Chimneys should be inspected and swept as needed per National Fire Codes (NFPA 211). This section covers the chimney sweeping procedures that Jack Pixley Chimney-Sweeps & Masonry uses on a regular basis.
Each home heating appliance is dependent on a chimney and/or venting system that functions properly. If the chimney does not work as designed, the heating system will not perform as it should. This situation has the potential to result in serious damage to the home and its surroundings. It can also pose a risk to the health and safety of the family living inside the home.
“How often should I have my chimney cleaned and inspected?” Usually if you burn a half a cord of wood or over 40 hours of burning in a season, your chimney will need to be cleaned on a yearly basis. There are other variables to consider as well. The use of unseasoned wood will cause an increase in creosote buildup. Creosote build up is what can lead to chimney fires, and in some cases structural fires.
“What about the Chimney Sweep Log?” The chimney sweep log and other products like it are designed to cut down on the amount of creosote build up on the flue tiles themselves. They do not however, remove the creosote from the chimney. The manufacturers of products like these will still recommend an annual cleaning and inspection of the fireplace.
“I think I had a chimney fire, can I still use my fireplace or get a gas or wood insert?” 
If you think that you have had a chimney fire it is important to have a Certified Chimney Technician clean and inspect your flue liner. When a chimney fire occurs the flue tiles are most often cracked, and in some cases collapse. If you continue to use your fireplace, the heat and smoke can get into the internal structure of the chimney through the cracks or collapsed tiles. Continued use can often result in a structural fire due to spontaneous combustion of the wood around the chimney structure. It is a good idea to make sure that the tiles are not cracked on two sides before installing an insert. Tiles that are cracked can become unstable and fall onto the exhaust line of the insert or onto the insert itself.
“My fireplace is smoking and my house is starting to smell. It’s never done that before, why is it doing it now?” There are several reasons that a fireplace can smoke. Most common is negative air pressure in the home. In order for a chimney to function properly, it needs air to support the combustion of the fire and draft. Make up air is needed to replace the air being drawn out of the home by the chimney. If you have recently had doors or windows replaced, your home has been “tightened up.” Those small leaks that you used to have are no longer there. The new windows have cut off part of the air needed to help the fireplace function. Our technicians can run a manometer test to see if negative air pressure is one of the problems. Another common problem is smoke cross over. This can occur either internally or externally. With negative air, this is usually an external cross over. The second flue in a chimney will act as an air intake into the home. As the fireplace either upstairs or downstairs is being used to exhaust the air the other fireplace begins to bring in make up air. It will suck the smoke from the other flue back down into the home. Other times it is happening internally. Overtime the mortar joints between the flue tiles will breakdown and erode. When this happens the smoke is now able to leak into the internal part of the chimney. This can lead to the smoke entering back into the home. There are several other scenarios that could be in place. Our CSIA certified technicians are trained to help you determine what is happening and offer you a solution to resolve the problem.
“An Important Note for Homeowners Heating With Gas”
Many homeowners are under the impression that, if they have a gas-heating system, there is no longer a need for chimney maintenance. While it is true that it will not need to be cleaned like the wood-burning system, periodic inspections are highly recommended to make certain these systems are venting properly. This will ensure that there are no cracks, deterioration, or blockages that could prevent proper venting of these hazardous gases. We highly recommend installing a carbon monoxide detector in your home. The blockage of a gas pipe will not become known until it is too late, install a carbon monoxide detector today if you have not already done so. If you have an increase in carbon monoxide in your home, call us so that we can inspect the flue system for your gas appliances and clear them if necessary.
What To Expect From Your Chimney Technician…
- When our technicians arrive at your home they will always greet you with a smile! We love our work and are happy to be able to assist you. We will consult with you before beginning any work to make sure that we are doing the work that you hired us to do. We will explain in detail the use of the rotary cleaning system and review our dust prevention policy.
- After consulting with you, our technicians will then set up and begin the process of cleaning and inspecting your chimney. We clear a 5 foot work area in front of your fireplace and set up sheets. We do an initial inspection of the firebox, damper, and smoke shelf. We then bring in the necessary equipment to complete the cleaning and inspection of your fireplace.
- Providing that we have the ability to safely access your chimney, we do a roof top inspection to check the condition of the chimney top, examining the brick, mortar joints, and the interior flue condition. He will also check the chimney flashing. After thoroughly cleaning the flue liner, smoke chamber, and smoke shelf, our CSIA Certified technicians, run a Chim-Scan chimney camera. We will ask that you are available to watch as we perform this part of the inspection. We are then able to explain what we are seeing inside your chimney and consult with you if we find anything that is of concern. We take pictures of these areas and provide a report of what we found. You will receive the report from our office in about a week.
- In the event that we notice any cracks, voids, or improper construction in your chimney, our technicians will go over the options available to you for the repair of your chimney liner. If you decide that you would like us to repair the chimney, our technicians will take all of the information necessary to provide you with a proposal. The proposal will be sent to you within a one week time frame. The proposal will have all the information necessary for you to make an informed and educated decision on what you can do to continue to use your fireplace. In the event that you no longer want to burn wood in your fireplace, we also have options available to you for converting your fireplace to gas or installing a wood burning insert. Our technicians can help you to make the best choice for you.
- If you are in need of a chimney screen/cap or minor repairs, the technician will be able to take care of that at the time of the cleaning, in most situations. If you require a special order screen we will discuss the options available to you at that time.