Nathan Ruff

Even if you don't know much about your fireplace and chimney, you do know it gets pretty dirty in there. Well, actually- it isn't dirt per se. The correct term would be to call it soot. When fuel like wood or charcoal burns, it breaks down and deposits itself as a powdery dust called soot. Chimney soot is fine black or dark brown powder formed due to incomplete combustion of wood or coal in a confined place, in this case your fireplace and chimney. This soot is a byproduct of fireplace combustion. 

It may not be dirt, but it is pretty nasty. Should you clean it? Yes! Keeping your chimney liner clean is an important factor in maintaining both a

We all want our home to be safe, for ourselves, our family, and our pets. You lock your doors, have an alarm system, and never answer the door if you don't know who's knocking. These are all great steps, and certainly an important part of keeping your home safe. However, these basic ideas are only the beginning. What about threats coming from inside the house? You may not realize it, but your fireplace and chimney are a potential source of danger if you're not careful.

When fuel like wood or charcoal burns, it breaks down and deposits itself as a powdery dust called soot. Chimney soot is fine black or dark brown powder formed due to incomplete combustion of wood or coal in a confined place, in this case your fireplace and chimney. There is also creosote. Creosote is a byproduct of wood combustion that consists mainly of tar. This soot and creosote buildup is highly flammable. A properly insulated

If your chimney doesn't have a chimney liner, you're taking a big risk. You, your family, and your pet's health and happiness is a stake. This is because a new chimney liner is your best way to avoid a potentially dangerous and even deadly chimney fire. A chimney liner is defined as "a clay, ceramic, or metal conduit installed inside of a chimney, intended to contain the combustion products, direct them to the outside atmosphere, and protect the chimney walls from heat and corrosion." What does this mean exactly?

When fuel like wood or charcoal burns, it breaks down and deposits itself as a powdery dust called soot. This

The average homeowner doesn't think about their chimney very often. Purchasing a chimney liner isn't something you do every day, or even every year. For this reason, you're not up-to-date on all the latest industry information, technology, materials, and standards. That's nothing to worry about! We are industry experts, so we can tell you everything you need to know. One thing we're asked about regularly is chimney liner industry standards. Let's do a quick breakdown of this right now.

First, let's quickly discuss your chimney liner. Your chimney is way more than a hole going up through the roof. By safely transferring potentially deadly gases out of your house, your chimney liner is one of the most important safety features inside your house! A chimney liner is a crucial part of your overall home fuel burning system. If you have a fireplace, woodstove, water heater, or gas, coal or oil-fired furnace, it is attached to a venting system designed

Chimney caps are inexpensive and easy to install. Yet, they are so important! They reduce long-term costs and improve the safety of your entire chimney system. For this reason, they are a crucial element in your chimney system that is certainly not something you should neglect. In fact, the most difficult aspect of deciding whether or not to buy a new chimney cap is just deciding which one to purchase! 

When you shop online, you will quickly see that you can choose from a wide variety of chimney caps made from several different materials. Which is the right one? Are you supposed to simply choose the one you like the best? Not quite. The chimney cap you choose will be determined by your unique chimney configuration as well as the amount of money you want to spend to make your chimney

As a homeowner, you just assume your chimney will always work. After all, it's just a hole going up the roof right? Actually, it's a very complicated and complex system that took hundreds upon hundreds of years to perfect. There are some problems that could occur with your chimney system, so it's worth being knowledgeable about the elements. When you more easily recognize a problem, you can fix it quicker and more efficiently!

Here are a few common chimney liner problems that may require you to buy a new one and replace it, or have a professional come out and fix it:

#1 Older chimneys may have no liner originally installed. Chimneys in homes built before the 1940s are likely to have been constructed with no liner inside the flue other than the bricks and mortar that make up the chimney itself. The effects of age and weathering will eventually make

You made the decision to shop around and buy a new chimney liner kit online. First of all, congratulations for making a great first move! You're on your way to a safer and more efficient chimney system. Now, what? When it arrives, you actually need to install it! There are some things you can do to prepare for installing your new chimney liner which will make the process easier and less expensive than it would otherwise be. This isn't about actually installing the liner, but what to do beforehand. Here's everything you need to know:

Step #1 Take careful measurements to be sure you are getting the right size liner for your chimney. The liner should reach from the top of your chimney to the damper throat or other connection at the bottom of your flue. As

Not all fires burn the same! Did you know that different wood produces different fires and different smoke as well? So, is there a right choice and a wrong choice? Yes and no. Essentially, what you're looking for is driest, best seasoned wood you can get. 

Dry wood will burn more completely than "green" wood. This will result in a hotter fire with less smoke. That's great because you don't want a bunch of smoke in your house. Beyond your lungs, it's also better for the fireplace and chimney itself. An extra-smoky fire that comes from using unseasoned wood will make more creosote build up in your chimney liner. This nasty build up is what makes it necessary to clean your flue. This creosote is highly combustible, and it also constricts the flow of gases up your chimney liner, resulting in decreased draft and dirtier subsequent fires. The more creosote, the more often you have to clean- it's as simple as that.

We all want to be as energy-efficient as possible. For some people, they want to lower their eco footprint and use as few fossil fuels as possible. Others simply want to save money and recognize that "going green" is a good way to do it. After all, if you're like most people your monthly electric fee is one of your most costly bills to pay. No matter which category you fall into and why, we recommend you look at a place you may not have thought of- your chimney. Yes, your chimney could be hindering your efforts to make your home more energy efficient.

Most houses have a standard fireplace that vents up a brick and mortar masonry chimney. As you roast marshmallows for s'mores or cozy up with a glass of wine next to a roaring fire, you don't know that your fireplace is an air polluting energy hog. Oh no! In fact, your wood burning fireplace vents not just smoke but other pollutants out the chimney. While this is happening, it is also sucking

Unless you live way out away from any city, you're probably concerned with air pollution. Traffic, factories, dust, pollen, mold spores, wildfires and even distant volcanoes all contribute to pollution in our air. Did you know that you could be contributing too? You aren't driving a massive diesel truck, but that doesn't mean you're eco-friendly. In fact, you may be contributing to air pollution every time you make a fire in your living room fireplace.

The harsh truth is that home fireplaces are a factor in air pollution. Smoke forms when wood or other organic matter burns. The smoke from wood burning is made up of a complex mixture of gases and fine particles. In addition to particle pollution, wood smoke contains several toxic air pollutants including benzene, formaldehyde, acrolein, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). It's not all bad news, though. The more efficiently you burn wood, the less smoke is created. This is where Fireside