Serving Minneapolis, St. Paul and the Surrounding Communities
At 2nd Generation Chimneys, Inc., we know how much our clients in the Twin Cities love gathering around a cozy fireplace during Minnesota’s chilly winters. But did you know that keeping your chimney clean is just as important as enjoying that warm glow? Regular chimney cleaning provides more than just peace of mind—it ensures your home’s safety, comfort, and efficiency.
Let’s talk about the key benefits of maintaining a clean chimney and why we’re here to help you make it happen.
The safety of your family is important to you, which is why we feel it is so important for every home chimney to receive inspection once a year. Like any other type of heating equipment, a chimney can pose a safety hazard if it is not regularly maintained. Maintenance includes cleaning problem areas and checking for any damage that could increase your chances of a dangerous chimney fire. Heating equipment is the second leading reason for home fires, and chimney fires take the lead in this category.
Scheduling chimney cleaning and inspection every year can significantly lower your risk of a fire, alerting you to any repair needs and giving you some peace of mind over the condition of your unit. Call a company trusted for chimney inspection and repair and recognized by the Chimney Safety Institute of America. Call 2nd Generation Chimneys today.
What happens during your next chimney inspection will depend on your needs, the state of your chimney and firebox, and whether you or your technician suspects trouble. There are three stages or levels of chimney inspections.
The technicians at 2nd Generation Chimneys, Inc. are highly trained and certified by the Chimney Safety Institute of America. Call Us Today! 612.922.9600 or 1-888-PIXLEYS
The damper is a key part of your fireplace. It is located at the bottom of the chimney, right above the firebox, where you can access it to open and close it. The damper prevents heat from escaping out of your home through the chimney when you aren’t using the fireplace, and this stops a major loss of heat that would otherwise lead to elevated bills for your home and unpleasant drafts.
You can also have a second damper placed in your chimney: a top sealing damper located at the chimney crown outside. Although not a necessity, there are some excellent reasons to have your chimney fit for a top sealing damper. You can’t handle this job on your own, however. Call on an experienced company like 2nd Generation Chimneys, Inc. to handle chimney damper installation in Minnetonka, MN. We offer numerous fireplace services from installation to sweeping, and our technicians are certified with the Chimney Safety Institute of America.
A top sealing damper for a chimney is similar in many ways to a chimney cap. It mounts onto the crown of the chimney, and like a chimney cap it prevents rain, debris, and animals from entering the chimney and causing damage. Unlike chimney caps, which have open sides that allow air to flow past them, a top sealing damper goes beyond simply keeping unwanted objects (and creatures) from entering the chimney and helps prevent heat loss. They are easy to operate: a long cable goes down the flue from the damper and attaches to a handle you can move to open and close the device just as for the bottom damper. Even when the top sealing damper is open, it has a screen will help keep animals from entering it.
Tests have shown that the improved heat sealing power of a top sealing damper can contribute to more than $100 in heating savings during a winter. These additions to a chimney will rapidly pay for themselves.
Top-sealing dampers can be combined with chimney caps to double their protection. (One drawback of top sealing dampers is that they are not as effective at keeping out the rain as caps.) The Chimilator is a top-sealing damper model available from 2nd Generation Chimneys, Inc. that includes a stainless steel animal and rain cap, plus a multiple setting handle.
We carry the top brands in dampers and caps so that your home receives only the highest quality chimney protection and energy savings.
Call the chimney and fireplace professionals for more information about chimney damper installation in Minnetonka, MN. Call Us Today! 612.922.9600 or 1-888-PIXLEYS
There are a lot of home heating options out there, and it can be difficult to decide which is best for you. Many people go into the decision considering either natural gas or electrical heating options, but wood pellet-fuel heating options deserve your consideration as well. Wood pellet stoves and boilers may not be for everyone, but what is? Before you make any decisions about how you want to heat your home make sure that you have the information you need to make an informed choice. Here is some information that may help you decide if heating your Minnetonka home with wood pellets is the right choice for you. For more information call the wood pellet pros at 2nd Generation Chimneys.
Wood pellet stoves do a great job heating an entire home, especially considering their relatively small size. The pellets themselves come in fairly small, manageable bags as well, making pellet stoves a good option for homes without a lot of space to spare. They are convenient to use as well, as you do not have to continually feed them the way you would with a wood burning stove. A hopper holds a supply of wood pellets, and as they burn down the hopper feeds more into the stove.
Many people purchase and operate wood burning stoves in their homes because they appreciate the sustainability of the fuel source. Wood pellets are made of recycled material that is compressed into the pellet form. This high level of compression has some added benefits as well. The moisture content is much lower than in split wood, and this dryness allows for more heat to be generated. This in turn means that wood pellets actually burn more completely and cleanly than wooden logs, creating fewer pollutants. Pellet stoves also create less smoke than burning wood, which reduces less ash than firewood and creates less creosote to accumulate in your chimney. Creosote buildup can lead to chimney fires.
