It’s that time of year, and many of you will be hosting Thanksgiving. If your house is like mine, everyone will gravitate to the room where the fireplace is located. Why? Who doesn’t want to sit by the fireplace and enjoy good conversation and a glass of your favorite beverage. Be sure to get your fireplace swept and inspected so your guests are not disappointed and fireplace mishaps don’t occur.
What Kind of Mishaps?
You’d be surprised how many homeowners say, “Hey, let’s start the fireplace!” and forget that lots of things can happen from the time you last started the fireplace, whether it is gas or woodburning.
- Chimney Cap: Because the chimney is out of sight, you didn’t know that the chimney cap was loose (if you have one) and debris came in. Worse yet, you now have a critter family living in the chimney. With the weather getting cooler by the week, and snow showing up in less than a month, those little critters need a warm place to stay, and your chimney looks very enticing.
- Chimney Creosote: This black stuff builds up on the walls of the chimney and is very combustible. This needs to be removed before lighting that fire in the fireplace.
- Debris in the Fireplace: We many times forget that debris drops into the fireplace. This can be small pieces of leaves or other debris from the outside. These are dry and can ignite quickly causing sparks that may or may not stay within the firebox.
What Can Be Done to Ensure Mishaps Don’t Happen this Holiday Season?
Get the fireplace swept and inspected. This will be completed by our Nationally Certified chimney technicians that are specially trained to identify and repair areas that can be potentially dangerous for your home and guests.
We’ll use our specially designed 14-point certified written inspection with photo documentation. This is the best way for you to know what we’re doing and where, and you know exactly what’s going on with the exterior of the chimney. While it’s still decent outside, let’s get your fireplace swept and inspected now before the snow sets in.
Our Nationally Certified chimney technicians will go through each of the 14 points of sweeping and inspecting the areas of the chimney and fireplace. We’ll check the exterior to ensure the cap, flashing, concrete slab and tuckpointing is in good shape so water from the snow doesn’t end up inside your home.
Then, of course, the chimney flue that carries the smoke from the fireplace up and out of the home. This is vital that creosote or any other build up is swept out and ensures that the air flow is venting properly.
Finally, we’ll check the firebox and smoke chamber and ensure they are clean and ready to go.
Did you know…
That the Chimney Safety Institute recommends that your chimney and fireplace get swept and inspected at least once per year whether you use it or not? Whether its gas or woodburning? Give us a call and we’ll take you through the 14 points so you are comfortable with what we accomplish at your home during the fireplace sweep and inspection. Reach us at 877-244-6349.
