Taking care of your fireplace is easy to do. Proper care keeps you safe and can reduce chimney repair services. You want to enjoy your fireplace and not worry about any problems from it. If you’ve never owned a home with a fireplace and chimney you may worry about its safety. It’s not something you had to deal with before and lighting a fire inside your home may seem scary. Anything involving fire needs your serious attention.
When buying a home, a home inspector can shed light on the soundness of your chimney. If it doesn’t need any brick work, they will suggest yearly cleanings. Cleaning your chimney keeps your fireplace working well during the wintertime.
A fireplace is also a wonderful home feature. It’s nice to list it as a feature of the home if you decide to sell it later. Fireplaces are enjoyable to sit by on cold, winter nights. And, you may not want to heat your whole house but just the room you’re in. A warm fire can make your living room cozy in no time at all. But, to enjoy this neat home feature requires proper care. There isn’t much maintenance needed, but you do want to maintain it for best performance.
More than its performance is the safety of your fireplace and chimney. A dirty chimney can create big safety problems for you. A good chimney repair service can assist you with advice and maintenance of this part of your home.
Chimneys need regular maintenance so they don’t become obstructed with creosote. It’s best to burn hard wood such as oak, hard maple and birch. These are good to burn because they produce less creosote and release more heat.
Creosote and Chimney Repair?
Creosote develops when wood oils aren’t burned completely. As the smoke cools it condenses with water on the inside of your chimney creating creosote.
Creosote can be loose like soot and easy to clean. But it can become a sticky deposit which is difficult to remove. Getting this sticky material out of your chimney requires brushes and scrapers. If you leave it be, the creosote can harden. Once hardened it can drip the way candle wax does when it reaches a very high temperature.
Chimneys need maintenance to ensure they’re not releasing dangerous fumes into your home. A local chimney repair service can provide maintenance services increasing its safety. They can check if your chimney is dirty, damaged or needs inspection. Other services they offer include:
- brickwork repair for stability
- cleaning to protect your family from harmful fumes
- installation of a chimney cap
- waterproof your flue
- chimney rebuild
It makes sense to take charge and protect your home from fire and poisonous gases. When your chimney and fireplace are clean you’ll enjoy them without worry. If you need chimney repair work, we can help. Call us at (978) 977-3816 or visit us on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NorthShoreRoofingMA.
