Chimney News & Information 2016

Get Your Chimney Spring and Summer Ready!

Spring is soon to be in the rearview mirror and the summer months are upon us. While the summer time brings many home improvement projects, maintaining your chimney should be at the top of the list. If not done correctly your home could experience draft problems or even a chimney fire, which puts your family and home at risk!

How often should you sweep your chimney?

If you are a frequent user of your chimney, you should have it swept at least twice a year. While most home improvement projects can be done manually, chimney maintenance is a project meant for experts. Sweeping your chimney before the winter months, on a warmer day (if possible) during the winter and before the Spring and Summer months will greatly reduce your chances of having a chimney fire or dealing with damage to your chimney that could be come costly.

What are common chimney repairs?

Living in the Northeast, like you currently are in Boston, exposes your chimney to harsh weather conditions both in the winter and summer. Early spring is the best time to do these repairs because it is starting to warm up outside, but the spring showers have not kicked into full gear. Flashing and rain caps are two common things that your technician will check when they examine your chimney. A big thing our experts will look at is how well your chimney is sealed and whether it is waterproofed. After several winters without proper maintenance and repairs, your chimney will eventually begin to have small cracks and the caulking may become loose.

What if you have an animal problem?

If your chimney is left unattended, especially during the summer, it could become a home or a trap for animals. In no situation is this something that you want. Animals, whether trapped or neslted in their new home, do not belong in your chimney and they could cause serious damage to the interior of your chimney as well as your home. To keep both you and the animal safe, this removal should only be done by a professional and having a cap repaired or installed by one of our experts will keep animals out completely. Your chimney is often the most forgotten part of your home, yet can cause serious risks if not taken care of. Call Guaranteed Chimney of New England today and become another satisfied customer.

Warning Signs Your Chimney Needs an Inspection

Your fireplace is the focus of family gatherings and a great way to take the chill off during the coldest winter nights. For many, it is a basic necessity. As relaxing as your fireplace can be, it can also pose danger to your home and your family. If your fireplace is not properly maintained and cared for, it may start a fire where you don’t want one, which usually happens inside your chimney. Even after removing ash at the appropriate time, it’s what doesn’t turn into ash that puts your home at risk. Creosote is nothing more than unburned wood energy that builds up on your chimney’s inner surface and can cause damage and serious house fires.

Preventing Chimney Fires:

It's not a guarantee that you'll never experience a house fire. However, regular chimney cleaning will greatly reduce the chances of your chimney catching fire. According to the NFPA, the second leading cause of house fires is heating equipment and two out of three heating equipment fires result from heating appliances, which includes fireplaces, chimneys and wood stoves. Of the fires that start in the chimney or fireplace, most are a direct result of creosote deposits. Prevent this from happening and have your chimney inspected by Guaranteed Chimney of New England.

Cleaning Your Chimney:

Regular chimney cleanings will remove the inevitable buildup of creosote and soot. Unfortunately, there’s no simple rule of thumb for when to do it. Don’t rely on the standard advice of having it done once a year or at some other set time. Clean your chimney when it needs to be cleaned-which is when the creosote is thick enough to warrant cleaning.

Monitoring Your Chimney:

If there is smoke flowing into your house, or a build up of ashe on your roof, you know there is a creosote build up that needs to be addressed. Depending on where you live and how much wood you burn, it is smart to monitor how quickly creosote builds up. Being in Boston and the larger Massachusetts area means your winters are cold and sometimes long, so your chimney use could range from October to April. This means constant and routine cleanings should become a habit of yours.

The payoff for ensuring that your chimney is in prime working condition is priceless-peace of mind every time you build a fire. Keep your family and house safe and get a certified chimney inspection from one of our many experts at Guaranteed Chimney of New England. Proudly serving Boston citizens and the larger Massachusetts area.

The Dangers of Mold in Your Chimney

Taking care of your chimney isn’t easy and it can be costly. Maintaining a chimney requires a lot of time, materials, skill and constant attention. You need to constantly monitor your chimney in order to ensure the safety of your home and family.

