The Silly Season.html

This is a very common question. I try to help clients to understand how to
determine the answer on their own. Because of the cost of running a
business, we have to charge a fee to go to a home & determine if the
fireplace needs to be swept.

If I can explain to our clients how to check on their own, they can perform
this task before they have Abbey Road out to sweep the chimney. They
save the cost of a trip charge if the unit does not need to be swept.

Is your fireplace a masonry fireplace? This is a fireplace that was built
before the late 1970's. (Newer fireplaces can also be masonry.) The
firebox, which is the area where you place your wood on the grate, is
either metal or made of firebricks. To check it, open your damper. Wait a
moment before you look up since some soot may fall when you open the
damper. This will keep you from getting the soot in your eyes. Using a
flashlight, check the walls of the smoke chamber. This is the area shaped
like a trapezoid, which is above the damper and below the flue liner.
Ninety percent of chimney fires start in this area. Look at the side walls
as well as the back wall. If you do not have a rain cover, the back wall
may have the creosote washed off of it by rain that comes down the flue.
Can you easily see the composition of the walls? (Brick, mortar or metal?)
If you can, the fireplace doe not need to be swept. If you have 3/8 inch
buildup in any area, or if you wonder if there are walls behind the soot,
then you do need to have it swept.

It is time to call Abbey Road if a sweeping is needed. If the walls look OK
at this time, then look again at the end of the burning season. If your
inspection tells you that a sweeping is needed, have it done at that time.
That will allow you to avoid the "silly season".

Maybe you have a factory built, or prefabricated fireplace. This is a unit
that has a firebox assembled at a factory, brought to the home, set in
place, and a round, stainless double or triple wall pipe installed for a flue.
Again, you open the damper, don't look up immediately, then check above
the damper to see the condition of the pipe. Often, there is a bend just a
foot or so above the damper, so you really have to get in further to see
above the bend. Since most of these units have an 8" pipe, it only takes
about 1/8" buildup to call for a sweeping. If you know how to bounce a
light off of a mirror, you can use this technique to check a prefab. It keeps
you from having to stick your head inside. You can reflect the light up the
pipe so that you can look in the mirror to check the condition. Ken taught
me how to do this. (Much easier on the back and neck.)

Again, check at the end of the burning season to see if your unit needs to
be swept. Abbey Road may post specials on the website during the
slower months. You will need to mention the website to get the discount.