Chimney Maintenance

The smoke chamber sits above the damper and causes more draft complaints than the flue. What it does, why parging matters, and signs it needs work.

Why an Orland Park fireplace can smoke only on windy nights, how the 3-2-10 chimney height rule works, and what to check before blaming the flue.

A step-by-step look at a chimney sweep appointment in Palos Heights: how long it takes, why we inspect first, and how to prepare your hearth.

What you do when the burning season ends determines what condition the chimney is in when it starts again. It takes an afternoon.

Chalky white patches on chimney brick are not a cosmetic issue. They are direct evidence that water is moving through the masonry.

Remodeling around a fireplace often quietly changes the clearances it was built with. Here is what those dimensions are protecting against.

Not burning does not mean not deteriorating. An unused chimney faces most of the same problems, and the fact that nobody is watching makes them worse.

Replacing a furnace can leave the water heater venting alone into a flue sized for two appliances. It is a common oversight with real consequences.

A wood fire sends more than smoke up the flue. The screen on your chimney cap is what stops embers landing on your roof, and it is the part that wears out first.

High winds and hail do damage at the top of the chimney where nobody looks. Here is what to check from the ground after a storm, and what warrants a closer look.