A big concern for chimney owners is the presence of mold in their chimney and not knowing whether it is there or not. It is important for chimney owners to know the dangers of mold and how they can not only prevent it, but eliminate it.

What you need to know:

Aside from water being known to cause damage in your chimney’s mortar and brick and not to mention the risk it has on potentially damaging your chimney’s structural integrity, water is the number one enemy because it is the key ingredient in the forming of mold.

Signs of mold:

How do you know if mold is forming or has formed in your chimney? Without going up into your chimney, diagnosing the presence of mold requires you to be very attentitive. This is predicated on the season you are currently in. Since the potential for mold growth greatly increases with the presence of water, you need to be more alert whenever it’s warm, rainy or humid. Second, you need to take note of the smell. If you notice a musky odor circulating, then that is definitely a tell-tale sign of mold growth.

Potential Dangers and Hazards:

Every person has a different reaction to certain substances. The same is true with a person’s reaction to molds. Here are a few of the common physical reactions attributed to mold growth:

• Dizziness
• Breathing problems
• Flu-like symptoms
• Memory loss
• Weakened immune system

Of course, these reactions vary depending on the severity of the mold growth and exposure and the person’s physical state upon contact.

Preventing Mold in your home:

In order to prevent the possibility of mold growth, you should absolutely waterproof your chimney and make sure you have a suitable chimney cap installed. Chimney caps cover the opening so that little or no water at all can enter. Eliminating the possibility of water also eliminates the possibility of mild growth in your chimney.

Please don't take a chance with mold, call us at Guaranteed Chimney of New England and keep your family and home safe!

Keep your Chimney dry!

Water is a major contributor to the erosion of your chimney's masonry. A person's chimney is arguably the most forgotten part of their home and if neglected, could put your home and your family at risk. Your chimney is just one of those things that you expect to be there for you when you need it but may not give it much additional thought in the meantime. However, your chimney needs to be tended to and fixed whenever a repair is necessary.

Water and Metal do not mix!

Metal and Water do not mix! Everyone know that water causes rust. A constant water presence can cause your metal damper assemblies and metal chimney liners to rust. Take the rust you can see and multiply that by at least two and that will be the amount of rust you CAN'T see. Just because you haven't seen any rust, does not mean there isn't any. Have you been unable to physically open your damper? There could be major rust built up from running water starting from the top of the chimney. This could be caused by a missing or damaged chimney cap. If you do not have one, you need one and if you have a broken one it needs to be fixed!

Water and your Brickwork!

Your chimney may be spalling due to water. Spalling is the flaking off of the brick surface and is a definitive sign of severe moisture penetration. Spalling bricks have cracks and breaks in the surface and often large, crater-shaped chips. These bricks must be repaird or replaced immediately. The best way to avoid brick spalling is to eliminate the moisture altogether. This once again goes back to needing a strong chimney cap in place!

Mortar Erosion!

Your chimney is constantly exposed to the elements on the outside all year round and the heat from your firebox on the inside during the winter months. Beacuse of these conditions, the weathering process is increased. As such, it is common for the mortar to begin to crumble and fall away, leaving open areas between the bricks, thereby exposing more surface area to these weathering agents. Unless you are planning on gettign rid of your chimney, there is absolutely no excuse for not taking better care of it. It’s time to have an experienced technician evaluate the condition of your chimney’s interior and exterior, get them repaired if necessary and have your chimney coated with a waterproofing agent. \

Guaranteed Chimney of New England has experts across the Boston and larger Massachusetts area ready to serve you around the clock. Water is a major contributor to the erosion of your chimney's masonry. A person's chimney is arguably the most forgotten part of their home and if neglected, could put your home and your family at risk. Your chimney is just one of those things that you expect to be there for you when you need it but may not give it much additional thought in the meantime. However, your chimney needs to be tended to and fixed whenever a repair is necessary.