A source of warmth as well as a favorite gathering spot in your home, your fireplace and chimney do require regular maintenance to work properly. The most important maintenance steps you can follow, an annual chimney sweep and chimney inspection from a Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) certified company like Magic Broom can easily spot potential problems to repair to keep your fireplace working smoothly. However, sometimes your chimney will suffer problems due to various reasons, and it helps to know exactly what chimney repairs are the most common to give you an idea what may need to be done to solve your particular chimney problem.
With care and regular maintenance, you will be able to keep the costs of chimney repairs down, and you can be sure that your chimney will give you years of safe, worry-free service.
Chimney Cap and Damper Repairs
As stated by the CSIA, water is your masonry chimney’s biggest enemy, and keeping the water out is a necessity to avoid expensive water leak damage. One of your best weapons against water penetration, chimney caps serve as a top cover on your chimney to prevent water and animal intrusions. To work properly, your chimney cap needs to be correctly fitted, and the chimney experts at Magic Broom can inspect your chimney cap to be sure it is properly installed. We also carry and professionally install a wide selection of new chimney caps if your cap is damaged. Your chimney damper also serves to seal off your fireplace, and if you have an old throat damper installed directly above the firebox, you may already have experienced problems with it not being able to completely open or close due to creosote build-up or rusting. Fortunately, a new type of damper has become very popular: the energy-top damper, which is installed at the top of the flue, allowing this kind of damper to dually serve as a chimney cap. Magic Broom can place an energy-top damper on your chimney if you are suffering both chimney cap and damper repair issues, giving you another option to protect your chimney from water penetration and animal invasion.
Chimney Flashing Repairs
Another way of keeping water from leaking into your chimney, chimney flashing is consisted of layers of metal that are installed around the exterior chimney on the roof, sealing off any possible leaks that can occur where your chimney meets the roof. Flashing needs to be custom-fitted by CSIA-certified technicians, and Magic Broom’s expert flashing installers will ensure your flashing is correctly fitted to protect your chimney from water penetration. Earthquakes, strong winds, and animals can also cause your flashing to be loose. Magic Broom can inspect your flashing and make repairs, if needed.
Chimney Liner Repairs
According to the CSIA, chimney liners are essential to protect your home from heat transfer to combustibles, to protect your masonry from corrosive combustion by-products, and to provide a correctly-sized flue to optimize your chimney’s efficiency. However, these liners can develop cracks, which need repairing to keep dangerous vapors like carbon monoxide from entering your house. Magic Broom can repair cracks in clay liners with HeatShield, a resurfacing system, or you can choose to reline your chimney with one of our stainless steel liners, durable enough to last the lifetime of your home.
Whatever chimney repair you may need, schedule an appointment with Magic Broom today to have your chimney problem inspected and fixed by our CSIA-certified technicians. No chimney problem is too big or too small for Magic Broom.