Get Your Fireplace Winter-Ready Before the Rush!
Summer heat will soon fizzle out and everyone will start preparing for fall. The dig for stored winter boots and warm sweaters brings to mind cozy fires in the fireplace. If you’re like most people, it’s at this time you realize a chimney inspection is needed ASAP. Cold weather can arrive suddenly in Connecticut! Make sure your fireplace is fire-ready by scheduling your annual chimney inspection with Northeastern Chimney LLC without delay.
The Importance of Preventative Maintenance
About 28% of all heating-related house fires are a direct result of neglecting chimney maintenance prior to the start of a new heating season. Leading fire safety organizations agree that annual chimney inspections provide the best guarantee of a safe, efficient chimney system. It’s important to contact a reputable chimney sweep company with professionally licensed chimney technicians for chimney care.
Beat the Fall Rush!
By October and through January, legitimate chimney sweep companies stay busy daily with chimney repairs, emergency calls, and installations. It can be nearly impossible to make a routine appointment for chimney maintenance during that period. To ensure that you can schedule the work with a trusted company like Northeastern Chimney, schedule your appointment early.
What are the Most Common Chimney Hazards?
Chimneys are vulnerable to damage caused by moisture, and deterioration is natural over time. The greatest hazards are related to chimney obstruction and deterioration.
Obstruction
Many of the annual house fires related to chimneys are caused by chimney obstruction. This may involve limbs, leaves, and other debris in the chimney flue. Most often, however, a chimney is blocked by a thick buildup of creosote, which is highly flammable combustion material deposited in the flue during wood-fueled fires.
Annual chimney cleaning is recommended by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA); and the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) recommends cleaning after there is a 1/8-inch-thick layer of creosote in the chimney lining. The potential for a dangerous chimney fire is increased with every added layer of creosote. Chimney fires are always dangerous, but when they have a thick layer of combustible materials to feed the flames, the fires last longer, burn with increasing intensity, and endanger the entire home.
Deterioration in the Flue and Fireplace
The chimney liner protects combustible parts of the home and also provides a passageway for smoke and combustion gases to exit the home. When the flue liner has even a small crack, using the fireplace is too dangerous. A flue liner replacement is needed a vast majority of the time simply because the clay tile liners that constitute most original chimney flues cannot be replaced without partial chimney tear-down and rebuild.
If the back wall of the fireplace becomes damaged, chimney repair is essential. The fire bricks in the fireplace protect the home in the same way chimney liners do. If repairs aren’t made, there is an increased risk of a home fire.
Toxic Fumes
When there are damaged fire bricks in the fireplace and/or when the flue is damaged, another danger is that toxic, even deadly, fumes can enter the home and put its occupants at great risk.
Chimney Repair Services
Not all chimney repairs are immediate safety issues. Tuckpointing, crown repair, crown rebuilding, flashing repair, and installation of chimney caps and chimney chase tops are other types of chimney repairs that may be needed. The sooner you address chimney problems, the less damage there is to address and the less expensive the repairs.
Chimney experts can provide chimney repairs before the fall cold weather moves in if you get ahead in scheduling. Our chimney professionals at Northeastern Chimney can make most repairs quickly, allowing you to relax and enjoy the changing of the seasons, including the open-air festivals of fall.
Schedule Chimney Repair with Northeastern Chimney
About the time you’re celebrating the coming end of summer’s heat is the perfect time to get your fireplace ready for use in fall and winter. Get ahead of the rush for chimney services from a reliable chimney sweep company by contacting Northeastern Chimney LLC. Call us today at 860-233-5770.