.

Glass doors close off the opening when a fire is dying down or the fireplace is idle, and they slow the loss of warm room air up an open flue. They do not stand in for the damper, which still has to close the flue whenever the fireplace is cold. If the damper no longer seals, see throat dampers vs. top-sealing dampers.

Open or closed while the fire burns?

Many owners assume closed glass is the safer position. At least one door maker says otherwise. Stoll writes that its masonry fireplace enclosures are meant to run with the glass open and the screens shut during a fire, and they ask for at least 5 inches between the fire and the enclosure. They also say to leave the fireplace damper fully open and keep the enclosure's own air damper open until the fire is out. Stoll warns that tempered glass, if it fails, breaks into small pieces that can fly about, so logs and tools should never strike it.

The instructions for your doors set the rules for your fireplace. If you no longer have them, look for the maker's name on the frame.

Fitting doors to an older opening

Stoll's instructions point out that a masonry fireplace face is often not perfectly flat, plumb or level, and that the opening may not be square; they warn against forcing a frame to conform. On an older fireplace, the edges of the opening can also show cracked or loose brick, a sagging steel lintel or eroded joints. A door frame laid over that hides the damage without fixing it.

An inspection before you order doors checks the firebox, lintel, damper and smoke chamber, and repairs at the opening are easier to make before a frame covers them. See firebox repair, fireplace repair and our guide to fireplace glass doors and screens.

Local questions

Sources

1. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates (tables B25034, B25040, B25024), via Census Reporter
2. Stoll Fireplace: Masonry Fireplace Enclosure Installation and Operating Instructions (Inside Fit, PDF)
3. U.S. Fire Administration: Fireplace and Wood Stove Safety (PDF)
4. Majestic SSTB11 Woodburning Fireplace: Installation, Operation and Maintenance Manual (PDF)