Blog

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

A chimney liner is your best way to avoid a potentially dangerous and even deadly chimney fire. This isn't simply our opinion. The National Bureau of Standards previously determined in the 1940s that chimney liners are essential to keeping a building up to code and ensuring fire safety. Unlined chimneys, and chimneys with a poor quality liner are considered unsafe and a major fire hazard.

A properly insulated chimney liner helps to prevent creosote buildup on the inside walls of the flue. By insulating the inside of the flue from the outside structure of the chimney, the chimney liner keeps the flue hotter. This is important because it minimizes condensation of creosote and moisture inside the flu. This condensation is the cause of dangerous creosote buildup that so often leads to a chimney fire.

A chimney liner is required for optimal performance and safety! Your goal is to make sure your chimney liner passes inspections each year. You can keep up with maintenance by scheduling a fireplace cleaning at least once a year. This won't completely solve the problem, though. Regardless of what you try to do to keep your chimney in excellent condition, the liner is bound to wear down eventually.

A chimney liner may not last forever. How old is yours? If it is too old, it may be time for a chimney liner replacement. The average lifespan of a chimney liner is 25 to 30 years. After two decades, you may need to replace the entire liner to make sure it’s still up to code and not

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

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

We all want our cars to perform well and get us safely where we need to go. Guess what- we also need performance and safety from our chimney system! While you may not think about it very often, this is incredibly important for those living in a home with a fireplace. 

How could a chimney have performance? Isn't it just a tube of bricks with a hole through the middle that carries smoke out of your house? No way! It is far more complicated than this. The brick exterior of your chimney that you can see from the outside of your home is only a small part. It is actually a complete system with several parts and pieces, all working together to keep your family safe and your house warm. 

If you don’t give their chimneys much thought, you're not alone. Let's make today the day that changes! There are things you can do to improve the performance of your chimney system. The even better news is that

Your chimney damper is located in the flue. Dampers are placed inside of the flue to help control ventilation. It keeps cold air out when a fire is not going. That's not all they do, though. Dampers also send the smoke away. Imagine your home filling up with smoke every time you light a fire! That's not all. Chimney dampers also control the intensity of your fire. As your damper is adjusted more or less oxygen flows through your fire. This allows you to make the flames as intense or subdued as you’d like. Clearly, it's really important to know whether your damper is open or closed. You don't want to start a fire with your damper closed! Here are four ways to know whether your damper is open or closed.

#1 Visually inspect it.

Performing a quick visual inspection is the best