Company Blog

Buying a house? What about the chimney?

The list of inspections is endless and each one has the potential to open a nasty can of worms. (Termite letters, Home Inspections, Electricians, Plumbers, HVAC, Radon, etc.)

Why isn’t inspecting the chimney on that list? Ask anyone who assumed that their “new” long awaited fireplace is user ready only to find out long after the closing that (because of age, damage or just plain bad construction), it will require an additional large investment to be usable. They’ll say it should be….for sure!

RECOMMENDATION:

Get the chimney its own inspection by a CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep – BEFORE signing on the dotted line.

• Some issues that are revealed by a thorough inspection may be normal wear and tear or maintenance. These type things may not have a real bearing on the purchase of the house. No house is perfect and no chimney is perfect.
• On the other hand, there may be serious damage or construction flaws that will be expensive to remedy. Better to know this before committing to buying the house with the fireplace of your dreams, only to have your dreams turn into nightmares.

Things you’ll want to find out…

• Is it dirty? You can’t really tell whether a chimney has problems if it’s dirty. Go ahead; get it cleaned, so the surface of the flue can be inspected properly.
• If it’s masonry built
  • Is the liner the right size for the fireplace opening?
  • Is the chimney tall enough?
  • Is the liner installed properly?
  • Has it ever had a wood stove installed in the fireplace or attached to the chimney? If so, a closer look is merited.
  • Is the liner broken?
• If its manufactured prefabricated
  • Are all the pieces there?
  • Are all the pieces put together correctly?
  • Are there pieces that are not supposed to be there?
  • Is the chase cover rusted?
  • Has it been damaged or modified? Modifications can make it unsafe to use.
  • Does it have gas logs? Or a gas starter?
  • What happens if it has gas installed and it’s not supposed to? Yes, there are prefab fireplaces that are not supposed to have gas appliances installed in them.
• Can it be used in its present condition?
• If it cannot be used as it sits, what options are there for making it usable?

Blue Sky Chimney Sweeps | Bless Your Hearth has the expertise to inspect your chimney and let you know what is so about it. They are capable and qualified to make suggestions for resolutions and/or repair most any issue that may be revealed during the service.

When is the BEST time to get your chimney inspected and/or cleaned?

This is a common question, and the common assumption is to call for this service right before you are going to need to use the fireplace or wood stove – in the Fall.   One of the problems when trying to make an appointment, with a premier and well regarded chimney sweep company — in the Fall or Winter — is that you are competing with everyone else who is trying to get ready for “the season”.  Therefore, logically, (even though it goes against our procrastinating human nature) it makes sense that, if one wants more timely service, the sensible thing would be to opt to request the service when the demand is not so great.

Experience (36 years of it) has taught us that there is a definite difference in the number of requests we get in the Spring and Summer and the number we get in the Fall and Winter.  Therefore, we invite (even strongly encourage) our regular, repeat customers to call us at the END of the burning season instead of the beginning of the Winter season.   We would offer this same advice to everyone in the market for chimney inspection or sweeping.  

So…after you are sure you are not going to use your fireplace or woodstove any more for the year, just plan to go ahead and get it inspected and/or swept out.  There are several very good reasons to get it done in the Spring/Summer.  

Reasons to call in SPRING instead of Fall

• As already mentioned, a shorter wait time for an appointment
• After the chimney is swept in the Spring, it will not get dirty again before it’s needed the next Fall/Winter.  It will be guaranteed ready for the cold AND those holiday or special family occasions.
• Sweeping the creosote deposits from the chimney early may cut down on the bad smell that some folks experience during the summer months.
• Lots of bad things can happen during the winter to a chimney.  For example:  Winter rains soak into a chimney and if the temperatures drop below freezing, the water in the bricks and mortar joints freezes and expands.  This can cause the brick or mortar joints to break or crack.  When this freeze/thaw action takes place over and over throughout the course of the winter, the damage can compound.  A Spring inspection will detect this kind of damage and you’ll have plenty of time (all Summer) to get things in order before the next Winter cycle begins.

We, here at Blue Sky Chimney Sweeps|Bless Your Hearth, inspect, sweep and repair chimneys all year round, but Spring/Summer is admittedly a better time to do major repairs.  So accept our invitation to call us after you complete your last fire for this winter.  We will be pleased to get your chimney ready early for next year’s burning season.