Off-seasons are great seasons to undertake repairs to anything that is not in use. In spring and summer, that is every system that needs to air out and dry! The “off season” presents some significant opportunities for consumers looking to have their chimney swept. Days are ‘longer’ and some of the certified professionals you need to involve are easier to schedule during their off seasons.
Ultra wide-angle shot of a newly-completed chimney.
Because certified sweeps are specifically trained to comprehend the whole chimney system, their range of expertise is surprisingly broad. This presents an opportunity to have your chimney sweep inspect a variety of areas to see if they need to be addressed. This can actually save a homeowner significant funds in yearly repairs and maintenance.
Early spring is an “off season” for cooling systems and, not surprisingly, rainy months are slower ones for roofing and gutter repairs. Late spring is the right time to make sure your home’s fireplace system is clean and in good repair. In fact, any time in spring is a good time to check everything vulnerable to rain, heat, and critters.
It is also the best time to discover you need repairs, because you have time to do something about it. Summer is perfect for repointing and major repairs to masonry chimneys, which may mean scheduling city inspections well in advance. They will follow the certified sweep’s inspection that the city inspector relies on, so best keep that in mind.
With a little planning and luck, you might be able to coordinate cleanings and inspections for repairs with annually scheduled maintenance. You could have your dryer vent cleaned and checked the same day your fireplace system is inspected. “Off seasons” are more convenient, more practical, and usually more economical for cleanings, maintenance, and repairs to systems that are off.
The best way to approach cleaning anything is to know with what you are actually dealing. Grass stains are different than mechanical grease, and that is a different thing than cooking grease. The situation is the same inside your chimney, so a camera-assisted inspection by a certified sweep before and after cleaning is a really good idea.
Try This At Home….
What exists in the flue that cannot be seen from above or below determines how the chimney needs to be cleaned. Soot is different than later stage creosote, and they indicate different things as well, at least to professionals who understand them. The condition of mortar is important not only on the roof but within the chimney too, as is the ability to see and assess it.
Homeowners instinctively get this, but tend to trust in the uniformity of the chimney’s condition, which just should not be blindly relied upon. The safety of the whole house and family is at stake, so assumptions and risks just are not worth it. Once a year, the whole chimney needs to be visually inspected by a CSIA certified sweep who knows what he is looking at.
…But Not By Yourself!
Routinely performed as part of cleanings and inspections by certified chimney sweeps, the practiced lowering of specially designed cameras reveals more than the obvious. Please note important words of caution here: If you do not know what you are doing, you can damage your flue. Even if you are lucky enough not to, your untrained eyes are likely to miss what could be early, cost-saving, warnings.
To spell it out a little more clearly, no homeowner should be lowering a cell phone on a string into a flue. This is serious work with serious consequences and it really needs to be handled by professionals. Knowing what you are getting out of the chimney is a great idea, but you should be using your phone to call a certified sweep.
Whether or not the fireplace is in use, the chimney needs to be maintained in good working order year round. There are a number of reasons for this, but they all come down to safety in good air quality. The chimney can provide a continuous air-replacement system or a trap for air that is downright dangerous.
Clear the Air
If all is well with a chimney, it draws air from the fireplace up and out, continually pulling ‘new’ air through the system. That helps to remove toxic gases from the home even when generated elsewhere, emitted by a leaky furnace perhaps. It also helps to clear the air of dust particles that otherwise settle back down and aggravate allergies.
In addition, the sooner problems with a chimney are caught, the less expensive they are to correct. Some do not even need to be problems, such as creosote accumulation, which can be completely avoided with regular professional inspections and cleanings. Other relatively inexpensive improvements, like caps and waterproofing for chimneys in good condition, may eliminate costly damage to the flue by rain or birds.
Protect Family and Investment
Neither inadequate drafting nor creosote buildup stops when the last fire is out beneath the chimney. If either exists, it persists, and it either presents the same stale air or it actually gets worse, true for both creosote- and water-caused damage. The importance of well-maintained fireplace systems cannot be stressed enough, since they are essential to home safety whether used or not.
Just as smoke and carbon monoxide detectors should not be taken down because the fireplace is not in use, the home’s chimney should not be neglected either. Organizations, like the CSIA, are responsible for the certification of professional sweeps make sure they are qualified to keep every chimney operating safely. All homeowners really need to do is remember to call them and schedule twice-yearly inspections.
Lovable Bert, who forever left us with an impression of chimney sweeps as soot faced rooftop dancers, was in some ways a fitting caricature. He was, after all, a jack of all trades, selling kites one minute, cleaning chimneys the next. That can be what you get these days if you do not ask the right question when you choose a chimney sweep.
Professional Fitness for a Changing Job
It is important to remember that this profession began with less than scrupulous simple vent cleaners who were no longer a good fit for modernized chimneys. That pretty well describes some of the “chimney sweeps” who completed a quick training in the use of specialized brushes and got a business license. They may be equipped to clean a modern chimney, but they are a bad fit for modern fireplace systems and they are not really into them.