As with any other home heating option, wood pellets do have their drawbacks. The stoves are expensive to purchase, and they run on electricity which can be an issue in the event of a power outage. Be sure to check the availability of wood pellets in your area as well. A pellet burning stove isn’t worth too much if you don’t have access to the fuel source.
If you are considering the purchase and installation of a pellet burning stove, call the home heating experts at 2nd Generation Chimneys today. We’ll help you decide if it is the right choice for Minnetonka home. Let us help you keep your home comfortable this winter.
There are few things more relaxing than making use of your fireplace on a chilly night. Don’t trick yourself into thinking that because it is not a primary heat source your Plymouth chimney does not need to be inspected and cleaned, though. Any use of your fireplace requires basic maintenance to keep it safe. Here are some common questions that people have regarding chimney sweeping.
Fire safety experts generally agree that yearly maintenance is necessary for a safe chimney. Remember, even though it is not heavily used your chimney could have poor ventilation from animal nests or suffer from a damaged liner or flu. A yearly inspection and cleaning will keep your chimney safe and functional.
Generally a chimney sweeping should be done in about an hour, though if problems are discovered it can take longer. As for a mess, yes, chimney sweeping is messy business. Thankfully a professional service like ours always has the appropriate equipment to leave your fire area cleaner than when we got there.
A video inspection is, simply put, the most thorough way to ensure that your chimney is in safe working order. If our professional chimney sweepers notice any warning signs or safety hazards, the best way to evaluate the level of concern is with video inspection. The accessible parts of a chimney are only part of a complete inspection.
Maybe. Some prefabricated wood stoves require a specific chimney that is installed with the insert. Some are adaptable to existing fireplaces, but it is important that a qualified contractor do the installation to ensure that the stove and chimney are compatible as well as to properly insulate and seal the components.
The only way to be sure that your fireplace is safe to use is by having it professionally inspected. If you have a tile or clay liner, for example, you may need to have a new liner installed as these materials are very susceptible to heat. If any insulation or other materials are exposed through a crack it is very possible that another chimney fire may occur.
We at 2nd Generation Chimneys, Inc. hope that this information has cleared up a few questions you may have had. Remember, we’re here whenever you need us, so if you have a question that was not addressed or have any other concerns, call us now. We’re here to help with any issues your Plymouth chimney is experiencing.
Checking for cracks on the exterior of your chimney is something that any Plymouth homeowner can and should do. Depending on the size of the crack and the potential soot around it anyone can determine if chimney repairs are needed. Here are a few characteristics of chimneys in need of inspections, and ways you can prevent future damages.
One of the primary steps contractors and homeowners should know to take is leaving space between the chimney flue and the brick exterior. This space needs to be present because of the heat expansion that occurs within the chimney while it is being used. Without this additional space the chimney flue will expand and crack the brick exterior, which will lead to potential smoke leakage and further chimney damage.
Chimneys must be made to withstand some amount of movement, especially in towns that are known to have seismic activity. Contractors should also be particularly careful of the soil that the place the chimney on, so that the foundation of the chimney is not resting on unsecure ground. If your chimney does experience some movement it is important for homeowners to check the mortar joints, or the area where the chimney protrudes out of the roof, for gaps between the roof and the chimney.
One quick way homeowners can avoid any chimney sealing and resurfacing issues is by installing a chimney damper or cap. During the colder months, if water travels down your chimney, and freezes, there is a good chance that the expansion of water to ice will crack your brick mortar exterior. Right now 2nd Generation Chimneys is offering a discount on chimney inspections and cleanings when homeowners purchase a chimney damper. By taking advantage of this deal people will be able to save money on their heating bills by restricting air flow through their chimney, reduce water from entering their chimney, and receive a discounted chimney inspection.
To learn more about ways to reduce chimney cracks, and increase chimney efficiency please call 2nd Generation Chimneys today.
When contemplating the look of your chimney installation in Ham Lake it is important to follow the specific height requirements set by the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association). These height requirements were established to distance the top of your flue from your home’s roof to reduce the amount of heat that your roof is exposed to. The obvious reason for these requirements is if the top of the flue is too close to the top of your home, the heat could catch your roof on fire. A not so obvious reason for these height requirements is if the fireplace does not have a sufficient distance from the fire pit to the top of the chimney flue, the smoke will not be sucked up towards the chimney.
The height requirements for a typical chimney, otherwise known as a masonry chimney, is the top of the flue must be 10 feet horizontally from any portion of the roof, and the top of the chimney must extend 3 feet from the roof, where the chimney protrudes. Typically a chimney inspection professional from 2nd Generation Chimneys should check these distances, but the best way to check if your chimney clears the 10 foot distance between the top of the flue and your roof is by placing a tape measurer on top of your chimney, extend the tape straight out to 10 feet, and make sure you can not touch any portion of your home with this extended length. You can also measure 3 feet from the top of your flue down to the roof, where your chimney emerges, to see if that height requirement is fulfilled.
If you find out that your chimney flue does not meet the height requirements for the safety of your home please contact 2nd Generation Chimney. We will be able to fit your flue with a chimney height extension.