Family-owned chimney sweep serving Kirkman South
Your fireplace, cleaned from the cap screen to the hearth by a crew that protects the room first.
- Licensed & insured
- Locally run
- Family owned and operated
- Same-day service available
Inside the estimate for your Kirkman South sweep
- Flue brushed full height with sized brushes
- Cap screen brushed free of soot
- Repair findings listed on separate estimate lines
- Brush chosen for clay tile or stainless liner
Chimney cleaning facts for Kirkman South homes
Smoke at the opening with more than one cause
EPA guidance expects a well-installed, properly used wood-burning appliance to make little smoke, so smoke you see or smell again and again is a sign something is wrong. Heavy deposits are one possible cause, since they narrow the flue. They are not always the only one.
Under the Florida Building Code, the throat, damper and smoke chamber above a masonry firebox together form a passage that must be at least as large as the flue. A damper that does not open fully, a clogged cap screen or wet wood can each leave smoke rolling out of the front as well.
A sweep removes the deposits, and the damper and cap screen get tested on the same visit. If smoke still comes out afterward, the other causes are next, and our technicians note on the record what they checked and what still needs a look.
Clearing an old nest once the birds have gone
Nest material left in a flue is dry twigs, grass and feathers packed into a narrow space, often right above the damper or on the smoke shelf. It blocks part of the passage, and it burns easily. Some nests are packed in so tightly that the flue is nearly closed.
Once the birds have gone, our crew removes the nest by hand from the smoke shelf and pulls what sits higher up with rods and a brush. The flue is then swept top to bottom, because nesting debris often comes with droppings and soot stuck to the walls.
Droppings are handled with gloves and bagged with the rest of the debris, and the firebox is cleaned last. The estimate lists the cleanout and, if the flue has no cap, a cap to keep the next nest out.
Wax and sawdust logs in stoves and inserts
Wax and sawdust logs are an easy way to get a fire going, but EPA guidance adds a caution. Many of them are made for open-hearth fireplaces only, and a wood stove or fireplace insert owner should check the appliance's operating instructions before burning one.
Where manufactured logs are used, the same guidance suggests choosing ones made entirely of compressed sawdust, and the directions on the wrapper still apply. Stoves and inserts are built around a certain fuel, and the maker's instructions decide what is safe to burn in them.
If you are unsure, our crew can check your stove or insert manual during the visit, and the written record can note what the maker allows. If the manual is lost, the model number on the appliance label is usually enough to find a copy.
Black streaks running down the firebox wall
Dark, shiny streaks running down the back wall of the firebox or from the damper area suggest creosote in the flue that is wet and sticky or has started to glaze. Smoke condensing in a cool flue leaves a tar-like residue, and some of it can run before it hardens.
A streaked firebox tends to go with a flue that runs cool, a damper that is not fully open or wood that is not dry. Brushing removes what is soft. What has hardened into a glaze needs a separate removal treatment.
Our technicians trace where the streaks start, look at the flue above them after sweeping and tell you which parts the brush cleared and which need glazed creosote removal. For your Kirkman South home, both are priced in writing before the work begins.
Other work in Kirkman South
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- Prefab and Zero-Clearance Fireplace RepairRepair the fireplace according to its model.
- Smoke Chamber RepairRepair the transition above the fireplace opening.
Learn more about chimney sweep and chimney cleaningKirkman South services
Related chimney sweep work
Quick answers on flue cleaning
Will a sweep fix a fireplace that smokes?
It fixes the part caused by deposits in the flue. A damper that does not open fully, a clogged cap screen or wet wood can also cause smoke, so we check those too and note the results on the written record.
Do I need to be home for the chimney cleaning?
Someone needs to let our crew in and approve the written estimate, and we go over the record with you at the end. For rentals and seasonal homes we can work with a caretaker or property manager and send the record afterward.
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- Family owned and operated
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