Family-owned chimney repair serving Park Central

Precast crown or one cast on the chimney

A new crown can be made two ways. A precast cap is formed off the chimney and set in place on a mortar bed. A cast-in-place cap is formed and poured right on top of the chimney.

BIA guidance says a prefabricated cap generally performs better and is more easily made water resistant. A cast-in-place cap should take the same shape, with thickened sides and overhangs, carry reinforcement to help control cracking, and have flashing beneath it, which BIA calls highly recommended. With a precast cap, a bond break between the brickwork and the setting bed lets the cap move without distressing the brick.

The right choice depends on the top's size and shape, how the flues sit and how a cap can be lifted into place. Our technicians explain which type suits your Park Central home, and the estimate names the type, its shape and how it will be flashed.

Options for relining a masonry flue

When a flue needs a new lining, the Florida Building Code keeps the choice to a short list of materials for ordinary residential appliances. The choice starts with the appliance, because the lining has to suit whatever is connected to it.

The size and shape of the existing flue, any bends in it and how much sound masonry remains narrow the choice further. Listed materials are installed per their listings and the maker's instructions, so the product chosen also fixes how the job is done.

Our chimney liner installation service lays out which of the options below fit your chimney. Each one is priced on the estimate so the decision stays yours.

• Clay flue lining, rebuilt inside the chimney
• A listed and labeled chimney lining system
• A factory-built chimney unit listed for use inside masonry
• Another approved material that resists the heat and condensate

Carbon monoxide alarms and a fuel-burning fireplace

CDC advice is to install battery-operated or battery back-up carbon monoxide detectors near every sleeping area in the home. NFPA heating safety tips say to install and maintain CO alarms, and they add that all fuel-burning equipment should be vented to the outside to avoid CO poisoning. A home with a fireplace or any other fuel-burning appliance needs them.

An alarm that goes off is not a chimney question. Get everyone out of the house and call 911 from outside. The cause gets tracked down only after the fire department has cleared the home.

Where a chimney comes in is venting. CDC guidance notes that chimneys can be blocked by debris, which can cause carbon monoxide to build up inside a home, and a cracked liner or a damper stuck closed can also keep combustion gases from leaving the way they should. Our technicians check those parts during the free inspection, and any fault that affects venting goes to the top of the estimate, ahead of cosmetic work.

What a finished repair should show you

When the job is done, you get a written record of the work we did, and you should be able to understand it without climbing onto the roof. Each line on it names a part and a repair, and each one should match something you can see or have explained to you.

Some results take time to show, like mortar color that evens out as it dries. When the job calls for it, a leak repair is checked with a water test from a hose.

Keep the record with the house paperwork and look at the repaired area from the ground now and then. If a line does not match what you see, ask us about it. Depending on the job, results like these should be easy to confirm.

• New or rebuilt masonry visible from the yard or a window
• Counterflashing set into the joints, not glued to the face
• A damper or cleanout door that opens and closes by hand
• A clear answer on when the fireplace can be used again