CathyA
10-5-11, 10:12am
Last night during dinner, DS said....."Listen....what's that?" I thought it was just the various weird noises that our freezer makes. But closer inspection told us something was up in the fireplace....above the closed flue. It was chewing on something. Sounded like it had a big paper bag in there and was chewing on it.
This is a fireplace right next to the kitchen area that we never use, since there's a tile missing from the chimney liner and it just doesn't make sense to have a fireplace there. The flue has been closed forever, with insulation around the closing.
So....we checked out the fire box and nothing showed (no droppings). DH and DS went on the roof and looked down into the chimney. (after removing the spark arrester and screen covering the top). There were so many cob webs, they couldn't see down into it. So we assumed nothing was coming from the top. Once we got a bright light up there, DH said he could see down to the flue, and there weren't signs of anything....no animals, no nest.
I'm not sure how fireplaces are made. I think from the ground up, they build an enclosed cement box and then add the firebox and then the stone facade.
Can any of you who might know the anatomy of a fireplace, tell me where something might be getting in from? We have a large crawl space. Unless there is a break in the cement box in the crawl space or the attic, the only way to get in would be digging clear under the cement enclosure, right?
I guess I wouldn't put it past the chipmunks. This is an external chimney (meaning it runs along the outside of the house). It is covered with fieldstone and there don't appear to be any breaks in it.
I'm just trying to think of places to look first, to seal it up.
We haven't heard any sounds since we made that big racket around the fireplace (vacuum, etc.). For now, I have a radio blaring in that space. We usually have a small bookcase in front of the opening, to store kitchen pots/pans. I'm going to get a piece of plywood to put there. But we don't think any animal is inside the flue area.......just between the firebox and either the cement box, or the stone facade. Even though its not in the house proper.........still don't want things living in the walls.
We live out in the country, so nothing surprises us too much. Just don't want to share our living space with animals. Saw a mink in the creek the other day, and we have deer on a regular basis........oh yes, and mice and squirrels and raccoons and oppossums, etc. oh my!
Any suggestions where the little rascals entrance might be?
Thanks.
This is a fireplace right next to the kitchen area that we never use, since there's a tile missing from the chimney liner and it just doesn't make sense to have a fireplace there. The flue has been closed forever, with insulation around the closing.
So....we checked out the fire box and nothing showed (no droppings). DH and DS went on the roof and looked down into the chimney. (after removing the spark arrester and screen covering the top). There were so many cob webs, they couldn't see down into it. So we assumed nothing was coming from the top. Once we got a bright light up there, DH said he could see down to the flue, and there weren't signs of anything....no animals, no nest.
I'm not sure how fireplaces are made. I think from the ground up, they build an enclosed cement box and then add the firebox and then the stone facade.
Can any of you who might know the anatomy of a fireplace, tell me where something might be getting in from? We have a large crawl space. Unless there is a break in the cement box in the crawl space or the attic, the only way to get in would be digging clear under the cement enclosure, right?
I guess I wouldn't put it past the chipmunks. This is an external chimney (meaning it runs along the outside of the house). It is covered with fieldstone and there don't appear to be any breaks in it.
I'm just trying to think of places to look first, to seal it up.
We haven't heard any sounds since we made that big racket around the fireplace (vacuum, etc.). For now, I have a radio blaring in that space. We usually have a small bookcase in front of the opening, to store kitchen pots/pans. I'm going to get a piece of plywood to put there. But we don't think any animal is inside the flue area.......just between the firebox and either the cement box, or the stone facade. Even though its not in the house proper.........still don't want things living in the walls.
We live out in the country, so nothing surprises us too much. Just don't want to share our living space with animals. Saw a mink in the creek the other day, and we have deer on a regular basis........oh yes, and mice and squirrels and raccoons and oppossums, etc. oh my!
Any suggestions where the little rascals entrance might be?
Thanks.