Bert was not the guy to handle an inspection of the chimney to assess its condition, safety, and performance. He was the type to tap dance around clearances without ever knowing they were there. You may love him, but Bert is far from a CSIA certified chimney sweep, and not the guy you want to entrust with your home safety.
One Tip Is All You Need
The ability to professionally inspect your chimney is the primary thing for which you should be looking. That is what takes years of training and ongoing education, and that is what results in chimney sweep certification. Young boys living in orphanages were quickly taught to clean chimneys, but nobody relied on them to do more than that.
The most important tip we have for you is really the only one you need…to make a good choice. Ask the sweep you called if they have proof of industry certification in addition to a license and insurance. If he is not a certified sweep, simply look elsewhere to find someone that is truly qualified to clean your chimney.
Depending on the type of material it is made from, your chimney may be more susceptible to damage by water than by fire. Certainly true for masonry chimneys, that is counter-intuitive, with no one really thinking about water damaging chimneys. Generally, the worry with chimneys in the minds of homeowners is all about sparks and fires.
Water: Love It or Leave It
Water, however, is often the original source of the explosive chimney fire of which responsible homeowners are rightfully worried. Allowed to seep in, it expands and contracts with the freezes and thaws of changing seasons. It does not sound that bad; it sounds almost poetic. However, it seriously threatens the integrity of chimneys.
That perfectly natural characteristic of water stretches and shrinks the material it is in, further deteriorating your chimney’s mortar. Water also, perfectly naturally, rots wood and erodes even rock, in a process that can probably be made to sound enchanting. Look around a canyon, however, to fully grasp what water can do to brick with the simple passage of time.
Let the River Flow Somewhere Else
It is not a pretty sight when it is your chimney that is crumbling, and a river in your fireplace is not exactly the interior decorating you had in mind. Leaks are usually a pretty clear sign that a roof-top canyon is developing, but hopefully homeowners do not let things go that far these days. Protecting chimneys from water damage is as easy as scheduling a certified sweep to get up there and see how they are doing.
It is a good idea, by the way, to do this in spring, when chimney sweeps are easier to schedule and before the rains come. If repairs or replacements are necessary, you have plenty of time to finish the job before a chimney in good condition becomes even more critical. Fire is definitely dangerous and mandates routine chimney inspections; but when it comes to chimneys, it is important not to play with water either.
When a fire is started, the air in the chimney warms and becomes less dense than air outside this area. The thinner air naturally begins to rise and cooler air flows into the firebox from the room, fanning the fire and creating more heat. However, there are many reasons that a fireplace may not operate correctly.
A closed damper is one of the most common reasons for fireplace failure. The user may forget to open the damper or soot buildup or water damage may prevent this component from opening fully, making professional cleaning necessary. Soot also accumulates in the chimney and if deposits become thick enough, the flue may be restricted, preventing the fireplace from venting properly, which can also be resolved through professional cleaning.
Firewood that is wet or is not well-seasoned will create more smoke than heat, preventing the chimney from functioning correctly. Keep firewood as dry as possible, protecting it from moisture like snow and rain. While wood can be kept outside, a chimney located on an outside wall may not operate as efficiently as one in the interior of the home.
Chimney construction may inhibit fireplace operation. A chimney should be ten to 12 feet high or higher and project at least three feet above the roof and two feet higher than anything that is within ten feet. Another problem may be that the flue is too small (more than ten times smaller than the chimney opening) because it may send smoke back into the room.
If the home leaks too much air, a draft effect may overpower the chimney. If it is too tightly constructed, the air exiting the home may not be replenished with new air to feed the fire. In either case, the fireplace may smoke and burn sluggishly. Have the fireplace inspected to diagnose whether these or other issues are preventing it from working.
The weather is changing, and this means your chimney will once again be put to use. Before lighting that first fire, look at your chimney and make sure you have a chimney cap installed. If not, you should seriously consider getting one before the winter really kicks in and you are using your fireplace every day.
A chimney cap is relatively inexpensive to have installed. In fact, its preventative value may exceed the installation costs. There are multiple benefits, as you will soon see, in having a chimney cap installed on your chimney.
Prevents Animals from Entering Chimney – while birds are probably the most common, there are other animals that can find their way into the chimney. This can cause problems with the interior of the lining as well as leave your chimney inoperable for fear of killing the animal that has found its way inside. In the worst-case scenario, chimney swifts, a bird protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty, will find a home in your chimney and you will not be able to remove it until the birds migrate for the summer.
Rain Water – rainwater is a definitive problem for homeowners that have not had a chimney cap installed. Heavy storms can cause water to literally pour down into your chimney, which is dangerous on several levels. Firstly, it can put out the fire and cause massive amounts of smoke to enter the home. Secondly, it can cause structural problem with the liner and end up creating mold inside the chimney, resulting in expensive repairs.
