Your Comprehensive Fireplace Check-Up
Keeping your fireplace and chimney well-maintained isn't just a matter of efficiency, it's also about safety. Identifying failure points, potential sources of ignition within the chimney, and repairing or removing them will help you avoid costly fire damage, while also ensuring that your fireplace heats as optimally as possible. Knowing what you should be looking for will help you determine whether or not your chimney contractor is being thorough enough during inspection and maintenance visits.
From the Top Down
Your chimney is more than just the metal tube that allows smoke to escape without inundating your home. It's also ventilation that helps fires burn hotter and longer, a structural component of many homes, and a place where the residue of combustion can collect. All of these aspects must be addressed when inspecting and maintaining your chimney.
Chimney contractors should examine the screen or cap for damage or holes to ensure it is keeping small animals out, as rust can gradually cause it to deteriorate. Further, any flashing, siding or structure around the chimney pipe should also be inspected for signs of wear, water damage or improper installation. Finally, the interior of your chimney must be cleaned annually to prevent your home from being one of the more than 20,000 homes consumed each year by a fire originating inside chimneys and fireplaces. These fires usually result from the ignition of creosote, which is a composite of condensation and unconsumed combustible compounds, that clings to the inside of your chimney.
From the Bottom Up
Focusing only on the chimney is a good way to ignore half the problem, as fireplaces also need regular inspections and maintenance. This is especially true of those constructed with bricks and mortar, as both will gradually degrade over time through wear and tear from normal use. Metal fire boxes are more durable, but their components also need to be inspected to ensure they are operating efficiently.
Masonry and mortar should be checked for signs of cracking, crumbling or stress fractures resulting from the heat. Both types of fire boxes should be cleaned out daily to prevent the lye found in wood ash from activating and corroding the interior. More complex fireplaces also rely on venting systems, catalytic converters, and convection fans, all of which improve the performance of the unit, but which can become clogged with ash, soot and cinders from normal use. Cleaning these out during an annual inspection will ensure their performance remains consistent from year to year.
Most professional agree that annual chimney cleaning is the best way to protect your home from chimney fires and keep your fireplace working properly. There's no reason to stop at the chimney though, so ask a chimney contractor like those at Early Times Home Solutions about a more comprehensive level of service to ensure you're getting the most out of every fire you light.