C.S., Reading

A. One thing to consider before doing the job: Don't do it. Brick is OK, generally, as a decorative material, and it is the way the builder intended it to be. If you do install the tiles, using thin-set or adhesive, it will be the very devil to take off, if anyone wants to.

That said, dry brush the brick and install the tile with thin-set mortar, despite what you were told that thin-set will not stick to brick. Thin-set was developed to stick to any masonry, and that includes brick. The Handyman put a border of tiles on one of his fireplaces (but it's only a border, where the tiles were needed), and they have stuck tenaciously for 20 years. Incidentally, thin-set will stick to most wood surfaces as well, and most other materials, except maybe fiberglass insulation and plastics such as Styrofoam.

Heat from the fireplace will not hurt the tile; after all, the tile was fired at higher heat than the fireplace can produce. You can put the tile on the front of the fireplace and on the hearth, but not in the firebox.

Q. My brick fireplace goes all the way up to the cathedral ceiling. The previous owner painted the brick from the mantel up, an area of about 5 by 12 feet. Can I take off that paint, and how?

P.N., Northborough

A. The previous owner made a reservation for hell when he painted that brick.

Yes, you can remove it, but with an area that size (60 square feet!) I suggest you don't bother, because it is going to be a long, hard battle. The only saving grace of that painted brick is that it reflects light. At least you have the honest red brick below the mantel and on the hearth.

If you insist, here's how to do it: Apply paint remover, one that is nonflammable, water-washable and less toxic than methylene chloride remover (Stripeeze and 5F5). Citristrip, a citrus-based remover, fills this bill. Let it sit for 15 minutes and scrape off as much of the softened paint as possible. Wash off the residue and repeat the process. After three times or so, apply the remover one more time and scrub it off with very coarse steel wool. Sounds miserable? It is.

Q. How can I clean my white marble fireplace? Nothing seems to work.

PAUL LEHRMAN, Medford

A. Marble is tough to clean because it stains so readily. First, wash with Spic and Span and water, then rinse. Or, wet with hydrogen peroxide, add 2 or 3 drops of ammonia; when bubbling stops, wash and rinse thoroughly. For this cleaning, try an obscure area of the marble to make sure it does not dull the marble or otherwise harm it. The handyman tried some fancy marble cleaner on a beautiful red marble-top commode and did nothing but dull the finish.

Another technique: Make a paste of hydrogen peroxide and cream of tartar, wipe it on the marble, leave it for several minutes, rub off and rinse. Again, try an obscure area first.

Goddard makes a marble care kit, sold in building supply stores. It might work. Another handyman experience with marble is right here at the Globe, where there is a long, once-beautiful, marble counter with sinks in the men's room. After a number of years, the marble is badly stained. And worse, there are liquid soap dispensers above this marble; when people use it, some of the soap drops onto the marble. The handyman felt these soap-stained areas with this hands, and discovered the marble is etched nearly 1/8-inch deep.

It happens every winter and, in fact, can happen any time of the year.

It's called a downdraft in your chimney, sometimes called a reverse chimney effect, when air comes down the chimney, mostly in the flue that serves a fireplace. It happens whether the damper is open or not.

The air might also be coming down other flues, those of the furnace or other heating appliance, but you are less likely to smell it or it may not have a smell at all.

It happens because the air pressure outdoors is higher than that indoors, and the high pressure is looking for a low pressure area to flow into, and usually finds it.

This downflow of air often brings a smell with it. It's the smell of burned, wet wood, creosote and other contaminants in the chimney. It stinks. Of course, it doesn't happen when there's a fire in the fireplace.

This is when the handyman is called about this awful smell, and what to do about it. There are many answers, some of them that work. Install a chimney cap, to improve the chimney's draft; the updraft, that is, to carry the smells out.

Another trick is to put a draft booster (a fan) at the top of the chimney, also to reverse the air flow. This will work, but the fan requires power, an added expense.

Still another trick is to close the flue by putting a cover over the top of it. Fine, but you have to know that you cannot build a fire in the fireplace with the cover in place.

So, the handyman usually suggests closing the fireplace opening with a piece of plywood or anything else to seal it. Even polyethylene taped over the opening will work. Neither is very attractive, unless you paint a nice picture on the cover.

