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My rental apartment has a fireplace, which we use often. This fireplace lacks a glass door. On nights when we have used the fireplace, we leave the flue open until the morning, and when we get up, the entire level is freezing. As it's a rental, I can't just install a glass door myself.

I bought this fireplace cover, but I find that it only helps so much. I am thinking of building a supplemental heat barrier, with the following layers (from closest to furthest from fire):

  • radiant foil barrier
  • fiberglass insulation (no vapor retardants)
  • plywood

I would cut the fiberglass to the size of the plywood, then take a slightly larger piece of foil and wrap it around, then tack and tape it in place. I would lean this over the fire retardant fireplace cover that I already have.

Would this be safe? My concern is that, if an ember managed to rekindle, I wouldn't want to create a fire hazard. One possibility is to use a spray-on fire retardant, or just to wrap the entire piece of plywood in foil before attaching the fiberglass and outer foil layers.

Alternatively, and preferably, is there a commercially available product I could use instead?

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    If the flue is open I am guessing because a small fire is still burning. If so you can't put anything made of wood or insulation remotely close. Be easier to set an alarm and close the flue. – DMoore Jan 7 '15 at 17:41
  • Wood fireplaces don't usually have doors. Inserts do--but not actual fireplaces. As DMoore states, the solution is to close the damper when you can. Burn less, or start earlier. – DA01 Jan 7 '15 at 19:19
  • Thank you! How long do we have to wait before closing the flue? We have been waiting 12 hours, which makes us very cold! – David Bruce Borenstein Jan 24 '15 at 23:59

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