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My gas furnace is located in my laundry/utility and is normal(~80%?) efficiency with a Type B Flue. It goes up through the drywall ceiling into my attic(1 story) and out the roof and I verified that there is no insulation in contact. There is a ~1" air gap in the drywall which is a draft leak and worse is pulling in a significant amount of combustion air from the attic.

I'd like to seal this gap and can't quite make sense of the best way to do this. I understand that no contact with combustible material within 1" is code for type b vent but what is defined as combustible is not clear.

The closest thread I can find here is this one for a range vent How do I air-seal a range hood flute?

But I can't easily slip on the collar so I was thinking I could cut a slit to bend it onto the pipe at the ceiling and then aluminum tape or firestop caulk the cut once installed.

Could I instead just caulk the gap with 3m fireblock which is noncombustible? Or is setting drywall compound considered noncombustible?

isherwood
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redlude97
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    Two-piece flue trim collars can be had. That (or a homemade version) and some fire-resistant caulk would do fine. You seem to have several viable plans, so I'm not sure what you're asking. Use whatever fire-proof materials you like. – isherwood Dec 21 '20 at 20:49
  • my main question would be can fireblock caulk touch the flue pipe – redlude97 Dec 21 '20 at 21:21
  • I know this is old, but... isn't pulling cold combustion air from the attic a benefit over burning heated air from the house? Unless, of course, the furnace has a combustion air intake from outside. – FreeMan Jan 13 '23 at 13:35
  • Yes, my understanding is that ideally combustion air would be provided with a more formal ducting, in particular there is a requirement for two openings, one near the ceiling and one near the floor. I was also thinking of routing it towards the gable in the attic eventually – redlude97 Jan 13 '23 at 18:49

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Theres also fire caulking, pretty expensive and you may have to close the gap if its very big. They do have collars that fit around pipe with a flat flange extending outward. The poster above suggested to. Be aware of hot items against combustable material in an attic, the dryness creates a tender box effect.

drose
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