This cover should be airtight, so it is suggested to put a gasket on the back of the cover for a tight fit. How one makes the cover stay put is up to the person with the problem. You could bolt it on by drilling holes in the mortar of the fireplace brick and inserting screws or bolts.

Trouble is, it's not easy to take the cover off when you want to have a fire, and put it back on when the fire is out.

That's where Leonard W. Wolfe of Newton came into the picture, with his solution to the problem.

``I had a reverse problem (three fireplaces) with losing heat UP the fireplace. My solution was to take a sheet of 3/4-inch plywood and cut it one inch larger, top and two sides, than the opening.

``Stain it with three coats of whatever Minwax stain matches the decor. Then lay on three coats of polyurethane.

``About two thirds the way up the board and about six inches in from each side, drill holes to accommodate brass handles.

``On the back side of the board, centered and 10 to 12 inches from the top, screw on a cuphook -- 25 cents cost.

``Take a 12-inch (more or less) bungee cord. Put one hook on the cuphook and the other through a small hole in the fireplace damper. (I leave the damper open all the time; the handle on the damper inside the fireplace has a small hole in it.

``Presto! The bungee cord holds the board in place and stops about 90 percent of the heat from going up the chimney. Or, in the case of a downdraft, the same amount of downdraft coming down.

``I suppose I could put some weatherstripping along the three sides, but the 90-percent factor is good enough for me.

``If there is no hole in the damper handle there is someplace inside to hook on the bungee cord. On one of my fireplaces I hook it onto the iron logholding grate. It keeps the board in place and snug enough to serve the purpose.

``The screen looks good when you're not using the fireplace, especially wtih solid brass handles, which I spaced to be at about the same location as standard fireplace screen handles.''

Brilliant, says the handyman, with thanks to Leonard Wolfe.

Of course, the handyman has to put in his two cents' worth: For a smelly downdraft, gasketing or weatherstripping the contact points may be necessary, including where the cover touches the hearth.

And, for a tight fit, two cords and two cuphooks may be necessary. Screw eyes can be substituted for the cuphooks. But the idea of hooking a cord to an andiron or heavy grate is a good one.

The bungee cord is especially brilliant because it is an easy matter to remove the cover when you want a fire, and to replace it when the fire is out.

One more little thing, or rather several: Half-inch plywood is adequate, and so are one coat of stain and two (maybe three) coats of varnish. Be sure to varnish the edges and back of the cover. This will make the back less likely to absorb that godawful smell.

Or instead of staining and varnishing, paint a nice picture. Some day, after a few generations, some bidder will buy it at an antiques auction for $10,000.

Q. I'm getting those old burned wood smells from my fireplace, particularly in damp weather, when the fireplace is out. A chimney sweep said a cap on top of the chimney might work. If the cap didn't work, he said, he could install Vacustack, a fan at the top of the chimney designed to pull air up the chimney. Would a cleanout door in the fireplace floor and in the chimney help?

D.R., Reading

A. Yes, you sure have the blues with that damp, burned wood smell, and many others have it, too. It is caused by a backdraft down the chimney, also called a reverse chimney effect, bringing air down the chimney instead of up, because the air pressure in the house is lower than that of the outside. A cap, designed to increase the updraft of the chimney, might work, and a Vacustack will definitely work, although in creating the updraft it might pull heat out of the house.

Although I said on the phone there is no need for a cleanout door, that indeed might work. A cleanout door in the hearth (the floor of the firebox), leading down to another cleanout on the outside of the chimney, might create an updraft, if each door were opened just an inch or so. Of course, make sure the door in the chimney is secured against vermin. The passage of air from the lower cleanout to the upper one, thence up the chimney, could help equalize the air pressure and solve the problem. Installing cleanout doors might be a pretty extensive project.

A simpler project is to cut a piece of three-quarter-inch or five-eighths-inch plywood to cover the firebox opening. Put a gasket on the edges for a tight seal, and make sure there is a gasket at the bottom edge of the plywood where it touches the floor.

Q. I have to put a blanket over my fireplace opening to stop the tremendous draft funneling down the chimney when the fireplace is not working. The glass doors don't help to stop the draft. I opened a window in the room, which also didn't help. A mason thought something was pulling the air down the chimney, another adviser suggested putting a damper at the top of the chimney that can be opened when a fire is going. What will work? The heating system is hot air.

