I recently found myself with an unexpected repair to make. One evening while we were enjoying a warm fire, my husband's unexpected strength <sarcasm inserted here> snapped the pull chain that operates the fire screen in our fireplace's door assembly. Ours is the kind that has a chain that is a counterweighted pulley system with the chain's ends coming out of the right side of the assembly frame.
I removed the assembly from the fireplace in order to better see the backside of it to ascertain if it was something I could easily fix. ...Hmm, I think I can do this!
I checked out the local hardware stores looking for a chain that might work. NOTTA. Then I tried going to a fireplace specialty store. After checking with his distributor (and telling me he was my last hope to get some of this chain), he told me he could get me some for $30 including shipping... WHAT??!? Thirty dollars for nine feet of small chain?! Are you kidding me?! There had to be another way. And there was—GOOGLE!
I discovered that the chain I needed is called "miniature sash chain" or "miniature safety chain" and I was able to find an online seller of the stuff—by the foot even—thanks to GOOGLE! And it was only $.69 a foot (shipping would be another two bucks)! YAHOO! Sure beats THIRTY!
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| Old chain on left, new chain on right. |
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| Here's a closeup shot of miniature safety chain. |
So I threaded the chain through the assembly frame, around the pulley, and back out of the assembly.
The next step was to attach the chain to the rings on the fireplace screen.
And... VOILA! It works! (Was there really any doubt in your mind that it wouldn't?)
