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FAQ
CHIMNEY DRAFTING PROBLEMS, DAMPERS AND CHIMNEY SWEEPING
CHIMNEY INSPECTIONS AND CHIMNEY INSPECTORS
CHIMNEY RED FLAGS TO WATCH FOR
CHIMNEY LEAKS
CHIMNEY FIRES
QUESTIONS ABOUT BOSTON BRICK & STONE
TUCK POINTING AND EPOXY INJECTION
What are the different types of chimneys? Basically there are (3) categories of chimneys. There are the masonry chimneys which are made of brick, concrete and mortar. There is the prefab which is manufactured at a factory and is installed as a unit. There are several kinds of prefab (pre-fabricated) which include the Isokern which can be made to look like a masonry chimney. Then there is the hybrid chimney which has a masonry base, firebox and smoke chamber but it then transforms into a high temperature pipe with a steel stud frame. This last system is what the majority of repairs made in Los Angeles consist of. A system pre-fabricated or manufactured at a factory some where. It typically has a metal fire box and a thin metal pipe. The pipe is kept cool by air rushing through the cooling cavity in the pipe. How can I tell what type of chimney I have? Real bricks in the firebox usually mean you have a masonry system. The top of the chimney offers clues as well. If you can see a clay type square or oval pipe protruding out the top of the chimney stack you have a masonry fireplace and chimney system. If you can see a metal pipe with a metal cap that fits the pipe perfectly, protruding out the top, chances are you have some kind of a prefab. Look at the firebox. Does it have a metal box? If so you have a prefab. If it is all brick and mortar but with the metal pipe protruding out of the top you probably have a hybrid system. How often should I have my chimney swept? It depends on what you burn and how well your system operates. When we see a build up of 1/8 to 1/4-inch of creosote we recommend the chimney be swept. If you can’t see the flue by looking up from the firebox and you use the fireplace 10 times per season then you should have it swept yearly. There are as many opinions on this as there are chimney sweep companies. The NFPA 211 (National Fire Protection Association Code 211 - www.nfpa.org), which is the industry’s standard, states that all systems should be inspected annually. So, if you use your fireplace you should have it cleaned and inspected once per year. Chimney sweep companies usually offer this service for under $100.00. If you call them in the summer you will get better service and maybe a better deal as the summer is their slow season. Beware of extensive repair recommendations. Seek another opinion from a noted fireplace expert before signing any contracts. My chimney does not draft properly? How can I solve this problem? Have it inspected by a professional. Boston Brick & Stone will inspect your chimney and submit a solution to the problem along with the total price. If your fireplace starts to smoke in the middle of a fire and smoke is coming into the room, check to make sure the damper is open. If it is and it is still smoking grab some aluminum foil (such as Reynolds Wrap) from the kitchen along with some tape. Tape a strip of aluminum foil over the top 10-inches of the firebox. This will reduce the amount of air going into the firebox and should allow the system to draft properly. DO NOT add any more fuel. Call a chimney professional ASAP. Is there a danger that carbon monoxide may escape from my chimney back into my home? Yes. If you smell smoke, shine a flashlight across the top of the firebox opening. If you can see smoke escaping the firebox and coming into the room do the aluminum foil trick described above. Carbon Monoxide affects people differently. There are recorded cases where some persons have suffered devastating effects from C0 exposure while others in the same room suffered none. A gas fireplace, if it is not drafting properly and not burning the gas completely, will put deadly CO into the living space. Boston Brick & Stone recommends that ALL gas fireplaces have CO detectors installed around the fireplace. Also it is a code requirement that any gas log set have the damper permanently fixed in the open position. One reason for this code is that a person could start the gas log set with the damper closed and never notice that the products of combustion are spilling into the living space. On a wood burning system the person would surely notice the smoke and open the damper. What position should my damper be in? Open during a fire but closed during cold days because the heated air from the furnace will rise and escape out the chimney. A damper in the closed position will stop this flow of heated air out your chimney and save you money and our natural resources. A damper installed at the top of the chimney. A cable runs down the chimney to a metal “L” shaped bracket which is mounted on the side wall of the firebox. The cable comes down and runs through the bracket. To close the damper at the top you pull down on the cable and lock it in the bracket. That pulls a stainless steel plate down over the top of the flue, thereby sealing it off. What does a chimney inspection consist of? See our website at http://www.bostonbrick.com/chimney.html What does a typical chimney inspection cost? It depends on the type and size of chimney and how many fireboxes are involved. However, a standard price on a visual inspection of a one story chimney with one firebox is $125.00. Why should I get a chimney inspection? NFPA 211 mandates annual inspections as well as after every major event such as an earthquake or windstorm and at every change of owner. How often should a chimney be inspected? See above question When buying a home, is it a wise idea to have the chimney inspected? Yes per NFPA 211 as above Doesn’t a regular home inspector also expect a chimney