M.H., North Haven, Conn.

A. The air is coming down the chimney because the pressure in the house is slightly lower than that outdoors. You could try covering the cold air returns in the heating system. As it is now, the ductwork is acting as a loop, with air entering the house and the cold air returns and coming out the hot air vents. Of course, you should open the returns when the heating system is on.

The damper at the top of the chimney is probably your best bet. You could also devise a cover against the fireplace opening, tightly sealed on all four sides, which would do the same thing as the blanket, but be more convenient in removing when you have a fire in the fireplace.

Q. The damper in my fireplace broke; it's the type that is opened by turning a handle sticking out of the brick above the firebox opening. A chimney sweep said he might be able to fix it. Another said it would be better to replace it with a levered damper, one that is opened and closed by moving a lever at the top of the firebox. What's best?

MAURY TEMPLE, Brookline

A. If the fix is not too expensive, it would be nice to have the screw-type handle back in service; it is easy to operate. The levered damper is more common, and a pain to open and close. Again, if it is not out of reach financially, have the screw-type fixed.

When D.E. of Hingham asked if draining a few quarts of water from the water heater regularly was a good idea, to prolong the life of the heater, the handyman replied that it was not that necessary.

Guess again, said Bill Tragakis, president of Watertown Plumbing and Heating Supply in Watertown, the handyman's plumbing guru. ``Draining a few quarts regularly will prolong the life of the heater,'' said he, by flushing out sediment. If sediment remains at the bottom of the heater, it builds up and insulates the water from the flame. You can get as much as an inch of sediment. With this insulation, the flame hits the bare metal of the tank and can burn out the metal before its time.''

OK, Bill, we'll put this in our memory bank and try not to forget it.

Q. I have an old-fashioned fireplace screen with a needlepoint front, set in a mahogany frame. How can I clean it? I got a product from a rug company, but is there another way?

R.A., Marshfield Hills

A. I don't know what the product is, but it's worth a try. If not, you can make a solution of Spic and Span and scrub the needlepoint gently with that, using as little water as practicable. Even Ivory soap will do it, or, if you can find it, Fels Naphtha. When I was a tad, I used to clean my mother's broadloom and needlepoint with H&H carpet soap. I don't know if it exists any more, but it worked, and even brightened the colors, as I recall. If it doesn't exist, it should, because it was good stuff.

Q. My fireplace works well, and so does the main chimney. I installed a stainless steel cap, and now I am getting a terrible smell of creosote in the house, coming from the fireplace. How can I get rid of that odor, or at least keep it from coming into the house?

STEVE FUSI, Bedford

A. It's summer time, the season for smelly fireplaces. It is caused by a downdraft in chimneys, when outside air drops into the chimney because of a difference in air pressure outdoors and in. It is called a reverse chimney effect. The cap, which is designed to increase the draft of the chimney (smoke going up the chimney in winter), may also have increased the downdraft.

The cure is to cover the fireplace opening, completely and tightly. Closing the damper won't help much. Cover the opening with a piece of plywood, and make sure it is sealed against the fireplace brick. You can do this with foam weatherstripping, and drive screws through the plywood and into the mortar for a tight fit. Make sure the joint at the floor is also tight. Since you will want to remove the plywood in the fall, I suggest drilling holes in the mortar and inserting plastic or fiber sleeves so those holes can be re-used.

A possible easier way: Cut a piece of one-inch-thick Styrofoam to the shape of the fireplace throat, just below the damper, and insert it snugly in place. It won't show, but be sure to remove it when you're ready to build a fire.

Q. I have an insert, like an alcove, in my house that was going to hold a fireplace. Now I want to put in a fake one, like an electric log. Where can I find one?

LETITIA MUSTO, Winchester

A. You may have to build a housing for the electric logs, which you might find at building supply stores and at fireplace shops.

But instead, you could put in a real fireplace, a zero-clearance gas fireplace that is exhausted through the wall. You'd need a gas hookup, but this type of fireplace requires no chimney; only a pipe going through the wall to the outside. Such fireplaces are sold by Energy Unlimited, 303 Boston Post Road, Wayland, MA 01778, (508) 358-7358.

Q. My brick fireplace has white, chalk-looking stains on one side, mostly where the grout (or whatever you call the stuff between the bricks) is; not so much on the bricks. I sort of painted over it with black fireplace paint, but now the white is back. What would cause this and how do I get rid of it permanently?

