Common Masonry Repairs in The Summer
Summer is a great time to get a start on or finish those home repair projects that you’ve been meaning to tackle. This includes everything from long overdue landscaping to painting a fence to taking care of issues with your chimney. This is especially true with the latter as you’re not likely to be using your fireplace at all when it’s hot outside. Of course, it also means that summer is a great time for an inspection and to address any problems your Northeastern Chimney technician discovers with your masonry. Here are the five most common repairs a technician will deal with when visiting your home.
Tuckpointing
Over time, brick and mortar can wear down. The method to remove and replace this kind of damage is known as tuckpointing. Little things such as cracks in your bricks or flaking mortar can weaken the structural integrity of your chimney. Eventually, this will lead to problems down the line. An experienced chimney technician will first perform an inspection. Then, they’ll repair this damage by removing the affected area and replacing it with color-matched new brick and mortar, leaving your chimney to look as good as new.
Repairing your crown
The crown of your chimney is exposed to the elements day in and day out. It also protects the chimney from allowing water to get inside and cause problems. Because of this, it is a very important component that should always be working properly. Cracks and damage are a recipe for disaster. After an inspection uncovers the problem, your technician will either repair the crown and seal or (depending on the extent of the damage) replace it completely.
Replacing a missing cap
The same can be said for the chimney cap. If your cap is missing, birds, insects, other small animals, moisture, and other kinds of debris can find their way into your chimney. Eventually, their intrusion will lead to odor, damage, and worst of all, a potential fire. Replacing a chimney cap is one common and also easy repair that can be taken care of during the summer.
Fixing a broken damper
You may not think about your damper because it’s up inside the flue. But, if it’s broken, you might find out the hard way in terms of increased heating costs. Worse yet, if your damper is stuck in the closed position, daggers smoke and gases will back up inside of your home. The damper acts somewhat like a lid on the chimney, preventing heat from escaping when the fireplace is not being used and allowing fumes to escape when you’re using it.
Overhaul of the firebox
No one wants to experience a house fire. Overhauling the firebox is critical to improving safety. Heat and chemicals can break down the inner parts of your firebox and allow the heat to escape into the walls of your home with disastrous consequences. Additionally, this can cause a decrease in efficiency. However, because you’re not using your chimney during the summer, this is the best time to replace this critically important component of your fireplace system.
This post first appeared on https://www.mychimney.com