to the degree necessary? A home inspector performs a Level I inspection but this does not ensure that all of the conditions of the chimney have been looked at. It is a brief inspection for Red Flags (see Red Flag Checklist at http://www.bostonbrick.com/tips.html) that if found would warrant further inspection by a professional. For example, most inspectors will not be able to tell you if the drafting ratios in the chimney are adequate. A thorough inspection by a chimney professional will tell you ALL of the conditions present in your chimney. If you hire Boston Brick & Stone to inspect the chimney you will also get a complete set of solutions, presented in a step by step format, along with how much it will cost to correct any problems found. In the real estate industry this saves valuable time and money as most inspectors belong to CREIA and they are not allowed to also work on the property they inspect. Boston Brick & Stone is primarily a masonry construction contractor who also specialized in chimney inspections. Our name is the most trusted among real estate agents in the greater Los Angeles area. My home inspector said that my chimney was in “A” condition? Why should I then go to the expense of having the chimney inspected? If the chimney has been used successfully and there are no Red Flags visible (see Red Flag Checklist at http://www.bostonbrick.com/tips.html) then a complete chimney inspection is probably a waste of money and time. However, if you want to be 100% sure, a complete inspection by a chimney professional is required. Is it possible that a home inspector may miss something that is seriously wrong with a chimney? Yes, and almost all Home Inspection Contracts cover the fact that they are performing a visual inspection and that they do not guarantee they will discover every problem that may exist. What sort of training and certification does a chimney inspector have? Anybody can become a chimney inspector simply by calling himself one. There is no state certification for a chimney inspector. There are several courses available that one could undertake to learn the trade. Once one or more of these courses are completed the individual can call himself “certified”. At Boston Brick & Stone our inspectors are trained in the field by our Technical Department. They are taken out to many jobs where chimneys are being constructed and demolished so they can see how a chimney is put together. They also take the certification courses to learn the codes by heart. Then their education continues daily as they are continually giving estimates on jobs to repair or build various different chimneys. Technical meetings are held every week where new technology is explored and their knowledge of the basics is continually tested. After a major event, such as an earthquake, it is a good idea to have a chimney inspected? Yes What is the NFPA and what is their purpose? The NFPA stands for National Fire Protection Association (nfpa.org). The organization operates a consensus system whereby opinions from people are put into a process that either adopts the opinion or rejects the opinion. This process consists of an approved and tested method and is basically a panel of industry experts who decide whether or not the opinion will be adopted. The purpose is to provide the industry with a standard we can all follow with assured safety. Wouldn’t it be a better idea to have someone inspect a chimney who is not going to bid on fixing a defects? As in any trade there are honest and dishonest people. If the person was dishonest it would be best not to deal with him or her in any capacity. Having your chimney inspected by someone who is qualified by the state to repair it is no different than having your brakes inspected by a licensed mechanic who has a thorough and complete understanding of your vehicle’s brakes. If he is dishonest he will tell you that your brakes need work that they don’t need. If he is honest he will tell you the truth. You would not want to hire a person who has never taken a set of brake apart or repaired a set of brakes to give you advice on what to do with your brakes. If this person was not sure he will tell you your brakes need to be replaced just to be on the safe side. The solution then is to find a honest mechanic who is also competent and has a complete understanding of brakes. Boston Brick & Stone has a very honest reputation in the real estate industry. Literally hundreds of real estate professionals depend on us to advise their clients on all forms of masonry related problems, not just chimneys. What you are looking for in a chimney inspection is a competent opinion you can trust. When buying a home I noticed that the bricks near the firebox opening have been painted over? Should I be concerned? Yes. This usually indicated that the fireplace did not work well so the owner tried to hide this fact by painting over the soot stained bricks. In addition, the paint may not be a high temperature paint and when subjected to high temperatures it could release toxic fumes. When looking for homes I have noticed that some chimneys have been painted over? Is this a red flag? Yes. The owner may be trying to hide a structural break by caulking or otherwise patching up the crack and then painting over it. This is unacceptable as it does nothing to improve the condition of the chimney. When looking to buy a home I noticed some fireplaces in older homes have never been used? Is this something to worry about? Yes. 9 times out of 10 when we come across an older home that has a chimney that has never been used there is something wrong with the chimney. Remember, back when the house was built the fireplace was usually the only source of heat. One that has never been used means that there is almost certainly something wrong with it. Why is it a good idea to inspect