Chimney Inspection

Proper fireplace maintenance is important to ensure safety. Creosote can build up the the flu liners and increase the risk of chimney fires.  Cleaning your chimney annually can remove these deposits.                                                                                                       

Creosote on a chimney liner

When a chimney crown  and flu become saturated with water over the course of several years they begin to deteriorate. Sometimes false flues are placed on on the side of operation flues for a balance look these are called dumby flues  it is important the the top of a dumby flue is filled with several inches of concrete at the top otherwise it is more prone to become damaged quickly like below

Dumby flues with out enough concrete deteriorate rapidly 

traditional damper

The chimney damper is a plate which opens and closes  above the firebox.The damper should be shut when not in use to prevent cold air from coming down the chimney.  When dampers become rusted shut or deteriorated an energy efficient solution to replacing them is to install a top mount damper. Traditional dampers are not energy efficient. If you do not have a chimney cap water running down the inside of your flu can cause damage to your damper and rust it shut our out completely. 

top mount damper

Top mount dampers sit on the top of the flue liner and have a gasket to seal out the cold air. they are much more energy efficient. The chain that opens and closes the damper is passes thru a mounting bracket that is at ached to the side on the firebox 

The smoke shelf is the are above and to the rear of the damper it allows smoke to circulate before moving up the flu liner.  When having a chimney swept  it important to remove the ash, debris and creosote from behind the smoke shelf. 

The smoke then vent out the flue liner. Traditionally they are made of clay  and come in  2 feet sections. Fireplace chimney should vent out a 12 x 12 or 13 x 13  flue tile to ensure they draft properly.


we are happy to service the following areas
Oakland County, Auburn Hills, Beverly Hills, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield township, Brighton, Canton, Clarkston, Clawson, Commerce, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Ferndale, Drayton Plains, Eastpointe, Farmington, Farmington Hills, Grosse pointe, Highland, Highland Park, Howell, Hunington Woods, Keego Harbor, Lake Orion, Lathrup Village, Lincoln Park, Livonia, Madison Heights, Milford, New Hudson, Northville, Novi, Oak Park, Orchard Lake, Orion, Orchard Lake, Ortonville, Pontiac, Redford, Rochester, Rochester Hills, Romulus, Roseville, Royal Oak, South Lyon, Southfield, Sterling Heights, Sylvan Lake, Troy, Utica, Walled Lake, Waterford, West Bloomfield, White Lake Oakland County, Wayne County, Macomb County, Livingston County