Fireplace Repair And You
You are now an owner of a fireplace and like everything, you need to take care of it so it lasts you a long time.
So, in comes fireplace repair…
No, you can’t get away from the maintenance thing, I’m afraid…
But it’s worth it!
Just think of all those cosy nights snuggled up near the fireplace watching the flickering flames and that crackle.
Nothing like it…
So Where Do You Start And What Do You Look For?
Knew you were going to ask me that question…
So let’s go with the main points in where to start with maintaining fireplace repair.
How To Maintain Your Fireplace?
Tips for Maintaining A Wood Burning Fireplace
Remove The Crestote:
Cleaning the interior of your fireplace:
The burning of wood in your fireplace can often cause a deposit and buildup of a variety of different things such as dust, ash, dirt, and Crestote (creosote is a dangerous byproduct that comes from the burning of wood and stays in your chimney until you clean it out).
Fireplaces that allow the addition of a blower or fan kit are considered circulating.
This simply means the fireplace uses the blower to draw in cool air into the room through a vented panel.
As the cool room air is taken in, the air is heated up as it circulates around the hot firebox.
What Are The Glass Doors On A Fireplace For?
The advantage of having glass on your fireplace should be fully open when starting a fire, once the fire is burning strongly.
The glass doors should then be closed as the fire dies down so you can minimize the amount of room air going up through the fireplace chimney.
One other thing, when burning gas logs in a wood-burning fireplace, the glass doors should always be fully open.
Check The Chimney Cap
A chimney cap prevents water from entering the chimney.
So make sure you have one first.
No moisture can enter the flue Installing Heat Proof Glass Doors And Blower Or Fan: anytime it rains without a chimney cap.
And this can cause water to get inside the attic or your house by installing Heat Proof Glass Doors And Blower Or Fan: as it runs down the brickwork causing damage to your walls and ceiling.
You don’t want that do you, I’m sure you don’t…
So if you have just bought a place with a fireplace in it, go and check to make sure your chimney has a cap
Make sure your chimney cap is in place as well, you don’t want it to have flown off or on an angle as the rain is still going to find its way in.
Make sure the entrance is clean of debris such as branches, check that the chimney cap has screening and have a look around for any cracks or even rust that might have occurred.
So get up on that roof when it comes to fireplace repair and have a mooch around is not for the faint-hearted if you are scared of height, but I am sure you can find another sucker to do it…
I mean person…
Inspect Your Chimney
It’s probably easier to grab a flashlight if you have one.
Now you are ready to inspect, make sure the damper is open, go check the flue for ant combustible material, you know…
Such as animal nests or other foreign objects.
I will leave that up to your imagination, just don’t scare yourself or you will never crawl into your fireplace and look up.
You should be able to see daylight at the top, if not, something is blocking it.
Inspect the fireplace surround, the hearth, and the firebox just to make sure that there are no missing mortar or cracked bricks.
Burning The Right Wood
Now, not all wood is rated the same when it comes to burning wood in a fireplace.
Some of the best burning firewood is not only dry but it should also be dense as well.
Because it will last longer as the flame takes longer to burn, unlike the less dense woods where the air is able to get into the cracks and crevices of the wood.
Allowing the flames to get to the centre quicker, thus burning the wood a whole lot quicker.
While nut-bearing trees like hickory and oak are hardwood and very suitable to burn as firewood, they also burn longer and cleaner.
Softer woods like aspen and pine for example will burn through a whole lot faster. It depends on how quickly you want to get outside and find some more wood to burn.
Maybe you’re wanting to get away from the family’s rantings or try out your new boots for example. I am not going to question you on this one…
Watch For Any Smoke
While smoke in your fireplace might smell good, it’s not necessarily that good for you.
Some of the biggest threats to your health that come from smoke can be from the fine particles, which is also called fine particulate matter or PM2.5.
These microscopic particles can get into your eyes and your respiratory system, the smoke can also leave you with burning and watery eyes, a runny nose, and illnesses, such as bronchitis, being respiratory.
While Smoke guards are used to reducing the size of the fireplace openings, which allows the fireplace to contain back drafts and controls the flow of the heat which is produced by the fireplace.
Best to look into these fireplace smoke guards.
Look For Soot
To check for soot in your fireplace – you know, that black stuff.
Turn off the fire first OK!
And allow the logs to cool down.
