Month: May 2025

When summer hits Georgia, most homeowners shift their focus to air conditioning and backyard BBQs—not their chimney. But while your fireplace may be taking a seasonal break, your chimney is still exposed to heat, humidity, and summer storms that can cause real damage if left unaddressed.

At Southern Chimneys, LLC, we know the unique challenges Georgia’s climate brings, and we’re here to help you protect your home all year long. Here’s how summer weather can impact your chimney — and what you can do about it.

---

Moisture Intrusion & Stinky Chimneys

High humidity and frequent thunderstorms are a normal part of Georgia summers, but they can wreak havoc on your chimney. When moisture enters the flue — especially in chimneys with leftover creosote or soot — it mixes to create a sour, smoky odor that drifts into your home.

What to do:

• Schedule a professional chimney cleaning & inspection to remove odor-causing buildup.
• Make sure your chimney cap is properly fitted and sealed to keep rain and debris out.

---

Animals & Nesting Problems

With warm weather comes nesting season. Birds, squirrels, and even raccoons see an open chimney as prime real estate. Unfortunately, their nests block airflow, create fire hazards, and can introduce pests and parasites into your home.

What to do:

• Have your chimney inspected for signs of animal activity.
• Install a custom outside-mount chimney cap with mesh screening to keep critters out.

---

Heat, Storms & Masonry Damage

Georgia’s hot sun and heavy rains create a damaging cycle for masonry chimneys. Heat causes expansion, rainwater seeps into cracks, and over time, this can lead to crumbling bricks or deteriorating mortar joints — especially near the roofline.

What to do:

• Schedule a chimney inspection to catch small issues early.
• Complete any necessary masonry repairs or tuckpointing during the summer.
• After repairs, apply a chemical waterproofing treatment to shield against further damage.

---

Summer Is the Best Time for Chimney Work

Don’t wait until fall to find out your chimney needs repairs. Summer is the ideal time to handle cleanings, inspections, repairs, and waterproofing — before you need to use your fireplace again.

At Southern Chimneys, LLC, we offer:

• Chimney cleanings
• Cap installations
• Masonry and crown repairs
• Waterproofing
• Full system inspections
• All fireplace and chimney repairs/maintenance

---

Protect Your Home Before the Burn Season Returns

Your chimney might not be top of mind in the summer, but ignoring it now can lead to costly damage and safety concerns later. Let the professionals at Southern Chimneys, LLC make sure your system is in top shape before fall.

📞 Call us today at 678.744.4046
🌐 Visit us online: www.SouthernChimneys.com
📍 Proudly serving the greater Atlanta, GA area

The post How Summer Weather Affects Your Chimney – and What to Do About It first appeared on Southern Chimneys.

This post first appeared on https://southernchimneys.com

At the last rainfall, we had a ton of inquiries. The question everyone was asking, “why does my fireplace stink?” It is distracting when you’re sitting in your common area and you can’t enjoy what you are doing due to the smell. Sometimes it comes in whiffs and other times it is a constant bad odor. What causes the odor and how can you get rid of it?

Gas Fireplace: Why Does My Fireplace Stink?

As we all know, wood burning fireplaces need to be swept and inspected… But so do gas fireplaces. Gas fireplaces can smell too! But it’s different than a wood burning fireplace. The most common smell for the gas fireplace is a musty / dusty smell. What’s that from? Dust and moisture. When the fireplace isn’t used dust gets collected in the fireplace. When it then gets lit, the dust gets burned off and a foul odor is created and consumes the living space. It doesn’t take long for dust to gather. Homeowners need to be cautious when that happens. Getting the fireplace and chimney swept and inspected can help to avoid the smell from happening.

Wood burning Fireplace: Why Does My Fireplace Stink?

Wood burning fireplaces have a different reason for it smelling. Every time that a fire is lit with wood, a byproduct is created. It’s called creosote. It’s a black substance that sticks to the sides of the walls of the chimney flue. When you add the moisture of rain and humidity either separately or together, you get a smell like a campfire, except this one doesn’t smell so good. The other issue with creosote is its flammability. This can be a dangerous byproduct, which is why sweeping is critical.

By having regular chimney sweeping and inspection, our certified chimney technicians help get rid of the smell as well as the dangers of creosote.

How Can Homeowners Minimize the Smell?

Here are three ways that you can minimize the smell in the fireplace and at the same time keep it healthy and safe for your home.

1. Chimney Sweeping and Inspection: Be sure to get a yearly sweep and inspection in order to control the odor from the fireplace. However, if you do use your fireplace often, then twice per year is the way to go to ensure safety and odor control.
2. Install a Damper: Dampers are a great addition to your fireplace system if you do not have one already. This is a great way to control the airflow and keep the odor and smell in the chimney, especially on rainy days and humid conditions.
3. Chimney Cap: A chimney cap works to keep water out of the home, and directs it away from the home. The chimney cap ensures that debris, water and animals stay on the outside and not make their way in the home.

Now that you know the top reasons why does your fireplace smells, it’s time to do something about it. Contact us today and we’ll send out one of our certified chimney technicians to guide you through the process.

This post first appeared on https://www.superiorchimney.net

Finding someone who is talented with masonry work is golden. Many times, when our masonry workers go to a home to tuckpoint the brickwork or stonework on a chimney, a customer says, “are you able to fix these bricks on my home?” The answer is ‘yes’ most often! Superior Chimney’s masonry talent goes beyond the chimney.

Of Course, the Chimney

Our team of masonry professionals are highly experienced and are perfectionists at their craft. Being a masonry professional is like an artist. They make it look so easy. That’s how you know they are talented in their craft, and lucky to have them build or repair your chimney. So what do they do?

Chimney Rebuild or Partial Rebuild

Chimney rebuilds are obvious. When you see a chimney that doesn’t look like it can be repaired, chances it can’t. In addition, if it is falling apart, crumbing down or leaning to one side, it will need to be rebuilt.

A partial chimney rebuild is when you notice a couple of the rows of bricks are in bad shape, but the rest of it looks okay, that’s when a partial chimney rebuild needs to be done. Of course, that’s just what the naked eye sees from the ground looking up. But you always need a professional technician to conduct the inspection, take the pictures and tell the story with details. Once that part is done, the masonry professional comes in to build or partially fix the chimney.

Tuckpointing

Tuckpointing looks easy, and you can purchase the tools that they use at any hardware store. But when you need to mix the material, match it to the current color mortar, put it between two bricks and then create the perfect groove that spaces the bricks, many give us a call and say, ‘what a mess’. It can be if you are not a mortar artist like our masonry professionals. Even if it is filling in missing gaps in between the bricks, you still want it to blend together and look as perfect as possible. That’s what they can do.

Beyond the Chimney

There are lots of little projects that homeowners ‘see’ when you start thinking about masonry. You notice missing mortar in the home’s bricks and wonder if they can fix that as well. Or a mailbox stand that’s made from the bricks that match the house. Can they fix that? There are all sorts of things that need to be done and repaired around the house. Collect those projects and when you call us, let us know of them all! We’ll even inspect the exterior chimney to be sure all brick and mortar are in good shape. Contact us today to get your projects started! Superior Chimney’s masonry talent goes beyond the chimney!

This post first appeared on https://www.superiorchimney.net