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Over time, even the sturdiest chimneys will begin to deteriorate due to weather exposure, moisture, and general wear and tear. That’s when it’s time to schedule professional chimney restoration.
But what actually happens during chimney restoration? What do chimney professionals like our team do when we tackle a restoration job? We’ll look at this below, starting with addressing an important question.
At 2nd Generation Chimneys, we understand that your home is your sanctuary. It’s where warmth gathers, and memories are made, often around a cozy fireplace. However, like any aspect of your home, a chimney requires maintenance to ensure it operates safely and efficiently. Recognizing the signs that your chimney needs professional chimney restoration is crucial in maintaining the integrity of your home and the safety of your loved ones.
Here, we’ll guide you through the key indicators that it’s time to call in the experts for a chimney restoration.
Restoring a chimney may sound like a large job. Chimneys are usually made of brick and mortar, and doing an extensive restoration requires specialists with the right tools. But sometimes restoration is necessary to keep the chimney in proper shape so that it doesn’t become a possible danger to your house. If a chimney is deteriorating with age or neglect it can cause exhaust gases to enter the home, heat to escape the chimney and trigger fires, and even the chimney collapsing and taking part of the house with it.
We’re experts when it comes to chimney restoration in Minneapolis, MN. We’ve done this job since 2001, and we are one of the largest and most experienced chimney service companies in the country. If you need your chimney restored, you can trust our team for exceptional work.
But how can you tell you have a chimney that needs restoration? We’ll look over six of the signs.
You and your friend are standing in your front yard, staring at your house intently. Both of you have begun to tilt your heads just a bit to match the tilt that is beginning to become apparent in your chimney. Your friend says that it seems to add character to your home, emphasizing that it is a long-standing structure that has seen its residents through many a cool winter. However, you know that the mild tilt is an issue that can and will get worse and should be addressed sooner than later.
A tilting chimney can occur in even the most well-maintained chimney. It’s a part of the life cycle in a way. However when you do notice that your chimney is starting to lean one way or another, you really should reach out for chimney restoration in Eden Prarie, MN before the issue escalates to a full replacement.
It’s February in Minnesota, which means winter isn’t letting up anytime soon. With the extreme weather we’ve been having in the Midwest lately, it’s no secret that our fireplaces have been used quite a bit. Of course, during this time of year, we expect our fireplaces to be efficient and effective, so what happens when cold air starts to seep through your chimney and directly into your home?
If your chimney is old or worn out, it is likely time for chimney repair in St. Paul, MN. More specifically though, we are talking about chimney restoration. Chimneys, although built to withstand stress, sometimes need restoration work. It is important for homeowners to be aware of the signs that suggest it is time for chimney restoration, so below, we have outlined a few of them. Keep reading below to learn more.
Summer is finally here, and you’ve quit using your fireplace and chimney for the changing seasons months ago. Why should you have to worry about the condition of your chimney now? If not, you might be stuck with problems that make it impossible to use your fireplace and chimney during the winter. Even worse, you might not know about problems within your chimney that make it incredibly unsafe to use.
Summer is the perfect time to schedule that chimney inspection and make sure your home has an extra layer of protection from fire. Repairing your chimney could also help protect your home from water leaks throughout the year, preventing you from having to spend thousands to for water damage repair and mold restoration. Here are just a few of the repairs we make for homeowners for their chimneys during the off-season.
You may simply see your chimney as a decorative addition to your home that also requires little maintenance to make your living space warm and welcoming. But according to the National Fire Protection Association, chimney fires are one of the leading causes of home fire deaths. Most of these fires are caused by a buildup of creosote, a preventable issue in most cases. After a chimney fire, it takes an expert to figure out the next steps that should be taken, which is why you should always contact professionals for chimney restoration in Minneapolis, MN.
First, the technician will need to assess what may have led to the fire in the first place. It would be irresponsible for a technician to begin repairs without first determining what can be done to improve your chimney and firebox and keep the problem from occurring in the future.
Next, the technician will repair or replace components that were damaged by the fire. Any severe masonry damage will need replacement, as will a cracked chimney liner. Sometimes, the masonry must be replaced because of the extensive damage. However, a technician may instead use a process tuckpointing to correct any issues with the masonry and crown. Trained tuckpointing specialists do their best to fill in any gaps with mortar that is as close as possible in design and texture to the original.
