If you’re like many homeowners, you’re not a huge fan of home maintenance tasks that require you to climb up on the roof for any length of time. Rest assured that we’re always available to take care of your chimney-sweeping needs, so that you can keep both feet safely on the ground.
A chimney sweep can check whether your chimney cap includes a spark arrestor. With a spark arrestor, your chimney cap stops sparks from spraying onto your roof and potentially causing a fire.
The first thing a chimney sweep will do is thoroughly inspect your fireplace and chimney. This enables him or her to make a note of any needed repairs and to see if the chimney actually needs to be cleaned. The general guideline is that cleaning is necessary if there’s more than one-quarter-inch of accumulated soot.
For the safe operation of your home's fireplace, experts recommend that you maintain a barrier while there's a fire, or even smoldering embers, in the fire box. Barriers include metal mesh fireplace screens and fitted fireplace doors.
The best time of the year to clean a chimney is after the cold season has just ended. Whether it's the early or late spring, any deposits on the flue liner are more easily removed.
Here are some top safety tips when using your fireplace: Use aged wood; prefer small fires to large ones; and remove all flammable items from around your hearth before starting a fire.
Although calling in a chimney sweep annually may be considered a standard practice, it’s not always the best schedule to follow. If your family loves to curl up by the fire more often than the typical family, it may be necessary to clean it more often for safety purposes.
We recognize how completing basic home maintenance tasks on their own can allow homeowners to keep more money in their pockets. That said, chimney sweeping is more complex and is best left to a professional to ensure your chimney is really fire-safe.
The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) publishes recommendations for the safe use of fireplaces and fuel burning appliances. One major recommendation from the USFA is to have your equipment inspected annually. Regular inspections save lives.
Although few things are as fun to snuggle in front of on a cold night that a roaring blaze in your fireplace, this type of fire often produces more smoke and less warmth. Not only will a smaller fire often produce more warmth, but it will also help to keep your chimney clean.
Modern safety standards mandate that chimney liners be installed. These are made of metal, clay, or ceramic and serve to protect the walls of the house from the heat of the fire. If your chimney is unlined or the liner is damaged, talk to a chimney professional about getting one installed or replaced.
Did you know that Benjamin Franklin played an important role in the invention of fireplaces? He created the first freestanding firebox, known as the Franklin stove, after discovering that fireplaces lost a lot of heat through the wall.
Having your chimney cleaned regularly isn't just for the prevention of fires. It also helps protect against carbon monoxide. A blocked chimney won't allow carbon monoxide to vent properly and can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning for you or your family members.
Although the typical homeowner may be aware of the fire hazard created by stray embers that float out from your fireplace, your chimney can be just as dangerous. When the toxic chemicals created by the fire are allowed to accumulate inside the chimney, it can create a serious risk of fire.
A Level 2 chimney inspection typically involves three stages. The sweep confirms the chimney is sound and clear; inspects adjacent attic, crawl spaces, and basements for potential fire risks; and conducts a smoke or pressure test to assess chimney performance.
If you’re like many homeowners, you may not realize that your chimney could be the source of that strong smell filling your home during the summer months. Let’s talk about how having us sweep your chimney can help you home to smell better year round.
If you have a chimney, you might wonder when the best time of year is to have it cleaned. Late summer or early fall is a good time, since this means the fireplace will be ready to use when it gets cold, but chimney sweeps can do cleaning and inspection at other times if necessary.
In 17th century England, houses were taxed based on the number of visible chimneys. To help customers avoid the “hearth” tax, builders connected new fireplace flues to existing ones, so multiple flues would run up one chimney.
Creosote is a built-up deposit in your chimney that can be difficult to remove and often requires a thorough scraping. However, this part of the cleaning process is critical, as it is the primary cause of dangerous chimney fires.
While you’ll likely find lots of tips online for cleaning your own chimney, this isn’t always a good idea. Unless you have extensive experience with this, you may not clean it as thoroughly as it needs to be done or notice other issues that could make your chimney unsafe.
Did you know that firebricks are useful for many different applications? Not only are they perfect for fireplaces in people's homes, but people also use them for industrial furnaces, steel refineries, and insulating tiles for space shuttles.
One of the best reasons to hire a professional chimney sweep to clean your chimney is the lack of mess. They have the proper equipment and experience in containing soot, particles, and other debris, so it doesn't get on your carpets or furniture.
Are you wondering how often you need to clean your chimney? This can vary, depending on how often you use your fireplace and/or stove, the type of wood you burn, and what type of unit you have. Speak to a professional to determine the cleaning schedule that's optimal for you.
One of the main benefits of having your chimney cleaned is in the fire prevention this service provides. Using a chimney sweep on a regular basis will keep dangerous soot and creosote from building up in your chimney, which in turn will reduce your risk for a fire.