Take a clean, white cloth, I know ‘white’ you say, it’s so you can see just how dirty your fireplace is.
With luck, it might be fairly clean.
Anyway…
Rub the WHITE cloth on the ceramic gas logs in the fireplace and on fireplace doors as well, if you have them of course.
If you see thick dirty black marks on the cloth, you have a soot issue.
Lucky you…
How To Clean Soot From A Stone Fireplace
Clean the fireplace, not the logs, the doors or the tiles, just to get this straight in your mind.
- Fill a bucket with 1 gallon warm water, not hot warm, 1/4 cup dish soap and 1 cup oxygen bleach.
- Now make sure you line your floor underneath the stone fireplace with drop cloths to prevent the cleaning solution from going all over the place.
Fireplace Repair And Costs To Consider
Water Leaks In You’re Fireplace
It can cost you anywhere from $150.00 to $350.00, depending on what country you reside in as well.
We have talked about water getting in through the cracks of your fireplace and causing damage from anything from wood rot to mould.
These cracks are usually at the roofline when the flashing and sealers decide to fail on you and allow the rainwater to seep inside.
Also, did you know that water becomes acidic when it is combined with creosote…
That’s right!
So dampers can rust because of this…
And fail to need fireplace repair on your part.
Leading to water destroying existing mortar and can also damage wood near your fireplaces, such as the floors and ceilings.
Now, your fireplace repair can either be DIY or yes, a professional job.
Depending on the slope of your roof and height, it can get a little tricky so you may want to leave it to the professionals and get a contractor in.
If you are OK with all the heights thing, go for it and replace the flashing and reseal the cracks yourself.
You will be looking at about $150.00, about $200.00 less than hiring a contractor.
Not bad, but don’t go doing it yourself if you’re not comfortable with the climbing thing.
Better to get the professionals in.
We don’t want you in traction for the next month – you might not make a good patient.
Crown Repair
This is most probably going to set you back about $150.00 to $300.00.
The crown of your chimney is quite something, it does more than just keep rain from coming down your flue and into your house.
It also protects the brick and mortar of the chimney.
That’s right!
As well (even more) it keeps those pesky pests out of your home.
Not only does it keep things out.
Wait for it! it also keeps things in.
Preventing such things as sparks from flying out of your chimney in all directions and landing on your roof.
The crown is really like a cap, you could say…
That should extend past the bricks of the chimney and over the chimney flashing.
It should also slope away from its centre to ensure that water drains off of it.
Well, that makes sense.
The covered cage part that you so often see on the top of you’re chimney is the spark arrestor.
It keeps all those sparks and embers from going out of the chimney and possibly landing on your roof, which in fact could possibly lead to starting a fire up there.
Now the cracks that form in the crown could become particularly costly if left unrepaired.
If water gets into the cracks and causes some significant damage to the mortar itself, the bricks, and even the wooden frame of the house.
And in the cold air, it freezes, it will actually expand and cause the cracks to get even larger and create even more cracks…
And with time, these cracks will damage your whole chimney and fireplace, which may require it to be replaced or even removed altogether.
What a nightmare, this can cost thousands of dollars.
So keep an eye on this so that ‘prevention is better than cure’.
Cracks In The Fireplace:
Here we go, more cracks…
This little beauty will set you back about $175.00 to $3,000.00
Masonry joints can expand and contract with the seasons just like anything else as the temperature changes.
This can lead to nondesirable cracks forming, and allowing things to bother you such as carbon monoxide smoke, and even stray embers that can get between the walls and out of your chimney, finding their way onto your roof.
Again!
Such cracks will often form at corners before they form anywhere else.
Interesting fact! However, cracks that can happen in the middle of the back of your fireplace are not that uncommon.
If you find these cracks found early a simple brick-mortar repair done by yourself (or get a professional or handy friend to do it) can fix the problem.
Now don’t leave it untreated, as it can lead you down the wrong path to structural damage and an increased risk of fire, which can empty your pockets of up to $3,000.00 to get it repaired.
If all you have, and I do mean that literally…
Are some cracks to be repaired, you can expect to pay around about $175.00.
Not bad!
Yet a complete rebuilding of your chimney from the crown to just below the roofline.
Wait for it! can cost you around about $1,000 to $3,000.00.
The even worse news is if the entire chimney, yes!
All the way down to the fireplace needs to be replaced of all things…
It’s going to cost you around about $10,000.
Yikes!
