The project, funded mostly by the Western States Clay Products Assoc., was to compare testing methods and find out if we could reduce masonry fireplace emissions by using a prescriptive design that could be written into the building code or promoted generically. T he experience was enlightening. We thought we might be able to do something generically, like specify a certain firebox proportion, or flue size to come up with a clean-burning masonry fireplace. Instead we found that more development work is needed and that little things, like how the wood is stacked to where the combustion air comes from can make a big difference. T he results of the California test project and the provisions of Washington's new fireplace emissions law are outlined in the two sidebars.
More details are available to anyone who is interested.
I urge you to at least skim this information to see generally what's involved both scientifically and politically in the fireplace emissions issue. Time is running out and masonry fireplaces won't survive if only two or three of us are working on EPA certified masonry core units. The TAG recommendations still have to go through two more public hearings before the State Building Code Council's final vote on November 16th, but it's clear that fireplaces will be regulated in Washington after January 1, 1997. F or a masonry fireplace to be certified in Washington it will have to be tested, either in a lab or in the field, using either cord wood or dimensional lumber, with carefully defined fuel loads, by an EPA Certified testing lab. That's for one fireplace.