Inspection of the day – Stay away from the skylight!

January 21, 2019 | A Day in the Life

Sometimes having a chimney with deferred maintenance can cause some unexpected safety hazards. Realistically, the typical homeowner does not spend very much time, if any, on their roof looking for potential problems. Let take a look at the chimney below: Initial look.. The chimney is missing a flame arrestor, has some staining, and is in close proximity to a very large set of skylights. Now let’s take a closer look: This is not good! Large sections of stone are coming off of the chimney and falling onto the roof! The chimney is so close to the skylights that a stone could potentially fall through and cause severe harm to anyone inside. Another thing to factor in, the stones are damaging the roof below and could potentially cause water leaks. A combination of water intrusion and deferred maintenance caused this nightmare but it is something that could have easily been taken … Continued

How often should I remove ash from my fireplace?

January 21, 2019 | Training and tips

This is a question that comes up a lot when talking to homeowners about fireplace maintenance. The first assumption would be to remove the ash between each fire, but the this is actually not the optimum timeframe. A one inch layer of ash on the floor during heating season is actually what is recommended by the Chimney Safety Institute of America. The layer of ash works with the hot coals and creates more heat to fuel the fire, helping in a cleaner burn. While around one inch is a good number to stick with, if the ash starts building up too much, it can trap hot coals between the fireplace grate and the ash, causing premature deterioration of the grate. It is also the important that if you have a ash dump that it has been inspected and is free of combustibles. Also, do not dump your ash until it … Continued

Dampers for masonry fireplaces

January 21, 2019 | Training and tips

Older masonry fireplaces may or may not have been installed with a damper to prevent conditioned air from leaving the home. If your fireplace is one that does not have a damper, several options exist. Below are a few of the options starting with the least expensive. Flue balloon Flue balloons are sold online and come in a variety of sizes to fit the opening (smoke chamber) just above your fireplace. They are a simple design, you inflate them in place inside of the fireplace and deflate and remove the flue balloon when you would like to use the system. This is the least expensive option and it works rather well considering the cost. Be sure to remove the flue balloon before use, it will make a horrible smelly mess if caught on fire. Top mounted damper I will be the first to admit that this is not my favorite … Continued

The top-down burn

January 21, 2019 | Training and tips

My favorite way to start a fire indoors and out is a method called the top-down burn. The interesting thing about this method of starting a fire is that it is the exact opposite of what most people do! To start, put the very largest pieces of wood front to back on the very bottom. The next layer up, use slightly smaller pieces of wood but stack them side to side on top of the largest bottom wood. Continue this process until the firewood has reached fifty percent of the height of the fireplace, and make sure each layer is progressively smaller and switching one layer front to back, one layer side to side. Once you are at the top, this is where you will only have very small wood pieces (as small as shavings) that can be very easily started with little or no effort. The fire will start … Continued

When is the best time to have your chimney swept?

January 21, 2019 | Common Questions

The Traditional Season The most popular time of the year in Florida to have a chimney sweep is in the Fall and before the holidays. As the holidays get closer, the demand increases even more to the point where it is tough to find any sweep available before January. This can be an issue because the best sweeps typically book up early in the Fall and by the time you go down the line you might end up with someone who is less than qualified to perform the service and does not have the proper tools, insurance, or certifications. The Best Time to Sweep – Spring Spring is actually the best time to have your chimney swept for a number of reasons. One reason is you can save money not having the sweep performed during the peak season. Take the HVAC industry in the Summer for example. If you are … Continued

The daily battle for a chimney sweep, staying clean

January 20, 2019 | A Day in the Life

Daily and Long-Term Hazards Staying safe is a constant concern for a chimney sweep. Not only are we on roofs, in attics, and crawl spaces, we also have to worry about the hazardous long-term effects of creosote to our bodies and prevent inhalation and interaction as much as possible. Creosote is a natural byproduct of combustion but it comes with a nasty side effect for humans with long-term exposure to it, cancer. Skin cancer, lung cancer, and testicular cancer are the most common for a chimney Sweep to content with. Skin cancer from constant cleaning and repairing systems covered in creosote and let’s not forget clothing. Lung cancer from inhaling creosote while sweeping a system or even after the service with soot floating around in the work vehicle. Testicular cancer you would think would be the strange one but take into consideration the amount of creosote that can get trapped … Continued

Inspection of the day – gas fireplace troubles

January 20, 2019 | A Day in the Life

With the addition of my home inspection background, I have seen a few occasions where after closing the sellers take what they can out of a house and even swap out the appliances! During my chimney inspection today, the same situation occurred and the sellers even took the decorative logs from the fireplace 😢. My best recommendation on that end would be to hire a home inspector that is very thorough and also uses a program called recall check where the serial numbers are stored for the appliances in case of a future recall. It can help not only in the event of a recall, but also if someone tries to take and swap out appliances. Onto the inspection. Issue one: The home was in the process of being set up for liquid propane but the fireplace had not been converted from natural gas for use with propane. If the … Continued

Carbon Monoxide

January 13, 2019 | A Day in the Life

Let’s talk about a very serious topic, Carbon Monoxide (CO). Carbon Monoxide is a odorless, tasteless, and colorless gas that can be deadly to humans and animals. Carbon Monoxide is a natural byproduct of combustion and one of the purposes of why things such as fireplaces, gas dryers, and furnaces have venting systems to get deadly gases out of the home. According to the CDC, each year more than 400 Americans die from unintentional Carbon Monoxide poisoning, 20,000 visit the emergency room, and over 4,000 are hospitalized. This a a staggering number that could be drastically reduced with the installation of Carbon Monoxide detectors in the home. Symptoms of Carbon Monoxide poisoning – Dizziness – Feeling weak – Headache – Upset stomach – Vomiting – Confusion – Chest pains Symptoms are often described as “flu-like” and sleeping or drunk individual are more likely to die from Carbon Monoxide poisoning … Continued

A day in the life – Can’t beat the views

January 12, 2019 | A Day in the Life

A Chimney Sweep in Jacksonville has a dirty and sometimes dangerous job but you really can’t beat the views. It can be easy to get caught up in the everyday hustle and bustle and forget what is truly important in life. Sometimes it is necessary to take five minutes and just sit back and reflect and in my opinion a rooftop can be the best place to do that (just don not fall off)! Sometimes the only unfortunate thing is the beautiful view on the way home is observed in exhaustion from a hard days work! View or no view it may sound corny, but I have been lucky enough to find something in life that I truly enjoy and I appreciate every single customer that has hired and trusted me to make sure their fireplace was safe for their family to use. My repeat customers will notice that during … Continued

Metal surrounds

January 12, 2019 | A Day in the Life

Popular around the 1980’s, the metal surround can be seen throughout Jacksonville and Northeast Florida. Some of these systems are still operational and one potential hazard of the metal surround is its tendency to trap combustibles around the flue termination, something that can be a huge potential fire hazard. A typical metal surround: Now for a look inside the surround: This is what I typically see around the surround, keep in mind this is a high heat area where the flue gases terminate. Here is where it gets a little more complicated.. some surrounds have exposed outer flue liners so if you try to clean the surround out without dismantling the upper section, you can push debris into the liner where it drops down towards the interior fireplace and is now stuck between the liners! Another potential issue that comes up with this design is they do not come with … Continued

Privacy preferences

Consent summary