Staging a house fireplace is one of the most overlooked gems in selling your home. A clean firebox and spotless screen or glass sells a home. Often, the fireplace and chimney are centerpieces of a large den or living room. If the fireplace screen, glass door or wood stove are dirty, the buyer may assume the chimney and chimney cap are also not well maintained.
Use a glass cleaner designed to remove the soot and ash from the glass if the fireplace has a glass door or you have a wood stove with a glass door, The glass will shine once the soot and grime are removed. This is the first level of cleaning in staging a house fireplace.
Cleaning the glass is number one for a well viewed fireplace
The second most important part of the fireplace is the bricks of the chimney or the flue pipe of the wood stove. Over time, the bricks can build up soot from the fumes of the fireplace. Use a highly diluted bleach and water solution to scrub the bricks. Pay attention to the mortar of the fireplace and chimney. The often white mortar will turn dark over time.
This difference in color between the upper and lower areas of the chimney and fireplace are noticeable. A buyer or prospect looking at the home will make a judgement, good or bad, as to the maintenance of the overall house based on the dirt of the fireplace.
Use binoculars to view the chimney from outside of the house. Is the chimney cap clean and in place? Is there any dark spots of soot or mold on the chimney? Can the flashing be seen and is it in place?
Most home inspectors do not do a thorough inspection of fireplaces. Therefore, many are not qualified to make a judgement about the safety and efficiency of wood stoves and fireplaces with chimneys.
Viewing a chimney and cap from the outside for staging.
In conclusion, make the fireplace and chimney a focal point of your living area. Keep it clean and inspected at least yearly for optimum operation and your family’s safety.
We are often asked how often to clean my chimney with normal use. We recommend yearly and have a Big Ass Cleaning special for a limited time. More importantly, the yearly inspection determines if future problems are starting to show up.
Our special includes a chimney camera with video capabilities. We run this camera up and down the entire chimney flue and record the results. This shows us any mortar or degrading in the bricks.
The special we are running now includes a full chimney sweep, a camera inspection, a 30 point inspection with a certificate (if you are selling your house soon) and free travel expense within 50 miles of Knoxville, TN. Therefore, it is a sweet deal to jump on our special during this season.
How often to clean my chimney?
Don't let your chimney get this much soot and creosote buildup.
Free travel expense within 50 miles of Knoxville, TN
Again, so many customers ask us how often to clean my chimney, we ask how much wood do you burn a year. If you burn a cord (or ric) a year, we recommend yearly inspections and cleaning. 3 cords or more of wood should be inspected twice a year.
Chimney sweep cost in Knoxville TN is under priced as gas is high right now. One of the main expenses in serving clients is fuel cost. Traveling to you cost. We routinely spend over $100 to fill a tank. Since we pull our heavy van to you, the expense of fuel increases monthly.
Therefore, the cost must factor in the higher fuel expenses. We don’t like to pass this on to customers so we average the cost out among everyone we serve.
Ouch...filling up the tanks with fuel
We pay more for every tool and component at the supply house. The cost of transportation affects every part of the economy. Chimney caps, fireplace inserts and gas logs are going up in price every month.
Our customers say that we still provide the best chimney sweep cost and service in the area. We strive to keep the cost down for our work by being as productive as possible. Our customer app, email system and phone system are state of the art. This enables us to serve you with the lowest price possible.
How do you help lower our cost to you? Reach out to your neighbors and family that live close to you. When we are able to travel in a local area, we pass the savings on to you. Don’t forget, we offer the friends and family discount to refer new customers. Simply visit our coupon page and mention it when you set up an appointment.
