Masonry Fireplace and Chimney Function, Draft, and Backdraft

Learn how masonry fireplaces and chimneys draft, backdraft, and respond to building and weather conditions. Join us for our Second Fall Build Smarter Seminar with Foster Lyons, hosted at Gault Stone & Landscape Supplies in Westport! 4:30 PM – Networking 5:00 PM – Presentation In this engaging in-person session, building scientist and industry expert Foster Lyons will share practical strategies to help you build smarter, safer, and more sustainably. Come for the seminar, stay for the Oktoberfest! Enjoy craft beer, sliders, and warm soft pretzels while catching up with fellow professionals. This event will feature a red & white wine tasting with Foster. Masonry Fireplace and Chimney Function, Draft, and Backdraft Explore how a masonry fireplace and chimney work together as a single flow system - and why a chimney may draft, spill, or backdraft under different conditions. Attendees will learn how chimney buoyancy, fireplace and chimney geometry, building pressure, and weather interact to influence fireplace performance, as well as how to identify the underlying causes of common draft and smoke problems. Learning Objectives: • Understand the physical basis of chimney draft and how the unequal weight of warm flue gases and outdoor air creates the pressure difference that drives airflow, including the distinction between theoretical, available, and measured draft. • Understand how fireplace and chimney geometry - including the opening, throat, damper, smoke chamber, flue, chimney height, and termination - affects flow resistance, draft, and smoke capture. • Evaluate how building and environmental conditions such as a cold chimney, stack effect, building airtightness, exhaust fans, interior doors, combustion-air inlets, and wind can alter fireplace pressure and contribute to spillage or flow reversal. • Distinguish between spillage, backdrafting, downdrafting, and cold backdrafting and learn how field observations and pressure measurements can help identify the most likely cause of a fireplace or chimney performance problem. Interested in more Build Smarter events? Visit the Foster Lyons Seminar Series to see our fall lineup and mark your calendar!