Zero-clearance fireplace repair by local pros in Westfield

Why chimney parts from different makers stay apart

One maker's warranty states that certain of its products are listed for use only with specified chimney systems, and that using chimney components other than those specified in the product manual voids the warranty.

Pipe sections from different makers can look alike and still differ in diameter, joint design and spacing between walls. We match every replacement section to the system already in your house by brand and series, and tell you if the existing chimney is itself a mix.

• Same maker as the existing system
• Same series and diameter
• Same joint design
• A note if the chimney is already mixed

Firestop spacers at every floor and ceiling

Wherever the chimney passes through a floor or ceiling, one maker's system uses a firestop spacer that holds the required clearance between the pipe and the framing and separates one floor space from the next or from the attic.

A missing, bent or displaced firestop leaves framing closer to the pipe than the listing allows. We check firestops wherever access allows and replace damaged ones with the maker's part.

• A firestop at every floor or ceiling the pipe crosses
• Clearance to framing held
• Damaged firestops replaced with the maker's part

The cap at the top of a metal chimney

A factory-built chimney ends in a listed termination, a round top or a chase-style top in one maker's system, and each termination comes with its own instructions. It keeps rain and debris out, and one maker's design includes a spark arrestor.

Rusted, dented or missing terminations let water and animals into the flue. We replace them with the listed part for your chimney and check the pipe below while we are on the roof.

Smoke detectors near a fireplace

One maker recommends installing smoke detectors and suggests placing one in a hallway next to the fireplace room, to reduce false activation from the heat of the appliance, while following any local code that requires one in the same room.

Detectors sit outside the fireplace itself, yet they belong on any list of checks before the season. We remind you of them when we finish a repair.

• One in the hallway next to the fireplace room
• Any detector your local code requires in the room itself
• Regular testing