When Do I Need Chimney Repair?

As a general rule it is best to call in a chimney expert when any of these issues have been discovered as being in need of repair. Meaning that during a visual inspection or a physical inspection, if any of the items below are not functioning properly, it's time to get your chimney repaired.


Chimney Flue Repair
The chimney flue liner is essential for keeping out potentially harmful gasses from leaking into your living area.  For this reason, a cracked flue liner needs prompt and proper replacement.  It’s extremely important that the replacement chimney liners be installed properly making a solid seal.   

Be sure to acquire the services of a skilled, experienced masonry contractor who can suggest the right type of Sudbury ma chimney repair for the design and build of your chimney.  Additionally, an experienced masonry contractor can ensure proper fitting of your flue liner installation, ensuring that it will protect your chimney and your home for many years to come.  

Chimney Crown Repair
A damaged chimney crown, also known as a chimney cap, can cause numerous problems for the homeowner.  Chimney crowns keep out wild animals, particularly raccoons and birds, from entering and nesting in your chimney or even fireplace.  It also keeps out rain and snow from entering and creating moisture in your chimney, which can cause an unpleasant smell to emanate from the chimney, or worse, cracks in the chimney that can necessitate further repairs.  It can also cause wind or draft problems, meaning that smoke and gas will not properly exit your chimney, instead coming back into your living area.

Brick Chimney Repair
Older homes almost exclusively have brick flue chambers in the chimneys.  While bricks can handle a heavy compression load, they are also prone to cracking and deterioration over time, leading to leakage of dangerous gasses into the home as well as potential structural damage.  It may allow water and moisture to penetrate, causing additional damage to other elements of the chimney.  Seemingly minor damage to chimney bricks are one of the leading causes necessitating chimney replacement when homeowners fail to obtain regular chimney inspections.  Regular chimney inspections and brick repair can save you an expensive chimney replacement down the road.

Chimney Throat Repair
It is extremely important that your chimney inspector carefully examine the chimney throat.  Cracks in the throat area of a chimney are a major safety concern.  Damage in the chimney throat can cause serious structural issues, and heat transfer issues, particularly if left unchecked.

The improper use or installation of metal in the chimney throat can threaten the structural integrity of your chimney by exposing non-fire rated brick or tile, which can cause cracks or breaching in the masonry. In a lot of instances this metal in the throat heats up and cracks the masonry surrounding it. It also has been known to warp, heaving the masonry it is supporting creating a gap that exposes the wood structure behind it.  If your chimney inspection turns up any signs of damage in the chimney throat, it is extremely important to have it repaired promptly by an experienced masonry contractor.

The Importance Of Regular Chimney Inspection & Maintenance
Chimney inspections, maintenance, and repair should be significantly higher on the priority of the average homeowner than it currently is.  In fact, regular chimney inspections are so important to proper home maintenance that some countries mandate annual chimney inspections and cleanings.   While this is not a legal requirement in the United States, it is still highly recommended that proper inspection is performed on your masonry chimney at least once a year.  Chimney inspections are especially important if you live in an older home without a clay liner, or in an earthquake prone city such as Los Angeles or San Francisco.  

Proper chimney inspections should always be conducted by an experienced chimney professional. Experienced chimney experts can spot latent dangers and damage that could be overlooked by a less experienced counterpart.  This could mean the difference between a safe home or carbon monoxide leaking into the living room.  It can mean the difference between sitting by a nice, cozy fire on a cool winter’s evening, or running for the fire extinguisher.   It can even mean the difference between a quick chimney repair or a complete rebuild of your chimney that costs you more money and time down the road.  A chimney inspection performed by an inexperienced masonry professional could easily miss a small crack or minor damage that could have been replaced if was detected promptly.  If left to crack further, minor damage could potentially necessitate a chimney replacement as the minor damage turns into serious structural problems.

If your chimney inspection finds any of the issues discussed in the article, it’s also important to enlist the work of a skilled and most importantly, experienced, masonry contractor to do the repair work right.  While Acton Mass masonry chimneys are a strong structural element of a home, improperly done masonry work can lead to premature chimney repairs and possibly dangerous gases leaking back into the living area.  On rare occasions, it can even lead to chimney fires.  Take the time to call an experienced masonry contractor who will stand by the quality of their work – you certainly won’t regret it.