Family-owned chimney sweep serving Clarcona

Top-sealing dampers, cables and gaskets during a sweep

A top-sealing damper closes the flue at the top instead of above the firebox. A spring holds its lid open, and a cable runs down the flue to a handle inside the fireplace that pulls it shut. A gasket on the lid seals against the top of the flue when it closes.

Sweeping a flue with one of these takes care. The cable hangs inside the flue, so brushes have to work around it without kinking or snagging it. Soot on the gasket keeps it from sealing, and creosote on the spring can slow the lid.

With the lid open, our crew brushes around the cable, wipes the gasket clean and tests the lid from the handle before leaving. A torn gasket, a frayed cable or a weak spring is written up as a separate repair on your estimate.

Whistling in wind or dripping after rain

A chimney that whistles or hums in the wind often has something at the top catching the air, such as a loose cap, a bent screen or a damper lid that no longer seats. A chimney that drips into the firebox after rain has an opening where water gets in.

Neither one is a cleaning problem, though both are easy to spot during a sweep. With the crew already on the roof, the cap, screen and damper get a close look, and water stains inside the flue show where the drip is coming from. A drip also rusts the damper faster, so it pays to find it early.

You hear which part is causing the noise or the leak, and the fix goes on your estimate by name, whether it is a cap, a damper, flashing or a leak repair. None of it is bundled into the sweep price.

What the free inspection covers before we sweep

The free inspection is how every sweep starts. Our technicians look at the firebox, damper, smoke chamber and smoke shelf from inside, and at the flue, cap and chimney top from the roof when it is safe to get there.

The goal is a clear written estimate before any cleaning starts. It says whether a sweep is needed, what method suits your system, whether any glazed sections need separate treatment and whether anything found needs repair first.

For Clarcona homeowners the inspection is free, and going ahead with the work is entirely your choice. The estimate is yours to keep. If the roof cannot be reached safely that day, it says which parts were seen from inside only.

• Type and depth of deposits in the flue
• Damper operation and condition
• Cap and screen at the chimney top
• Visible damage that affects cleaning

Cleaning is not sealing, coating or waterproofing

A sweep removes deposits. It does not seal the flue, coat the smoke chamber or waterproof the brick. Those are separate jobs with their own materials and prep, and several of them need a clean flue before they can start.

Resurfacing a smoke chamber with refractory mortar, sealing cracks in a clay lining, coating a crown or applying a water repellent to the outside of the chimney each begins where cleaning ends, but none is part of it. A rough smoke chamber that needs new parging, for example, is repair work.

If the sweep shows one of these is needed, our crew lists it on the estimate by name. You can have the cleaning done now and the sealing or waterproofing later, or have both done in sequence. The estimate also notes which of them must wait until the flue is clean.