all chimneys built before 1940? Chimney design changed after the Long Beach earthquake. Prior to 1939 most chimneys were not reinforced, had ash mortar and many were not lined. A single width ash mortar chimney can be a real safety hazard and must be carefully looked at. Today mortar consists of Portland Cement mixed with sand and water. It hardens to be very hard and has an excellent bond. Mortar before 1939 was made from sand, lime and ashes. Although it had compression strength it had a poor bond strength which is what is needed to hold the chimney together in an earthquake. Why should all pre-fab chimneys be inspected? Simple mistake made during prefab installations could be disastrous. If the pipe comes apart inside of the wood framed chase a fire is very likely. Most chimney fires are caused by prefab chimney systems. What is the point of greatest stress on a chimney? At the roofline. If I see a crack on my chimney is it something to worry about? Yes. Contact a Chimney Inspection as soon as possible. What would cause a chimney to leak? There are several possibilities. The number one cause is the roof/chimney intersection. If this is not properly flashed it will leak. Number 2 cause is no rain cap. Rain will come into the flue of the chimney and begin to saturate the inside of the chimney. If the geographic area you live in receives 3-inches of rain you will get 3-inches dumped into the chimney. If we get 15-inches over a 2 week period, as during the winter of 2004-2005, your chimney will probably leak. Saturation is another cause. During the winter of 2004-2005 many chimneys leaked that had adequate flashing and chimney caps. The bricks, being porous, and exposed to weeks of heavy rain, simply absorbed so much water the water by-passed the flashing and showed up in the house. Lastly there is “wicking”. Water saturating the soil around the base of the chimney will “wick” up through the porous masonry and show up inside the house. This condition is almost always caused by a poor drainage situation coupled with over irrigating or a downspout from the roof depositing a lot of water near the chimney. All water should drain away from the house, not only the chimney. Is it a good idea to have a rain cap installed on my chimney? Yes, always. I am noticing a white-looking substance growing on my chimney where it got wet? What is that exactly? This white powdery substance is called “Efflorescence”. The word comes to us from chemistry, and means loss of water from crystal. When a crystalline substance loses water a deposit is left and this process and the actual deposit is called efflorescence. It is harmless and is formed from a mineral which is basically a water soluble salt. It will wash away with special detergents and will stop appearing once the source of water is removed. A chimney fire is a fire that takes place in the smoke chamber and the flue of a chimney. When the flue and or smoke chamber accumulates ¼-inch or more of the sticky tar substance called creosote a chimney fire is possible. The creosote ignites and if supplied with enough oxygen a roaring chimney fire can ensue. Chimney fires are dangerous and are responsible for houses burning to the ground. If your chimney has ever had a chimney fire you must get the system inspected by a professional before attempting to use it again. Chimney fires can be prevented by annual inspections to make sure your system remains clean and is operating correctly and by burning dry wood. How many homes, on the average, burn down each year due to chimneys? We once asked the local fire department if they kept any statistics on this and we were told that they did not. If anyone does keep statistics it would be the insurance industry. I see that your company is called “Boston Brick & Stone”. If you are located in Pasadena, why do you have the name “Boston”? When we were looking for a name for the company a survey was done to people who had some masonry work done. They were asked what great American city stood for quality brickwork in their minds. Boston was the resounding winner. To most people surveyed, Boston stands for quality and we are all about quality. What else does your company do? See our web-site at http://www.bostonbrick.com/services.html Today tuck pointing is the term we use when referring to a joint being repaired. Years ago it meant something completely different. Today however, it means to remove the existing mortar from between the bricks or stone or blocks down to a depth of approximately ½-inch and then replace the removed mortar with new mortar. Tuckpointing is not considered to be a structural repair. Many contractors sell it as a structural repair but it is not, it is an aesthetic repair. Some will argue that it does help the overall structure and in some cases this could be true. However, because we can not get the new mortar all the way across the joint the industry does not recognize any structural effect. Can I use Epoxy Injection to fix my chimney?
Boston Brick & Stone has researched the idea of using epoxy injection to fix structural cracks in a chimney. One problem is that the crack has to be pressurized and an inspector must check that the required pressure was achieved. In order to do this we must figure out a way to keep the epoxy from simply pouring down into the cavity of the chimney while under pressure. This would be easy to do in some chimneys and impossible in others. The greatest barrier to epoxy injection at this time is the fact that none of the epoxy manufacturers have listed their product to be used in high temperature applications. Until someone makes a high temperature epoxy that can also be injected we have to rule this out as a possible legal fix for a structurally damaged chimney.
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Serving the Los Angeles area.