Category: Home fire safety for you and your family

Makes the homeowner think about fire-escape planes, fire ladders for the second story, fire extinguishers, etc.

Chimney cleaning and inspections, Home fire safety for you and your family

Do chimney sweep (cleaning) logs really work?

A chimney sweep brush vs chimney cleaning logs. I get this question frequently. I cannot speak for the cleaning logs because I have not observed their effect over time, with various degrees of creosote build up. I have been cleaning chimneys for 24 years now. To be able to answer this question, I would have to start with a CLEAN chimney. I would have to record how much wood was used and how long it took for the chimney to get to the point where a manual sweeping was required. And of course, I would need to keep a record of when the chimney cleaning logs were used. My best advice (if you are going to use these logs) is that you start with photographs of your chimney flue and the smoke chamber above the damper. Record all of the data I listed above and come to your own conclusion. Make sure you have a reliable chimney sweep if you are going to use his assistance. The logs do not take the place of structural and mechanical inspections. These need to be done as well. And remember, there are simply situations where cleaning logs do not take the place of chimney sweep brushes.

Have a good week!

Rick

Home fire safety for you and your family

Chain-link fire escape ladders for the second, third or fourth floor.

It is one thing do be an adult and deal with a dangerous situation such as a house fire. Its another thing to be a young child. Fire can scare and panic children so badly that they panic and do not move. You handle this by drilling procedures with the kids as soon as they can understand the basic concepts. If sleeping quarters are on upper floors, then you need to have a chain link fire escape ladder of the appropriate length. These ladders can hold up to 1000 pounds, and are affordable! Here is is link for more data:
http://www.fireescapesystems.com/products.asp<<ahref="http://rooftopchimneyandroofservices.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Chain-ladder-fire-escape.jpg">Chain ladder- fire escape

Chimney cleaning and inspections, Chimney re-lining (safety upgrades), Home fire safety for you and your family

The 3 levels of chimney inspections.

Yes, there are three levels of chimney inspections.
The National Fire Protection Association is the industry standard code. Specifically, NFPA-211 goes over these levels exhaustively. The NFPA makes this data available to the public for free. You will have to set up an account, but it is not a big deal. Click the link below if you want to get your data from the source:

http://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/free-access

Brick and stone chimney repair, Chimney cleaning and inspections, Home fire safety for you and your family

Increased demand for chimney spark arrestors by our customers.

A spark arrestor is a tight-fitting metal chimney cap that reduces spark output into the environment. They are made of galvanized steel, stainless steel, copper, etc. This year I have received more requests than any of the previous 20 years for spark arrestors. The exact term used was "spark arrestor." This tells me that people are concerned more than ever about preventing wildfires.

 

A homeowner gets the additional benefit of keeping the inside of the chimney flue dry and keeping animals from nesting in the chimney. Another benefit is that the damper does not rust (spendy repair bill when I have to replace a damper…)  The list of dead animals I have pulled out of a chimney with no rain cap is birds, squirrels and a duck! Homeowners complained about the odor.  Even though I have a vested interest in selling the idea of purchasing a spark arrestor, it does make good sense and is a wise use of your money. Having completed that pitch, Happy Labor Day!

Brick and stone chimney repair, Chimney re-lining (safety upgrades), Home fire safety for you and your family, Woodstove insert (into a fireplace) installation

Flexible, stainless steel liners- a great innovation that needs to be maintained with care.

 

In the ancient days we had to use ridged stainless steel pipe and very heavy-duty flex pipe to line a chimney. The liner would frequently get caught up in bends in the chimney system and cause us much grief. We install liners to make chimneys safe, and as mechanical code requires when installing to the exhaust ports of woodstoves and oil-fuel furnaces. Now we have light-weight stainless steel flex material that lines the entire run of the chimney and is much easier to install. One word of caution though: care needs to be taken when sweeping these liners. A chimney sweep can damage one of these liners if done improperly with the wrong equipment. The next blog will discuss this cleaning procedure, so  please watch for the posting…

Have a good day!

Rick Baker

Chimney expert

Brick and stone chimney repair, Chimney cleaning and inspections, Chimney re-lining (safety upgrades), Free-standing woodstove installation, Home fire safety for you and your family, Uncategorized

Precautions need to be taken when cleaning light-weight stainless steel liners.


copperfield-poly-chimney-cleaning-rod-1 round-poly-brush

 

 

 

 

The above photos are of extremely flexible PVC rods and of a poly brush. This equipment is ideal for cleaning light-weight stainless steel all-flex liners. These rods and brushes navigate bends in flexible liners very easily. The rods and brushes in the photos below are very stiff, and can get caught up in a flex liner, and possibly rip the liner. They should not be used: 

 

Fiberglass-rods Metal-brushes-300x300