Your family-owned chimney company in Southport

A fireplace that drew well last season and now smokes into the room points to something that has changed. In Southport, one of the City of Orlando's named neighborhoods, the usual suspects are a new blockage, a damper problem or a change in the house, and our technicians work through them in that order. Blockages come first.

Over a humid summer, birds or animals may have nested in an uncapped flue, leaves may have collected on the smoke shelf, or a cap screen may have clogged with soot and debris. A piece of flue tile or mortar may have fallen and partly blocked the passage. Any of those restricts the draft, and the result is smoke rolling out of the opening instead of rising.

The damper is next. A damper that has rusted, warped or come off its track may open only partway even when the handle says open. A top-sealing damper with a stretched cable may not open fully. Then the house. A new kitchen hood, a bathroom fan, a tighter set of windows or a new air handler can change the air pressure indoors and pull air down the chimney.

If the smoking started after a renovation, tell us what changed. For now, stop using the fireplace. If a fire is smoking, let it burn down with the damper open and open a window near the fireplace. Do not keep adding wood to push through it. On the visit we sweep the flue, clear any blockage, inspect the damper, smoke chamber, liner and cap, and look at the house for pressure problems.

The estimate explains what caused the change and what it takes to fix it. Our company is family owned and operated, and the Southport inspection is free. Every repair comes with a written price before we start, and work booked within 72 hours after the inspection is 10% off. We guarantee 100% satisfaction with the work.