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

Why all pre-cast chimneys should be inspected prior to close of escrow

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pre-cast chimney on roof

Here is a quote from a property inspection report done  by a property inspection company last week on a home in Lake Forest:

“Pre-cast concrete chimneys were built in factories and then trucked to a site and erected, as distinct from masonry chimneys that are built on site with individual bricks and mortar.  In this respect, pre-cast chimneys are unique.   However, like all masonry chimneys, they are vulnerable to seismic activity, but unlike masonry chimneys they are also subject to cracks that are induced by the interaction of moisture and a chemical additive that causes the reinforcing steel within the chimney to expand and crack  the chimney walls.  Such cracks can be small, but they are nonetheless subject to stringent repair methods.  However, if any crack penetrates the chimney wall it may be difficult to repair the chimney without costly repairs or replacement or possibly relining the chimney. For this reason, we recommend that all pre-cast chimneys be further inspected/video scanned or certified by a specialist before close of escrow.”

Read more

It pays to inspect your fireplace early

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Dirty fireplace before repair

It’s recommended that chimney’s are inspected every year. Almost everyone waits until the fall, so it’s difficult for the chimney sweep to service everyone well.

It really makes a lot more sense to do them at the end of the burning season in the event there are any repairs that need to be made before the unit may be put back into operation.

The last thing you want to hear the week before the big holiday party is that there are repairs needed to your fireplace before you can use it.

Buying a Home? Three Reasons to Insist on a Fireplace Inspection

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When choosing a home to purchase, today’s home buyers have many important decisions to make. When any home being considered has a fireplace, wood stove, or flue, insisting on a thorough inspection of these features is critical, especially when buyers intend to use these features as a supplemental or emergency heat source. If your are considering the purchase of a home with a fireplace, wood stove, or flue, here are three excellent reasons to get them professionally inspected by a certified inspector first.

1. Fire Safety

Because these features deal with heat and open flames, fire safety is the most important reason to insist upon a thorough inspection. Flues for wood stoves and fireplaces often have buildups of a substance called creosote.

Highly flammable, creosote results when there has been an incomplete combustion of the wood used to make a fire, and is a leading cause of chimney and flue fires. This can happen when the firewood has not been correctly seasoned before use, or when the fire has not received the proper amount of oxygen to allow it to burn hot enough to prevent creosote from forming.  Read more

Birds Nesting in Chimneys

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Do you have a problem with birds nesting in your chimney?

We can help you with that. Below is photos of birds nesting in a chimney that we covered the top of the chimney so they could not nest in there anymore. This is a safety hazard to have anything in your chimney and should be removed.

Give us a call to have your fireplace done or inspected today!

birds nesting in a chimney

Fireplace Brick Repair

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Here is a before, mid and after photo of a fireplace that had some cracked bricks that we replaced. Click photo to enlarge

Before and after fireplace repair

Fireplace Doors

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Here is a before and after of a fireplace where we added doors for safety.

Before

Before

After

After

Gas Fireplace Safety

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Gas fireplaces have become more and more popular in recent years because they eliminate the maintenance required with wood burning fireplaces.  With the convenience, there is the unfortunate liability that many gas fireplaces have fixed glass panels that can become dangerously hot, even exceeding 1000 degrees.  Even after the gas is turned off, the temperature can be dangerously high for an hour or more.  These temperatures can cause very bad burns especially to young children.

New gas appliances manufactured after  January 2015 are required to come with mesh safety screens.  However there are millions of gas fireplaces which were manufactured prior to 2015 which are not covered by this new law.  It is up to the business or homeowner to install a protective barrier.  Go to fireplacesafetytips.com for what you need or call Lucky Sully Chimney Sweep, your gas fireplace safety experts.

Fireplace Repair

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Check out these before and after photos of a fireplace repair we did.

fire-place-before-repair fire-place-repair-after