All About Firewood!

January 23, 2019 | Chimney Basics

Ahh, nothing quite like the crackle of a fireplace, or the warm and welcoming heat of a wood-burning stove or furnace. And, just like any other appliance, the type of fuel you choose for your wood-burning appliances matters. In this article, we’ll discuss the basics about choosing the proper type of firewood, storing it, burning it effectively, and more. Let’s get started. Choose Seasoned, Dry Firewood For Maximum Heat And Efficiency First things first, you’ll want to make sure that you burn seasoned, dry firewood in your furnace, stove, or fireplace. Seasoned wood will create heat more efficiently, and create less creosote, which helps keep your flue safe and clear. All firewood contains water, but fresh wood contains up to 45% water. While it may burn, a lot of energy will be used to vaporize that water and dry the wood before it burns, which means less heat in your … Continued

The importance of HEPA Filtration

January 22, 2019 | Technically Speaking

What Is HEPA Filtration? HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filtration is a standard used by a variety of different high-quality air filtration systems. Let’s take a look at the basics of HEPA now. How Does HEPA Filtration Work? True HEPA filters use a special type of mat that is built out of randomly-arranged fibers, usually made of fiberglass. Each individual fiber is extremely small, between 0.5 and 2.0 micrometers in width. As contaminants and pollutants are pushed through this filter, they are trapped between these fibers, and are unable to pass through. HEPA Filtration Standards HEPA standards specify that any given air filter must remove 99.97% of all particles that pass through it, having a size greater than or equal to 0.3 µm. In effect, this removes just about any common airborne particles, including mold, ash, mold spores, and pollen. What Are HEPA Filters Used For? ● Preventing the spread … Continued

When you can’t sweep a chimney

January 22, 2019 | A Day in the Life

I occasionally come across situations where a chimney should not be swept. Sometimes the deterioration is so bad that sweeping a chimney could actually cause a collapse of the system and only make matters much worse. Here are some good examples: A chimney is no longer safe, the customer is aware, but wants to use the system anyway – I will not sweep that system because first, I want the customer to realize the severity of the situation and that they are putting their life in danger. Two is liability. Let’s say, heaven forbid, a chimney fire occurs after I swept the system. Who becomes liable? You guessed it.. A chimney is no longer safe and the customer was unaware – While it is not a fun conversation, safety is my number one priority. This is when we go over options and hazards associated with the chimneys current condition. A … Continued

Advantages of Zinc coating

January 22, 2019 | Technically Speaking

Advantages of Zinc Coating For Chimneys If you are replacing exterior components of your chimney system (especially in close proximity to the ocean) one of the best materials to use is zinc-coated steel. Using a zinc coated product for chimneys has several great advantages: Protection from rust and corrosion – Unprotected steel can corrode easily, particularly when exposed to temperature fluctuations and moisture. Untreated steel may become damaged and unserviceable within just 2 years. With a zinc coating, however, a protective barrier is made between the atmosphere and the steel material. This layer helps protect the structural properties of the steel base material, and ensure that it remains protected from corrosion and rust. Longer lifespan – Zinc-plated steel can easily last 30 years or longer without any major deterioration or significant corrosion, and remain functional for many more years. This longer lifespan makes zinc coatings a great investment, which … Continued

Chimney Swifts

January 21, 2019 | Training and tips

Chimney Swifts – Understanding The Basics If you are looking for a chimney sweep in Jacksonville to help you with chimney swifts or you would just like more information about these curious little birds, you are in the right place. Let us start with the basics. What Are Chimney Swifts? Chimney swifts (Chaetura pelagica) are a medium-sized type of swift, which feed primarily on flying insects, and on spiders. Uniquely, they build their nests almost exclusively on human-built structures – particularly chimneys – hence the name. They are found throughout the entire Eastern United States and are rarely seen west of the Rocky Mountains. Why Do Chimney Swifts Nest In Chimneys? Before European colonists arrived in North America, chimney swifts rarely nested in human-built structures. The birds preferred to nest in hollowed-out trees. When possible, chimney swifts will still build their nests in trees but land development has limited the … Continued

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

mike the chimney guy