JULIE OROFINO (email), Wilmington

A. The white stuff is effluorescence, the leaching out of lime in the grout -- we call it mortar -- by water. It is unlikely to occur on bricks because there is no lime in bricks. It is caused by water, and it's virtually impossible to avoid or get rid of permanently, unless you eliminate the water, which is also difficult. Painting over it, as you discovered, does no good. It is harmless; you can sweep it up and throw it way, but it will come back. Live with it.

Q. You mentioned the other day how to get a fireplace to stop smoking by providing air through a pipe running from outdoors to the hearth. How should the pipe go to the hearth? Is an elbow needed?

M.K., Burlington

A. The pipe going from outdoors to the hearth is to provide outside air for the fire, which is not getting enough air to burn properly, and is smoking like crazy as a result.

Therefore, all the pipe has to do is to end somewhere near the hearth; as close to the edge of the hearth as possible. You might put an elbow at its end so it faces the front or side of the hearth, but any location near the hearth would allow the fire to use that air instead of house air.

A good way is to bring the pipe through a hole in the perimeter joist in the basement or through a basement window, then up through a hole in the floor in front of the hearth. Cutting a hole in the floor sounds drastic, but you could put a small register or grille over it. In the summer you could put a wood plug in the hole or leave the register in place.

Q. I had a stainless steel cap put on my chimney, a big one, covering three flues. I also had several courses of brick replaced. Now, when there is a fire in the first-floor fireplace, I get a smoke smell out of the basement fireplace. I get no smell out of either fireplace when the oil furnace is going. How can I prevent that basement smokiness? There was no reason to put the cap on top; it seemed like a good idea.

JEAN WRIGHT, Needham

A. You could put an airtight cover over the opening of the basement fireplace; the closed damper is not airtight. This would stop the downdraft into the basement. Here's what is happening: Smoke goes up the first-floor fireplace flue and hits the cap, steering it to the basement fireplace flue, where the downdraft does the rest. You don't get the oil furnace odor when it is going because that draft is under power, and dissipates faster than the fireplace smoke.

I think the cure is to take off the cap. Unless it was installed to increase the draft, or to keep out animals and water, it is best removed.

Q. I have a see-through fireplace converted from a one-hearth unit, so there is a hearth facing one room and another facing another room. It smokes like crazy. Would a flue booster work? We put in glass doors so that only one side is open, without success. A contractor suggested sealing the floor and the foundation.

PHYLLIS LEVINE, Boxford

A. A flue-booster, a fan at the top of the chimney, more accurately called a draft booster, might work, but you still need more air for the fire to burn well without smoking. For starters, open a window in the room to provide more air. If that works, fine, except you'll get a chill; so, provide the fireplace with its own air; install a PVC duct from outdoors to in front of the fireplce.

See-through fireplaces, even one built from scratch, do not work very well. Conversions are worse. Sealing the floor and the foundation will make things worse, because the fire is trying to pull air from house and basement.

Your best bet is to provide the fireplace with its own air, and if necessary, put in a draft booster. And, brick up one of those openings.

Q. Help. I am being invaded by ivy; it is growing up the chimney and is completely overgrown. Some even came in through my back hall and through the siding shingles. The roots are huge. The electric company said bees are nesting in the ivy. What can I do? Some parts I cut, but it keeps rerooting.

DOROTHEA MALONE, Nahant

A. The roots are so big that the ony cure is to take the whole thing down. If you cannot do that, have a tree man do it, for a big fee, but it can't be helped. Once it is removed, have the roots ground out by a stump grinder, which your tree man can do. The only way you might be able to do it yourself is to trim it, top down, being extremely careful. If in doubt, don't, and let a tree man do it.

If you cut the trunks at the bottom and let the plant (really a tree) die, the loss of those trunks' support could cause the plant to pull down the chimney; sounds preposterous, but it could happen; that ivy is heavy. And that is why you should be extremely careful if you try any trimming yourself. You could treat roots with Roundup to kill the plants. Or, drill holes in the stumps and fill them with salt; keep the holes filled with water and salt.

The bees the electric company mentioned are hornets or other kinds of wasps, not bees. They will die off in cold weather, and future wasps in the spring will not reoccupy nests.