The technician will most likely need to install a new chimney liner after a fire as well. Many homes are equipped with clay tile liners as they are easy to install, relatively inexpensive, and readily available. But these so a poor job of absorbing and distributing heat, which can cause them to crack during a chimney fire, exposing the masonry to damage. Most professionals advise replacing clay tile with a steel or aluminum liner instead.
After a chimney restoration, a technician will recommend that you continue to schedule chimney cleaning and inspection on a regular basis. The most common source of chimney fires is creosote buildup, something that a technician can clean with the proper tools and know-how.
When you call 2nd Generation Chimneys, Inc. for chimney restoration in Minneapolis, MN, you’ll get expert advice, assessment, and repairs from specialists in the industry only. Call Us Today! 612.922.9600 or 1-888-PIXLEYS
Although you expect to have fires blazing inside your fireplace, you don’t want those flames to go any farther than the hearth. You may think that a fire moving up into a chimney isn’t necessarily a problem, but a chimney fire like this can be extremely destructive and require that you have special repair work done to avoid causing a house fire.
2nd Generation Chimneys, Inc. is a full-service chimney and fireplace company with the training and certification necessary to handle any chimney restoration in Wayzata, MN that you may need. If you believe you’ve experienced a chimney fire, call our technicians right away for an inspection.
Conventional wisdom holds that chimneys are essentially invincible and maintenance-free. Nothing could be farther from the truth. If a chimney becomes dirty and filled with creosote, the trouble it has venting can cause a chimney fire to break out: an intense fire that ignites the combustible material collected inside the flue. Chimney fires can be extremely loud and create cracking, popping, and rumbling sounds—sometimes even audible from outside a home! But they can also go undetected if they are slow-burning. Either kind of chimney fire is destructive: they can reach 2000°F, enough to cause severe damage to any material inside the chimney.
These high temperatures are enough to cause mortar to melt, tiles to crack, and liners to collapse. This will lead to a dangerous situation, since it will permit the heat that vents through the chimney to escape to the building material surrounding it. A damaged chimney can cause a fire to start on the second floor of a home or up on the roof.
Watch for the following signs that can warn you a chimney fire has broken out: excess creosote, a warped metal damper, fallen tiles, a discolored rain cap, damaged roofing material, cracks on the outside masonry, and marks of smoke escaping through mortar joints and tiles.
If you think you have experienced a chimney fire in your home, you should schedule a Level 2 chimney inspection from a technician certified by the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA). This thorough inspection will determine what repairs and restoration work are necessary. In most cases, the fireplace restorationists will need to replace the chimney liner to ensure that heat cannot escape through broken tiles and clay liners to reach the combustible material outside.
You can have all your chimney problems taken care of through one contractor: 2nd Generation Chimneys, Inc. We are certified with the CSIA and can take care of all your needs for repairs and chimney restoration in Wayzata, MN.
Call us today to set up an appointment, and keep us in mind for your regular inspections and chimney sweeping that will help you avoid chimney fires in the future.
It’s not uncommon for chimneys to endure beyond the buildings in which they stand; a solid masonry chimney can survive for over a hundred years with the right care and attention to problems that might develop. If you live in a home with an older chimney, take care to look for repairs that it may need. We’ll list three of the more common troubles that can afflict a chimney that has vented smoke for many decades.
2nd Generation Chimneys, Inc. is your one-stop service for all your needs for chimney restoration in St. Paul, MN. We handle fireplace installation, repair, and maintenance as well.
Our staff at 2nd Generation Chimneys, Inc. has extensive experience and the proper certification to relieve your worries about chimney restoration or chimney repairs in St. Paul, MN. We are certified chimney reliners and members of the Chimney Safety Institute of America. Call us today for any concerns you have about your home’s chimney or fireplace.
In the cold weather we’re currently having, a good fireplace is one of the best features you can have in a home: a cozy central spot that gives you the direct warmth you usually can’t get from a standard home furnace or boiler.
However, if the chimney that vents your fireplace has damage, that cozy spot might become hazardous. Although chimneys are built to withstand many stresses, they sometimes need restoration work. Here are some signs that you may need to contact a company like 2nd Generation Chimneys, Inc. to restore your chimney in Minneapolis, MN.
Please don’t allow the apparent sturdiness of your chimney to make you think it can survive without repairs. No one has yet built an invincible chimney that can resist all the effects of time and weather. Chimney repair requires experts in venting and masonry, so hire only certified chimney reliners approved by the Chimney Safety Institute of America for the job. If you want skilled chimney restoration in Minneapolis, MN, call on 2nd Generation Chimneys, Inc.