Our Chimney Services

Chimney Sweeping

Fireplace, oil and gas venting chimneys need to be swept as regular maintenance or because of a wide variety of functional problems. Sweeping is your best defense against the consequences of lack of chimney attention, such as hostile chimney fires and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Chimney Inspections

We perform all three levels of chimney inspections, based on the appropriate situation’s need for information, as defined by the NFPA-211 Standard. It’s not as complicated as it sounds, but the various levels of inspections are designed with your safety in mind, so you don’t lose property, health or life through a lack of knowledge.

Chimney Relining

We have successfully installed thousands of stainless steel chimney liners, mainly due to oil and gas venting systems that simply fell apart from decades of constant use and the effects of their highly acidic exhausts. Deteriorated terracotta liners can block the chimney or kill the draft, and sometimes kill the homeowners with carbon monoxide poisoning. A blocked oil flue can fill your house with black soot overnight. A properly installed, stainless steel chimney liner installed in the right circumstances can save often your life.

Caps and Dampers

A chimney cap is so important to have on every chimney flue. Caps can keep birds, bats, squirrels, and raccoons from getting into your house and causing a lot of destruction and anxiety. Caps can keep out most of the damaging rain and limit the size of the sparks that land on your roof. I quit keeping record of the total birds and animals that I removed from chimneys over 21 years ago, when the running total exceeded 10,000! Chimney caps are not expensive and are well worth the peace of mind that they bring.  Critters in the chimney are unsettling to experience.

If you’re getting stinkbugs or wasps in the house via the chimney, then a tightly fitting, top-sealing damper might be what you need. Top dampers can greatly reduce heating and air conditioning bills too.  Customers are often amazed at the increased comfort levels in rooms that were once drafty, after the proper type of top-sealing damper has been installed.

Waterproofing

Water penetration is the great destroyer of masonry chimneys. The freeze-thaw effects of trapped water in chimneys during the cold months can be very expensive to repair, if allowed to progress for years. In the warmer weather, moisture in chimney masonry allows algae, moss and mold to grow. We use high tech waterproofing agents that have a ten-year manufacturer’s warranty and let the masonry breathe and dry out, yet stop water in the liquid phase.

Repairs

Chimney cement crowns are the strength, or weakness, of a masonry chimney. Crowns in poor condition let water deeply into the chimney and then you have a soaked masonry jar. A timely repair to this part of the chimney can save thousands of dollars in future damage. Either a new cement crown or repair with an elastic material is determined by the state of deterioration. Other small repairs to a chimney are usually not expensive.

Chimney Troubleshooting

If your chimney is having problems functioning, then an experienced, certified, chimney sweep can often help you. We have had great success in troubleshooting chimneys over the years.

Learn more about how chimneys work with our Chimneys 101 guide.

Give us a call today if for nothing else than for the safety of your family. Let us put your mind at ease.