Chimney Inspections cover four basic categories: Structural, Fire Safety, Health Hazards, and Proper Operation.  All certified inspection companies cover each one of these.

Earthquakes make structural integrity an important issue in Southern California.  Structural cracks or encircling cracks cannot be repaired.  The chimney must be rebuilt.  This is the most expensive type of chimney repair a homeowner will face.  If the house is more than 80 years old a chimney rebuild is in its future.  The type of building materials used before 1940 did not include steel reinforcement and were built with ash mortar.

When a Chimney Inspector tells a home owner the chimney is structurally sound, he is only telling them it is not likely to fall down.  Too often home owners assume this means there is nothing wrong with the chimney.  This is not necessarily true.

Masonry chimneys reaching the 50 year mark need maintenance.  As the fireplace is used, the bricks expand from heat and contract when the fire burns out. The mortar surrounding the bricks is made of different material and expands and contracts at a different rate. Over time the mortar wears away leaving gaps and the bricks will crack. The flue may be subject to even more erosion from rain water mixing with Creosote which forms an acid that wears away the mortar. We are seeing many mid-century houses requiring the portions of the inside of the fire place rebuilt and the flue relined.  There are often gaps around the sides of the fire place where it meets the facing and the mantel.

These situations are fire and health hazards.  Remember the byproducts of fires are sparks, heat, noxious gases, and smoke.  These byproducts should move up the fireplace and chimney into the open where they dissipate quickly.  However, they will take the path of least resistance.  The heat becomes super heated as it passes through a gap and if a few sparks are already on the wood frame it will smolder and eventually ignite. This is how a fire starts to crawl within the walls of a wood structure.

The noxious gas, Carbon Monoxide, is a very dangerous by-product of wood and gas fires.  It is important to make sure it leaves through the Flue into the open air, not moving about the house through gaps and cracks.  Carbon monoxide detectors are the best way to detect this silent killer.

Finally the chimney inspector insures the fireplace is operating properly.  There is nothing relaxing or romantic about a smoke filled room.  There are many solutions that a chimney expert can give you and yours for a wonderful, cozy, inviting, safe, and smoke free evening by the fire.

For more information go to www.bostonbrick.com

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 12th, 2011 in the Chimney Tips, Real Estate section. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.