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Are You Prepared for the Upcoming Burning Season?

When the air starts to cool down and the leaves start to change color, the neighbors start burning leaves and high school stadium lights start shining on Friday nights, then it’s time to start thinking about making sure that your fireplace is ready for the days of fire-burning that are just around the corner. Are you prepared for the upcoming burning season? There are several things that you need to check to make sure that your fireplace is clean and safe before you start burning again.

What To Look For

Have you noticed a peculiar odor coming from your fireplace? How about some grit and grime floating down your chimney? Well, it may be that you have a build-up of creosote on the interior of your chimney, and that’s not a good situation. When you burn wood in a fireplace, moisture that is left in the wood escapes, and along with it chemicals. This is why it’s so important to make sure that your wood has been cured for at least six months after cutting it, and longer is better. So, when this moisture hits the cool interior of the fireplace, it condenses and forms a grimy buildup, which is creosote. It smells and it’s dirty, but even worse, it’s highly flammable and can easily catch a spark and cause a chimney fire. This is true at even an eighth of an inch of creosote buildup.

Another thing to keep an eye out for is cracks in your mortar. If you notice that the ceiling surrounding your fireplace or the wallpaper or wallboard is looking soft or weak or discolored, it could very well be that your chimney is leaking. This could be caused by a variety of things, and one of those things is weak or cracked mortar. Those cracks can let moisture in, and that’s a problem because it can cause instability in your chimney structure.

Speaking of leaks, there are other places that might be leaking as well. You’ll want to make sure that your flashing is secured and that your chimney cap is in good shape, with no rust or loose spots that might let leaks or animals in. You’ll also want to make sure that the bricks in your chimney are secure and in place.

Does it seem as though there are a lot of things that you need to make sure are secure before you use your fireplace for the season? Do you feel like you aren’t knowledgeable or skilled enough to make sure that your fireplace is ready for a fire? It’s probably true. You probably aren’t. So who should you call? Call Chim Cheroo Chimney Service Inc.

Why Chim Cheroo Chimney Service Inc

When you call Chim Cheroo Chimney Service, you are getting professionals who are Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) certified and have over thirty years of experience in taking care of the chimneys in Mansfield and North Central Ohio. We’re the experts to call for all your chimney care needs!

So You’ve Got A Leaky Chimney

There’s nothing good about a leak, no matter where that leak is. If your tire is leaking, you’re going to have to spend time fixing it before you go where you want to go. If your pipe is leaking, you’re going to have to fix it, and probably the floor or the ceiling that is affected by that leak, too. If your chimney is leaking, it’s a problem as well. Your chimney is designed to do one thing very well, and that’s directing smoke out into the open air rather than being allowed to be sucked back into your home. There are other purposes, too, of course, such as bringing in air to work as draft to keep your fire burning. If your chimney is leaking, then these things aren’t going to be happening like they should be, and that’s going to cause other problems. So if you suspect you have a leaky chimney, or if you haven’t had your annual chimney inspection yet, give Chim Cheroo Chimney Service Inc a call and let’s get an appointment set up!

Causes of Leaks in Your Chimney

There are several reasons that your chimney might be leaking. First, there’s the freeze-thaw cycle. The mortar that holds the bricks together is a porous material, and so are the bricks. As precipitation falls, it permeates those pores and rests there. When freezing weather comes, that water freezes and expands, expanding the pores are well. This just leaves bigger spaces for the precipitation to fill next time. This process repeats itself, and soon you’ll have cracks and crevices in the structure of the chimney where water can leak right in.

Another place that is susceptible to leaks is at the top of the chimney, at the chimney cap or the chimney crown. The crown, which is the topmost built-on piece of the chimney, is designed in a way to keep the rain away from the area where the roof meets the chimney. It’s made of cement, so it could also be affected by the freeze-thaw cycle. If this happens, it does need to be repaired so that the leaks are stopped before they even start. The chimney cap, which sits on top of the chimney crown, is actually designed as a roof over the actual chimney opening, and it directs precipitation to the sloped edge of the chimney crown. If this gets rusty or damaged, it will allow precipitation to enter into the chimney as well.

Why You Need These Repaired

If your chimney is leaking, it can cause damage to the metal parts of your chimney, such as the dampers or the firebox. It can also cause the chimney lining to break down, and if the mortar has already deteriorated and cracked, that can mean that some of the gases that are released during combustion could be sneaking back into the house, where they can cause health issues for you and your family.

If you suspect that your chimney is leaking, give Chim Cheroo Chimney Service a call so we can repair it before it causes further damage!