Debris – winter is known for high winds in many areas. With wind often comes a large amount of dust, dirt, and debris. Without a chimney cap, this debris can find its way into your chimney.
Inadvertent Fires – while enjoying your fire, have you ever noticed the embers that fly up in the chimney flue? Well, guess what the leading cause of external fires related to fireplace use is? The cap will prevent the embers from ever leaving the flue, therefore, avoiding any chance of a fire starting outside your home from stray embers.
Chimney swifts are birds that nest in chimneys in eastern North American during summer and migrate to South America in the winter. Swifts are not capable of perching, so they must cling to vertical surfaces. They prefer nesting in large, open chimneys, where they present a nuisance for homeowners. However, moving the swifts is not permitted because these birds are protected by law.
The chimney swift is an amazing bird because since it cannot perch, it must do everything in flight. Tasks performed while flying range from catching food to breaking off twigs to create a nest. Swifts dine on insects and stop flying only long enough to roost or provide food to their young. Flights follow a distinctive path of rapid, angular turns.
When farmers clear trees from land, they remove the traditional habitat for chimney swifts. Mortared brick and stone chimneys represent a suitable replacement to hollow trees. More homeowners are installing slippery metal flue pipes and chimney caps, presenting dangers or deterrents for these harmless birds. A swift is unable to cling to a metal flue pipe and may fall into the fireplace, causing death.
The small nests that swifts build for their young are not fire hazards. However, they should be removed once the birds fly south in the fall. If the nest is removed before the young have vacated, these tiny birds are likely to die. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act protects swifts so an individual can be subject to penalties or fines for knowingly destroying birds or their nests that could contain eggs or young birds.
To keep swifts safe, metal-lined chimneys should be capped. Chimney caps will prevent Swifts from nesting there in the first place. A chimney should not be swept until fall if a swift occupies it. The North American Chimney Swift Nest Site Research Project is currently designing and testing alternate nesting structures for swifts. Until then, homeowners should live in harmony with these attractive birds.
By Ronald Caillais on November 28th, 2012 | Tagged with: Tags: chimney caps, chimney swifts |
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Your chimney is an important and beautiful feature of your home. Even if you don’t light a fire in it very often, most of us still think of our fireplace hearth as the “heart” of our homes. Certainly, most people don’t even think about cleaning their chimney unless the weather is really cold and you’re using the chimney often. But, what many people don’t realize is that even in climate zones (like the Southeast) that experience mild winters, it’s still important to clean the chimney—even if you don’t fire it up very often.
The National Fire Protection Association recommends that you have your chimney cleaned at least once a year. The reason for this is the simple science of how soot and dirt collects in your chimney. When the weather is warm, the air flowing through your chimney slows down. When the airflow is stifled, it means that the dirt, dust and creosote stay in your chimney longer. So, even if you aren’t using your chimney the way you do when the weather is really cold, the chimney is still getting dirty. Any time you have a build up of creosote in your chimney, you are at risk for a chimney fire. This build up can also cause a terrible odor in your home. If you have a leak in your chimney, the odor will worsen and the damp mix can cause mold, causing upper respiratory issues. A dirty chimney will also give off an unpleasant odor.
So, even though you live in a warmer climate and you don’t really think chimney cleaning and maintenance should be high on your priority list, you should remember that reduced airflow in warmer weather means even more buildup of creosote. It’s a good idea think about chimney maintenance all year long—for your health and safety.
Whether you are moving into a new home with a fireplace or you have lived in your home for years, your chimney should be inspected before winter arrives in all its glory. In addition to needing a good cleaning, your chimney liner may be compromised. After years of use, it is a good idea to have it checked by professional to ensure it is still in workable condition.
Every chimney has a lining. This lining can be made from clay tiles, metal, or it can be cast-in-place. Clay is rather inexpensive and has a lifespan of about 50 years, but extreme weather conditions can sometimes cause structural problems, such as cracking. One sign of a compromised clay liner will be fallout in the fireplace.
A cast-in-place liner is usually used as an alternative to clay. The cement is poured into the flue, creating a cast mold. Some prefer this to clay as fireplaces with this type of liner tend to burn cleaner and create less of creosote buildup inside, which as you know, is very dangerous and can cause a house fire to occur.
The last type of chimney liner is a metal liner. This tends to get the best feedback from professionals, as they believe it lasts longer and is much easier to install. The cost can be a bit more than the other alternatives, but the lifespan is also longer. In other words, a single installation should last throughout your ownership of the home with little danger of needed repair. Relining with this method can be done with either rigid or flexible stainless steel.
If your chimney needs relining, you will have to decide which type of liner you prefer. It is a good idea to go over all three types of liners with your technician to see what they are more experienced installing and which type will be safer for your particular fireplace.
By Ronald Caillais on October 16th, 2012 | Tagged with: Tags: chimney relining, chimney repair |
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