[Peter D.]

I'm wondering what I should do with the ash trap in my fireplace. The house is built on a slab and the lower level has a fireplace with an ash trap. The door is old and rusty. The clean out door is on the exterior of the chimney and is mostly buried under 50 years of top soil and pachysandra. The problem I'm having is a cold draft blowing through.

Should I fix the ash trap doors or fill with cement to seal off the draft? Something tells me the ash trap isn't safe to use anyway. The hole is about three or four feet deep.

Door

Hole without door

Big Ash Hole

 

[jomama45]

The ash dump door/frame should be the same size as one 4.5" x 9" firebrick, which is exactly what I would recommend replacing it with. Fill the bottom of the hole with solid rubble/old brick/etc... and place the firebrick flush on top of it........