Month: March 2021

Chimney leaks are very common chimney problems that you can prevent with proper chimney maintenance. Here are some of the things that you need to do to prevent the leaks:

Install a cover

The chimney cover prevents rain from falling straight into the house. The cover also keeps birds, debris and animals from getting into the house. When installing the cover you shouldn’t cover it entirely—you should leave some spaces to protect your family from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Fix the chimney crown

The chimney crown located at the top of the chimney and it prevents rain from getting into the house. Since it’s made of cement, it’s prone to cracking. To prevent water from leaking you should identify the cracks as soon as possible and fix them.

The crown is very sensitive; therefore, making the wrong move will result to the problem getting worse than it already is. To avoid this you should ask a chimney repair professional to fix the problem.

Fix the water seal

It’s mandatory for all chimneys to have a water seal to prevent water from getting into the house. With time the seal degrades thus allowing water to leak. If there is no apparent reason why your chimney is leaking you should check the seal.

The best way of doing it is wetting the chimney with a hose or bucket. If you wet the area and the water is quickly absorbed and the area turns dark too quickly, chances are that the seal needs replacement. The best way of going about it is water proofing the chimney with water repellant.

Replace the flashing

The flashing prevents water from getting into the area where the brick comes through the roof. The flashing is usually made of aluminum and it goes through the bricks sealing the faulty spots. As the chimney ages, so does the flashing. If you notice that the flashing has come off you should hire a chimney contractor to replace it.

Inspect the joints

Brick and mortar joints tend to get loose, cracked or chipped. As a consequence they leak. You should ask a professional to undertake chimney inspection in order to identify any fault lines that might be there. If the bricks have become loose you should ask the masonry repair professional to fix them.

Conclusion

Proper chimney maintenance is the solution to chimney leaks. To have an easy time, you should work closely with an experienced chimney repair company.

The post Blog first appeared on First Class Chimney Services.

This post first appeared on https://www.firstclasschimneyservices.com

Old homes that reflect the architecture and charm of designs from the past have tremendous appeal, but it is critical to address issues that come with an old chimney. In aging and historic homes, chimney problems are inevitable. Read on to learn some of the most common problems associated with the chimneys in old and historic homes.

Dangers of Having No Chimney Liner

Since at least the 1940s, the
absence of a liner in a chimney has been recognized as an imminent danger. Fire safety experts continue to share a quote from that time period in which it was said that not having a chimney liner is hazardous at a near-criminal level.

Chimney liners became mandatory in the U.S. in the 1950s. Historic homes from the 1940s and earlier were usually built with no chimney liner. The following are the primary dangers associated with using a chimney that doesn’t have the protection of a flue liner.

The Threat of a House Fire Due to Pyrolysis

Protecting combustible parts of the home is one of the essential functions of a chimney liner. When a fireplace is used without a flue liner or with a damaged liner, the exposed combustion materials go through a gradual process known as pyrolysis. As a result of pyrolysis, the structures are altered so that they combust at a much lower temperature. With no warning, a house fire will ignite and spread rapidly throughout the home.

Exposure to Carbon Monoxide

Chimney liners also keep the toxic combustion gases from fires contained in the chimney until they escape to the outdoors. Those same gases enter the home in the absence of a flue liner. Carbon monoxide is one of the byproducts of fires. Carbon Monoxide is known as a silent killer because it is odorless, tasteless, invisible, and symptomless and escape from the deadly fumes is often impossible.

Highly Combustible Creosote

Wood fires produce creosote, a highly flammable tar-like substance that is deposited into a chimney every time a fire is lit. If a burning ember floats up the chimney, it can cause the creosote to ignite. Chimney fires are always dangerous but especially when a chimney is not lined because virtually any chimney fire could easily spread throughout the home.

Masonry Damage

Bricks are durable, lasting a century or more if undamaged. Mortar, on the other hand, lasts only about 25 years at best. The mortar should be replaced whenever it begins to deteriorate because one of its primary functions is to protect the masonry system from moisture. If moisture intrusion occurs, winter cycles of freezing and thawing create movement in the bricks that break them down. A chimney will begin to lean and could even collapse when this occurs, though moisture can get in through other avenues besides damaged mortar as well.

Spalling is evidence of masonry damage. Spalling is when the brick face flakes and pops off, and piles of debris around the chimney or the ground below provide evidence that the destructive process is occurring.

Settling

Normal settling of a house doesn’t necessarily cause foundation damage. With older homes, there is a greater chance of damage caused by a shifting foundation. Cracked masonry is one of the symptoms of settling, and it is also one of the reasons to call a chimney sweep specialist to provide masonry repair.

Contact Northeastern Chimney Today

Connecticut has four centuries of homes, and the CSIA-certified chimney sweeps at Northeastern Chimney have the skill and experience to provide top-quality chimney services for old and historic homes. Schedule a chimney inspection, chimney liner installation, chimney cleaning, and all other chimney services by calling 860-233-5770 today.

This post first appeared on https://www.mychimney.com

How can we have both?

