Cerrito Chimney & Master Masonry

Leaks .... Leaks .... and more Dangerous Leaks!!!!!  A Chimney Leak is the most frustrating & destructive problem chimney repair home owners encounter. Chimneys can leak at several different areas including the chimney crown, chimney cap, chimney roof flashing, corbelling, chase cover and can even soak water into the chimney by porous bricks. Many times roofers blame leaks on the chimney and the handy-man blame leaks on leaking roofs.  The truth is that each case may have different reasons why the chimney leaks and it literally take years of experience to know what causes these leaks. BUT REMEMBER...... Don't let a leak go on without getting it fixed or you are asking for trouble, and the trouble is MOLD!!! Make sure you get it fixed by a professional. That is why the chimney repair business is a specialized profession. The more experience you have with chimneys, the more likely you can correctly diagnose the proper chimney repair.

Do I need a Chimney Cleaning?

If you used your fireplace or wood burning stove during the winter months, the National Fire Protection Agency recommends annual chimney inspections.

If you have a fireplace or wood-burning stove, you also have a dirty chimney!  The two simply go hand in hand. As wood burns, the combustion process produces solid byproducts that build up in your chimney or flue pipe as a black, sticky layer that is highly combustible, and the only way to get rid of it and that AWFUL ODOR is through regular professional Cerrito Chimney Cleaning.

Homeowners are unaware that chimneys are an integral part of a home heating system and that they require regular evaluation and maintenance. In a great many European countries - including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Germany - chimney-fire damage statistics have been reduced to negligible numbers because national coalitions of government, insurance companies, fire and building officials, and chimney sweeps have developed tough regulations mandating regularly scheduled chimney inspections and cleaning.

The citizens of those countries understand the hazards of unmaintained chimneys, and their chimney sweeps are regular members of their home safety team.

Most homeowners in the U.S. and Canada, however, seem to have little working knowledge of chimney and venting systems. This situation is complicated by the fact that faults, damage and problems rarely visible to the casual observer. In fact, people who will quickly replace a faulty automobile exhaust system because of the hazard it presents will allow their home's exhaust system the chimney or vent - to go unchecked and unmaintained for years. The threat of chimney fires and unsafe indoor air quality conditions can be greatly reduced, perhaps even eliminated, if homeowners only understood that chimneys are active home operation systems which require regular maintenance.

SMOKE PROBLEM? Chimneys draw more than just the smoke from the fire, a fact most often overlooked by many chimney builders. Ambient air surrounding the fire will be drawn towards the fire and flows into the chimney with the smoke. The higher or farther a hood or chimney opening is from the fire, the more ambient air that will displace smoke as it rises to the chimney. The cooler ambient air will be heavier than the smoke and will slow the movement of smoke in the chimney. If the fire is located too far from the chimney or hood, then the amount of ambient air moving over the fire becomes so great that, some of all of the smoke will be forced into the smithy.

The Chimney Sweep's Role
The primary job of a chimney service professional is to aid in the prevention of fires related to fireplaces, woodstoves, gas, oil and coal heating systems and the chimneys that serve them. Wood burning heating systems, in particular, require careful monitoring and skillful operation.

Chimney sweeps install, clean and maintain these systems, evaluate their performance, prescribe changes to improve their performance, and educate the consumer about their safe and efficient operation. The basic task of a chimney sweep is to clean chimneys. Cleaning means removing the hazard of accumulated and highly combustible creosote produced by burning wood and wood products.

It means eliminating the build-up of soot in coal-and oil-fired systems, it means getting rid of bird and animal nests, leaves and other debris that may create a hazard by blocking the flow of emissions from a home heating appliance. In doing their primary job, sweeps also function as on-the-job fire prevention specialists. They are constantly on the lookout for unsafe conditions that can cause home fires or threaten residents with dangerous or unhealthy indoor air quality.

Fireplaces work mainly because hot air rises. When you start a fire, the air inside the chimney becomes warmer and less dense than the air outside the chimney, and consequently it starts to rise.  As the warm air rises, cooler air from the room flows into the firebox, fanning the fire, and creating more heat in an ongoing cycle. There are also some pressure differentials produced as wind moves across the top of your chimney.

There are many reasons why your fireplace may not function properly.  A true understanding of fireplaces requires extensive knowledge of air flow patterns, pressure differentials, and actual fireplace construction techniques. If you are having a smoke problem, give us a call!

Who is Cerrito Chimney & Master Masonry & Chimney Cricket of Oakland County?

Chimney cleaning – or sweeping... or  Service or Repairs 
It is important to know how to choose a sweep because there is big difference in the industry ...  So, how can you tell a superior sweep from an inferior one?  By knowing & learning about their Company, and if they are Members of the National Chimney Sweep Guild of America!!
Because chimney sweeps play such an important part of your safety, and since the nature of their work requires that they come into your home, it's important that you choose a chimney sweep that you trust completely and Practices the NGSG "Code of Ethics".

"The Pride We Take in Our Craft is Reflected in the Quality of Our Workmanship"