Home inspectors do not usually inspect chimneys

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Chimney cracked crown on inspectionWould you want to buy a home with a fireplace and then burn down your home the first time you burned a fire because you had never gotten the chimney inspected?

There are approximately 15,000 house fires a year caused by fires that start in the chimney.

Most home buyers do not want to spend to have fireplaces and chimneys inspected, but home inspectors do not usually inspect chimneys.  If there are obvious cracks on the outside or in the fireplace, they will note those, but they will not usually get on the roof and look down the chimney, much less put a video camera down it.  Most good inspectors will suggest you have a chimney professional examine the chimney, especially if the home is older or it is a pre-cast Rampart General fireplace which are known to have structural issues. Read more

Cracked Chimneys

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Cracked chimney falling apartMost people don’t think about their chimneys and fireplaces.  Often they never even look at the outside of their chimney, or even the inside of their fireplace.

We have even had people tell us that they burn wood in their fireplace all winter, but have never had their chimney cleaned in 25 years.  Creosote (soot) is highly flammable and if the buildup is enough, a house fire may result.  You may think the fire in your fireplace is out, but meanwhile, a fire is going inside your chimney which may spread into your house beams. Read more

Rebuilt Chimney

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Here is a recent chimney that we rebuilt! If you need chimney repair, give us a call.

Rebuilt chimney

Rampart General cracked fireplaces

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Pictures of Rampart General cracked fireplaces which are beyond repair and need to be torn down.

Rampart General fireplaces

Video of chimney which needs major repairs

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This as an example of our video inspections.  We make sure that the homeowner can see it is their property and they can see the issues.  This is an example of a chimney which was allowed to deteriorate and which has substantial cracking both inside and out.  It can be repaired but the repairs are significant.

 

Chimney Reline completed

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Rancho Cucamonga after reline completed with two Coatings of heat shield cement and new spark arrest.

 

Chimney cracks inside chimney

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Due to the recent earthquakes in Southern California there have been reports of chimney damage. Some of which you might not be aware of. Here is a video of cracks inside a chimney. If you think you might have damage, get your chimney inspected now before winter comes and you can’t use it when you really need to!

 

Your chimney and earthquakes

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Cracked fireplace earthquake damageToday parts of the San Gabriel Valley, the Inland Empire and Orange County felt a significant earthquake (7.1).  If you have an older masonry chimney and you felt a significant movement of your property, it is usually recommended that you do not use your fireplace until it is inspected with a video camera to make sure there are no hazardous cracks.

If the cracks are small, the cost to fix them is very reasonable.  If they are allowed to get larger with additional earthquakes, or rain coming into your chimney, or if you burn a lot of fires, you could have a house fire, or the chimney could deteriorate to a point where major repairs are needed. Read more

Masonry chimneys and fires

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The pictures show the inside of a chimney which has cracks and also the outside and top with a cracked crown.

masonery chimney crown crackedSigns you have had a chimney fire:

You may have had a dangerous fire in your chimney which has compromised the structure of your chimney, and not even know it.  It is estimated that every year there are over 10,000 house fires caused by fires in a fireplace.  In the last two weeks, we have spoken to realtors in Orange County who reported they knew of homes that burnt down or were severely damaged due to undetected problems in their chimneys. Read more

Is your fireplace a fire hazard?

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Rampart General FireplaceThis is the first in a series of articles to warn consumers about possible fire hazards in their homes.

Rampart fireplace crackIf your chimney looks similar to the one pictured, it is probably a Rampart General pre-cast cement fireplace.  These were manufactured in Santa Ana from the early 1960’s to the mid 1990’s.  There are whole communities of them in surrounding areas in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties.  Unfortunately, due to the way they were manufactured, there are often hazardous cracks in the firebox and/or chimney which can result in a house fire if they are used.   Read more