Summer is right around the corner, which means that is time to start thinking about all the ways to prepare! Of course, when temperatures rise, the need to use your fireplace is certainly less likely, so do you really have to worry about your chimney? Well, the answer to that question is a resounding “yes.”
Spring and summer are perhaps the best times to schedule a chimney inspection and tune-up. By scheduling these services, you can prevent a number of potential issues that can occur anytime throughout the year, especially those that may arise in the winter. There are many reasons as to why your chimney might not be safe for summer yet, and below, we have listed these reasons. Keep reading to learn more about why you should schedule your chimney services now!
Water entering your home is certainly a cause for alarm. Inclement weather can make our homes especially susceptible to leaks and water damage. Most homeowners are unaware that their chimneys can be a potential site of a leak in their homes. Your chimney receives exposure to the elements: wind, rain, snow, sleet, etc. Winters here in Minnesota are especially brutal, so in this part of the country, your chimney is more susceptible to damage. Water entering through leaks in a chimney will freeze during the winter, and as the water expands when it turns into ice, it will cause even larger cracks.
Nobody wants to think about worst case scenarios. What is the point of doing so, after all? You cannot live your life in a constant state of agitation, just waiting for the proverbial hammer to fall. You have to get out there and live your best life! However, there is a big difference between taking precautions and being proactive vs. expecting the worst case scenario to come to fruition. In fact, preventing that worst case scenario is the whole point!
Nobody expects you to be an expert on your chimney and all of the different materials and components that it uses in order to safely and effectively vent smoke and combustion gases out of your home. If you were an expert, after all, it wouldn’t exactly be great for our business! That being said, we do believe that it is in every homeowner’s best interest to have a basic idea of how their chimney works (provided that they’re using a fireplace, of course).
People think of fireplaces and chimneys as being simple. They may not feature some of the modern technology that today’s most advanced HVAC systems boast, but that doesn’t mean the fireplaces and chimneys are as straightforward as you think. It’s not just a hole in a wall with a pipe on top to let the smoke out, after all! There is a lot more to fireplace and chimney installation and design than may meet the eye—and a lot that escapes your eye.
Fireplaces are safe to use, provided that you use them right. That means more than being careful when building up your fire, stoking it, and cleaning out the hearth. It also means having your chimney cleaned regularly by trained, qualified professionals. Why? Because if you ignore this vital service long enough, it’s not just the performance of your fireplace that will suffer. It could also very well be your safety. We are not just saying this to alarm you.
Now that there is a noticeable chill in the air once more, you may have already started burning firewood regularly once again. How’s it going so far? Have you already run into issues? Does using your fireplace seem less convenient than it used to? Whatever the case, today’s blog post is for you. The 
You do not need us to remind you that the biting cold of the winter season is coming.
There is a lot to love about winter, from snowshoeing and ice fishing to skiing trips and snowmobiling. It really can be a very fun time of the year for the outdoorsmen and women among us. Even the most rugged individuals, however, and even those with the best gear on the market, look forward to coming home to a warm, comfortable environment at the end of the day. The critters outside are not all that different in this regard.
There are some people out there that may say that burning a fire in one’s fireplace is an outdated or even dangerous means by which to heat one’s home. Those are likely people that have never used a fireplace before! Sure, there are newer technologies out there that allow you to heat your home in a more modern way. Many homeowners actually supplement their fireplaces with such systems. For a lot of us, though, nothing can truly compare to the comfort that comes with a roaring fire in the hearth.