Many homeowners see water in their fireplace after a huge rain storm. The winter freezes, expands bricks and causes openings for rain entering the chimney. The milder weather melts the ice locked in the masonry. The mortar has expanded and left a void for rain water to enter.
The brick and mortar is cleaned before sealing the chimney
Firstly, the chimney cap and the bricks with mortar are cleaned and scrapped for loose particles and debris. Any holes and openings found are patched with sealant designed for this exact purpose. Secondly, the entire structure is water sealed to prevent further decay after the holes and cracks are sealed.
The chimney will last for at least 10 years once sealed. However, the leaking started years ago and when left under served created the water in the fireplace.
Many happy customers tell us their problems were solved after we sealed and secured their chimney. Water in the fireplace will destroy gas log burners, dampers and interior flooring quickly.
Also, is the chimney cap leaking?
Some builders cut corners on the quality of chimney caps. For instance, the good ones are made from stainless steel and coated to prevent rust and leaks. Over time, the chimney cap not sealed can leak. Caps are blown off in a high wind because they were not secured properly. This will lead to instant leaks from a heavy rain storm.
How do you tell if a firebrick repair is urgently needed? Here is what to look for when it is time to call a professional to replace the fire brick if needed. In the Knoxville TN area, firebrick is frequently inspected as part of our Platinum Chimney Sweep Service. There are several reasons why the fire brick condition is so critical to the health of your fireplace or wood burning stove. Let’s go through the issues.
First, the brick serves two purposes. It protects the outer housing from high temperatures. A wood burning stove can produce temperatures up to 600 degrees internally. In addition, without the brick, the heat and flames would do major damage to the metal, access doors and surfaces. The brick forms a barrier between the fire and the walls of the stove or wood structure in a fireplace.
Second, the fire brick also absorbs and radiates heat inside the stove or fireplace. This allows the heat to continue to radiate out into the space even as the burning wood starts to fade.
In addition, ask for a full inspection of your flue and chimney cap.
After a thorough cleaning, inspect the insides to see if a firebrick repair is required.
By inspecting the stove or fireplace annually, any damage to the firebrick will quickly be seen. A reliable, professional chimney sweep company inspects this brick very closely for damage.
Firebrick and other masonry repairs in a chimney are usually not a do it yourself project. This is special brick and is sourced from different reliable vendors. However, outside patio fire pits use firebrick also and chimneys as well. Pay attention to the type of brick needed for your home’s safety and protection. For instance, brick is expensive. Only buy quality fire brick. Use qualified professionals to install it. Therefore, necessarily hire a contractor based on low price. A fire is expensive. Fire from a chimney issue is often very substantial. Even if it is contained early your insurance cost will go up. Check out the 5 star reviews of chimney sweep companies near youfor reliable installers of firebrick.
Is firebrick special?
Firebrick is used in chimneys on decks and around pools. We inspect these bricks as part of the home inspection process for chimneys also. Outdoor bricks are exposed to the elements. Rain harms bricks. Similarly, snow harms bricks. Freezing rain harms bricks. In other words, the weather breaks down the bricks in addition to the fire.
In conclusion, the brick is special because it stands up to very high temperatures. It is a special type of brick. First, it gets pitted and degrades over time. The effectiveness of the brick is lowered in protection. Secondly, we check for excessive pitting and crumbling of the brick. This indicates it is time to replace the brick. Brick can not be fixed or made new. Finally, it must be replaced for safe operation.
Locally owned family businesses rely on reviews and testimonials for the life blood of their business. We are so thankful for our customers! Just today, another 5 star review came in from the Clear Chimney Yelp page.
Every great review and testimonial tells us we are making a difference in the lives of others. Isn’t that what we are put on the earth to do? So often, the heating fireplaces or wood stoves are the only source of heat for people. When the nightly temperatures get below freezing, we make sure our customers are safe and warm.
We don’t want to brag. That is truly not us. We understand the best way to grow and stay in business is through friends and family of happy customers. It is very expensive (and not as productive) to spend loads of money advertising. Usually, the only people that benefit from this marketing are the advertisers.
Just a simple "Like" or post on "Google reviews" goes a long way!
Many potential customers tell us that they like to research a company before calling anyone for service. What do they research? A clean and easy website with good information is first. Second, they want to know what others think about the company. We call this the Amazon effect. They started the wide spread use of reviews and testimonials for products.
Our customers love to tell others about their experiences, good and not so good. Clear Chimney’s testimonial page has many different types of reviews from many different sources. We don’t cherry pick a particular review for a certain service.
We offer chimney sweeping, chimney cleaning, fireplace inserts, chimney caps, gas logs installed and serviced, and much, much more. Therefore, our reviews should indicate the happiness of our customers.
How you can help with Clear Chimney reviews and testimonials ...
Will you be our next customer that is featured on our review and testimonials page? Leave those reviews and help us grow our family business all around east Tennessee. If you have reservations about leaving a review, call us at (865) 999-7373 and let’s discuss what we need to do. Thank you all for your support over the past few years. We are truly blessed and humbled.
How can you tell if a company does not have a robust, enthusiastic customer base? Ask for references with phone numbers and names. Ask for pictures of similar jobs. As you will see on our site, we post a lot of pictures of many different jobs. It is to show folks that there are many options for installations and changes.
There are so many different chimney caps, fireplace inserts and gas or wood stoves to chose from we are happy to help you navigate the choices.
Thanks to you, this site is now featured in The Top Chimney Blogs on the net. We love sharing our skills and training with the world. Thank you for sharing us with your friends and family.
