There are few things better than sitting next to a fireplace on a cold evening, but you need to make sure that your chimney is in good working order. Naturally, this will involve having your chimney inspected, something that should happen every fall before you light the first fire of the year. If you’ve never had a chimney inspection in your home before, here is what you can expect.
Checking The Soundness of the Chimney and Flue
The first and perhaps most obvious part of any chimney inspection will be checking the integrity of the chimney and flue. The inspection team will most likely climb up to your roof and examine the chimney’s masonry and mortar joints for damage and spalling, and they will look for signs of wear and tear in the fireplace and flue from the inside of your home.
Keeping Combustible Elements Clear
Your chimney inspection will also involve checking the surrounding area for any combustible elements. You should hopefully have kept anything that can catch fire a safe distance away from the chimney, but the inspectors will look at the structure of your home itself to make sure that there aren’t any elements that have been exposed due to normal wear and tear. This will also involve checking the chimney for creosote buildup. Creosote deposits can create a fire hazard, but an inspection should be able to tell you whether it’s time to have your chimney cleaned out.
Checking for Obstructions
Obstructions within your chimney are obviously very bad, so any good chimney inspection will ensure that there is nothing preventing the smoke and fumes produced by your fireplace from safely leaving your home. Obstructions can be anything from a large buildup of creosote to animal nests that have been built while you weren’t using your fireplace.
If it’s been over a year since you’ve had your chimney inspected and you want to make sure that it’s safe to use your fireplace, contact a chimney inspection company near you. There are plenty in and around the DC area, so don’t hesitate to give one of them a call.
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