Here we are in March.  We have been using our chimney and fireplace for months, and we still have a month or two of use ahead of us.  While we are amid high usage, it is imperative to keep in mind that our warm, cozy fireplaces must be kept clean and safe. Please find our top tips for maintaining safety.

• Fireplaces should not be used for heating purposes. Use a fireplace for a short-duration fire — no longer than five hours.
• Keep the glass open to allow air to be drawn in to fuel the fire, but keep the screen closed to prevent sparks from jumping onto the flooring.
• Never leave a fire unattended when children are in the house. Adults, even if near, should not allow children to play near or with fire tools and equipment.
• Open a window if your fireplace becomes smoky. The air coming in from the window will go up the chimney.
• Before making a fire, open the glass doors, pull aside the screen curtains, and place the kindling, newspaper, and logs inside. Next, open the damper to access the flue. You can check to make sure the smoke will go up the chimney properly by rolling up newspaper, lighting the end on fire  and holding in the damper frame area.   Watch to see if the smoke goes up and out.  You can also hold here for a few minutes to create an updraft before lighting.  It’s called warming (or priming) the flue.
• If you do not have a hearth extension, keep a nonflammable rug or hearth pad (available at fireplace-supply stores) in front of the fireplace so that sparks will not melt or otherwise damage your floors.
• Use a chimney cap to prevent water damage, keep animals from nesting, and keep debris from blocking the chimney and causing carbon monoxide to flow into the house.
• Glass doors may develop tough stains from flames and heat. To clean them with common household items, make sure the glass doors are cool, then scrape off any thick gunk deposits with a razor blade. Add a squirt of liquid dishwashing detergent or a cup of vinegar to a gallon of warm water. Spray or sponge the cleaner on, and then wipe it away with newspaper.
• Fireplace coals can remain hot enough to start a fire for up to three days, so always wait at least that long before removing the ashes. At that point, close the damper to prevent cold air in the flue from stirring up excess dust while you are removing the ashes. Be sure to wear a dust mask and open a window in the same room as the fireplace to prevent negative air pressure. Use a shovel to scoop the ashes into a metal container. Store the container far from combustible materials and surfaces, and wood floors.
• Clean the firebox (the area where the logs burn) at least once a week during the months you use it when ash builds up, but it is wise to leave about an inch of ash because it acts as insulation, allowing the coals to heat faster and retain the heat easier. Keep the firebox completely clean during the months when the fireplace is not in use.
• To clean an exterior slate hearth, wash, dry, and coat it with olive or lemon oil every six weeks to make it shine. For cleaning exterior brick hearths, you can find concentrated brick cleaner at a fireplace shop or hardware store.

Have a certified chimney sweep inspect and clean the chimney regularly.  Ask us about operation and how you can check it yourself in between servicing, too. The chimney should be professionally inspected at least once a year or after about 80 fires. Feel free to call Boston Best at 1- 781 -996- 5400 or even schedule your appointment here!

The post Fireplace Warmth and Safety appeared first on Boston's Best Chimney.

To avoid fire and maintain your chimney in great shape you should regularly clean it. While the process is easy and straight forward, many homeowners tend to make a number of chimney cleaning mistakes. Here are some of the most common:

If you can’t see it, it’s fine

If creosote levels aren’t too high, you most likely won’t notice it. While this is the case, it doesn’t mean that the creosote levels aren’t dangerous to you and your family. Remember that even a small creosote coating has the potential of causing fire.

To avoid the danger that comes with it, you should hire a professional chimney contractor who will inspect the chimney and determine whether it should be cleaned. The cool thing with working with the contractor is that the professional will also sweep and repair the chimney if it’s in a dreadful state.

Going for the cheaper option

People are attracted to cheaper products and services. There are many chimney cleaning professionals who take advantage of this and distribute flyers advertising their cheap services. While there are many homeowners who are caught in the trap of cheap chimney services, you shouldn’t.

Remember that you get what you pay for; therefore, if you pay cheap, you will get cheap service. A common feature is the inability of the cheap contractor to properly inspect, clean and repair the chimney thus putting you at the danger of fire and chimney collapse. Most of the cheap chimney cleaning professionals don’t offer insured services; therefore, when something goes wrong, you are left on your own.

Before you enter into an agreement with the cheap professional you should ask yourself whether money is more important that your life and that of the people that you love.

Ignoring the contractor credentials

Studies have shown that many homeowners don’t check the credentials of the contractors that they hire. This means that the chimney repair professionals can easily lie to the homeowners and get away with it.

To be on the safe side you should be strict when hiring. As rule of thumb you should ask the professional to give you all the documents that prove that he/she is certified, insured and allowed to work in the area. To know how the contractor handles his/her work you should ask him/her to give you a list of the homeowners that he/she has worked with.

To protect your property, your life and that of your loved ones you should never work with a chimney professional who doesn’t have the necessary credentials.

The post Blog first appeared on First Class Chimney Services.

This post first appeared on https://www.firstclasschimneyservices.com