There are several reasons why a house could have a chimney without having a fireplace. Here’s a few that we have encountered:

1. Early furnaces had a small, brick utility chimney, often square. It has been abandoned and the bottom part covered over in the walls of the home. Here’s an example of one below.
   
   
   
2. The original brick utility chimney has been reused as the last part of the flue assembly for a newer gas furnace. If you look in the furnace closet, you will see the metal flue from the furnace entering the side of the brick chimney.
   
   
   
3. An original fireplace has been abandoned and firebox has been filled in. Sometimes the mantel/surround remains as a decorative feature in the home, or all interior evidence of the fireplace has been removed.    Occasionally, we find the remains of a fireplace in a home’s attic. The bottom part has been walled-in and the top part has been demolished to just below the roof line, to eliminate a roof penetration that’s no longer necessary. The bricks in the attic are a souvenir of the home’s history.
   

   In all of the situations where the chimney still penetrates the roof, the chimney penetration still needs to be adequately flashed and waterproofed. Also, the rain-cap and spark-arresting screen should still be in place and in good condition. The screen is necessary on even an abandoned chimney, to keep bats and birds from roosting in the chimney.

    Also, see our blog post The fireplace doesn't have a chimney. Is that alright?

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Here’s links to a collection of our other blog posts about FIREPLACES AND CHIMNEYS:

• Is a gas log lighter dangerous?

• What is the 3-2-10 rule for masonry chimneys? 

• What causes black soot buildup on my gas fireplace logs?

• Why is creosote buildup in a chimney dangerous? 

• Why is the chimney leaning away from the house? 

• How is a factory-built fireplace different from a regular fireplace? 

    Visit our FIREPLACES AND CHIMNEYS page for other related blog posts on this subject, or go to the INDEX for a complete listing of all our articles.