Can I lift you up from the floor now?
So stay on top of these things…
Maintenance Tips You Might Not Have Thought Of
While I might have scared you and made you think twice about having a fireplace.
Everything you have needs propper taken care of and it will serve you well.
This is no different, maybe a bit more work than other fireplaces, but this is the most basic form of fireplace.
And while it comes with its maintenance…
The most basic companion of the raw fireplace cannot be replaced by more modern fireplaces when it comes to authenticity.
They come close but our roots have evolved through the ages of the fireplace and what it means to us.
So do the work and love the journey.
Proper sweeping of your chimney should be done by a professional.
Not you with your face all covered black with soot and frustration in how you got to this situation.
There are a couple of things that you can do to help make the cleaning thing easier for the professional.
The shorter time it takes for them to do the cleaning the less you have to pay to see…
Crafty.
Get this one…
Citrus or Potato Peels, yes potato peels.
No, I have not gone mad, hear me out.
Burning potato peels or citrus can help keep your chimney safer.
Citrus peels are said to prevent that bothersome creosote build-up in your fireplace.
While potato peels are said to form a chemical reaction – that’s right you heard it, a chemical reaction that dries out the creosote and helps keep it from bursting into flames.
You would never have thought it!
While this is a safety measure, try it…
It does not replace professional cleaning.
The creosote will still build up to a point and clog up your chimney, causing smoke and carbon monoxide to begin flowing into your home.
Are you a DIY Person?
Maybe…
A truly ambitious person such as yourself might decide to have a go and try to clean their own chimneys.
There are many such products out there these days just for this job that are available and affordable and can cost around $20.00 for a 2-pound tub of cleaner.
Among other things, you would also need to buy a chimney brush for about $18.00 depending on where you get it, of course, all these things can be brought on the internet as well.
What can’t you get on the internet these days, really?
A fireplace brick/stone cleaner is about $9.00 a bottle, not bad…
And fireplace chimney cleaning brush is about $24.95.
While the process can be labour-intensive and also time-consuming.
Doing it yourself does not include that professional inspection which can find what you might miss like identifying cracks in your fireplace or other damage that can occur.
The professional overhaul is still something you should do every now and again.
Do you know that you can get ‘Chimney Cleaning Logs’ now, these chimney cleaning logs release a chemical that loosens the tar and creosote and causes it all to fall away from your chimney walls.
I like it!
Yey!
This also means that it is falling onto ledges in your chimney and into the fire itself.
Only a little setback…
You have the brush, don’t you?
And while it can keep your chimney safer, it will not do the same job as a professional cleaning will do.
So no getting around it in your fireplace repair!
The cleaning logs are a good idea though… and they can be bought for about $15.00 to $20.00.
Getting A Fireplace Service
Getting a fireplace service for a chimney sweeping and inspection is best during the off-season if you want the charges to be lower.
Now I cannot give you the best times to do this because I don’t know where you are reading this from.
You could be anywhere in the world which means the seasons are going to be the opposite to the other end of the world.
So you are going to have to do some research for yourself as to when to save some money.
So What Does It Cost To Have A Fireplace Serviced?
Well…
A basic sweep, you know that very tall brush, which includes a level inspection for all-around general safety, can average for around $125 and $250, depending on the type of chimney you have and also its condition.
You might have to pay more if you have creosote buildup, or any wildlife residing in your fireplace chimney.
Would you call this fireplace repair too, you bet you would.
You need to maintain and that is also the chimney as well…
Not that you do but if you hear scratching or squawking, that’s a big hint that something has decided to make your home their home as well.
If you are not sure when to get in your inspectors for your fireplace service.
Well, it all depends a lot on just how much you use your fireplace.
The National Fire Protection Association says, “Chimneys, fireplaces, and vents shall be inspected at least once a year for freedom from deposits, soundness, and correct clearances.
This is I think a fairly good indication of fireplace repair and when to get an inspector in.
Having your fireplace inspected about once every year is not bad when you think of it.
If you’re not a heavy fireplace user, then you won’t have to do it that often.
Now that I have made you faint from all the things you need to do to your fireplace repair work to maintain it.
You are now much the wiser.
Like anything when you first are unfamiliar with doing something such as Fireplace Repair it seems like such a big task, but as you get more familiar with it and do it more.
You will be asking yourself why all the fuss.
When you hear yourself saying, fireplace repair…
I can do this and save money in the long run.