Darren Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 110 year old house with 11 fireplaces. All three chimneys had these grills in the attic. Click to Enlarge 70.62 KB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bain Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 Clueless. Is it to allow access by a chimney sweep? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben H Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 That's what I would think, some kind of clean out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted March 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 I sent the photo to the chimney guy I recommend; here is his reply- There were several purposes for grates in chimneys in attic areas. Pending time of repairs or alterations to the home it was for one of the following: 1 attic venting. Prior to ridge and soffit venting, abandoned chimney cavities were utilized. 2. Central heating. There were circumstances where inactive chimney spaces were used for heat delivery. 3. Related to both 1 and 2, balloon framed homes sometimes had a center vent to induce natural convection throughout the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgbinspect Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 Attic ventilation would have been my guess, as well. If it were a clean-out, that would present an opportunity for sparks and embers to possibly be drawn into the attic under some weird situation. The joints and color change in brickwork left of that grate suggest it might have been added later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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