Your local chimney repair team in Vineland

Cracked clay tile flue liners

Clay tile is the traditional masonry flue liner, set in stacked sections that run up inside the chimney from the smoke chamber's top to a point above the chimney walls. The Florida Building Code has the lining carried up close to vertical and supported on all sides. A cracked tile breaks what should be one continuous passage for smoke.

Brick Industry Association guidance calls for checking liners before they go in for cracks that could let smoke and flue gas leak. Once a liner is in service, a crack can do exactly that. Smoke and heat can then reach the masonry around the flue, which the liner is there to protect.

Whatever caused the crack, one cracked section high in the flue and a run of broken tiles call for different fixes. Our chimney flue repair service decides between replacing sections and relining the whole flue, and the fireplace stays unused until that repair is done. The decision is written down with the reason behind it.

A damper that will not open or close fully

A masonry fireplace is supposed to have a damper. Under the Florida Building Code it is a ferrous metal damper, installed in the fireplace or in the chimney that vents it, and operable from the room. A typical one is a metal plate in a frame just above the firebox, moved by a handle or a rod.

Rust sets in on the plate and frame, and then the damper sticks halfway, the handle turns without moving it or it closes with a gap. EPA wood-burning guidance lists a damper that is not open wide enough among the conditions under which creosote tends to build up. One that will not close leaves the flue open to the house.

Rust on a damper is also a clue that water is getting in from above, so the top gets a look too. Our chimney damper repair service decides between freeing the old damper and replacing it, and your Vineland estimate lists the damper and any repair at the top as separate items.

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 the free inspection covers

The free inspection is a top to bottom look at the chimney, not a quick glance at the one symptom you called about. It costs nothing, and nothing is booked or started until you have a written estimate in hand and say yes.

Our technicians first identify the construction, masonry or factory-built, because that decides which parts, code sections and maker's instructions apply. Then each symptom is traced back to the part causing it, rather than stopping at the first likely suspect.

The estimate names each finding, the repair and its price, so homeowners in Vineland can decide what to do and when. The look takes in the parts below.

• Cap, crown and the top of the flue
• Flashing and the roof line around the chimney
• Brick, stone, stucco or siding and its joints
• Firebox, damper and smoke chamber from below