[elinormann]

My landlord just informed me that I can only burn firelogs in my fireplace. Is there any valid physical reason (not "environmental") for this? It's a brick fireplace/chimney with glass doors built in the 1970's by a contractor/owner as part of a conversion of a single family residence to a duplex. The previous tenant used the fireplace. He left ashes behind that do not resemble a firelog but I can't be sure. The landlord claims only firelogs have ever been burned. She seems to think wood burning would be "dangerous" and cause some kind of unsafe threat.

I understand real wood fires can burn hotter than firelogs but if it's a bonafide brick structure, how is this unsafe? Wouldn't the glass doors melt before the brick was damaged?

Also, a friend who works with flue gas recirculation systems, tells me that because it's a short stack chimney (about 15') there's not much draw. So he says I need a hotter fire to create the draw so the flue gas is sucked out.

I need help convincing my landlord that burning real wood won't harm her house...

[teacherjenn4]

How about an inspection by a qualified chimney inspector?

[joypulv]

Your landlord has the final say.
But you can do research to be informed on the subject. 'Real wood' is not a meaningful term, so it's clear that you need to do a lot of studying. Only certain woods are suitable for fireplaces, mostly hardwoods, and they need to be dried for about 1 year; less has too much water in it and more burns too fast and hot. Even if you buy a cord of wood from a local supplier, you need to know how to feel the heft of it to see how green or dry it is, and to be able to identify the kind of tree it came from, in case you are being sold something it is not.
Safety of the brick includes creosote buildup (all burning creates creosote; how much depends on how good the wood is) and lost mortar in the joints. Safety of the flue being the right length is to prevent backdraft and harmful or fatal gasses coming back into the house, and a too short one can also send sparks out to catch wood parts of the house or grounds on fire.
The glass doors are very heat resistant but burning logs must not touch the glass, a good reason to have andirons (as well as to have air flow below the logs).
Super tight houses and kitchen and bath exhausts, a whole new concern recently, can create a vacuum that sucks air out of a fireplace instead of going up the chimney, or at the very least stalls gasses and smoke from going up the chimney as it has for hundreds of years.

There's a lot to learn.

[ma0641]

Artificial logs have very little creosote. Real logs have much more and are more prone to chimney fires. I think your liability would be great if a fire occurred and you violated your lease.

[ScottGem]

As joy and ma said, natural wood, even wood prepared for fireplace burning, have lots of creosote which can line a firelplace flue and cause damage and fires.

So yes there is a good reason for the landlord to place this restriction. Also, unless, you have a fireplace designed to heat the living premises, you will get very little heat out of a fireplace.