Client Prep For Chimney Service
Canvas tarps are used for protecting carpet and flooring, and obstructing furniture must be removed prior to arrival. A clear path from home entry to the work area must be made. Failure to accommodate may result in either the termination of your appointment (to which there is still a service charge), or your furniture and personal effects may become contaminated (soot exposure and staining). If opting to continue service, and if furniture and personal effects are contaminated, clients waive all rights to reclaim damages. Household pets must be compartmented from the work area and the point of entry to avoid sooty paw prints and escapes.
Fireplace Ash Pits
Ashpit clean-out services are not included with chimney sweeping, and are not offered as a stand-alone or add-on service. These cavities can reach volumes exceeding 400 cubic feet. Leftover ash on fireplace floors will be discarded down into ash pits during chimney sweeping service appointments to decrease company disposal costs. Not all fireplaces are constructed with ash pits, and ash removal from fireplace, wood stove, and wood insert floors will cause the price to increase for every 5-gal bucket removed. Licensed commercial companies are required by law to dispose of wood ash at costly HAZMAT-approved waste facilities or in HAZMAT EPA-certified dumpsters. The private homeowner can choose to bag wood ash for street-side trash pick-up, or to discard it on their property without concern or worry. Ash removal is homeowner-level maintenance.
3 Types of Opened-Faced Fireplaces
Traditional Masonry Fireplace
Traditional Masonry Fireplace
Traditional Masonry Fireplace
Factory-Prefab Fireplace
Traditional Masonry Fireplace
Traditional Masonry Fireplace
Heat-Form Steel Box Fireplace
Traditional Masonry Fireplace
Heat-Form Steel Box Fireplace
Factory Pre-Fab Fireplaces
A pre-fab fireplace's refractory panels measure between three-quarters of an inch to one and one-quarter inch in thickness, depending on age and manufacturer. Over time and usage, they deteriorate, and require replacement. Although a wide window, panels can last for ten to twenty years. Over-fueling/firing and pouring water on a lit fire will expedite the urgency of replacement.
Heat-forms are constructed with four vents (C-shaped recirculating chambers, one on each side of the fireplace). These are meant to circulate warm air during use, and can sometimes have fans permanently installed from within. Most of these fans no longer operate. All four vents cannot be covered during use.
Occasionally, heat-forms are built without recirculating vents, or vents have been covered over by remodeling and masonry projects. These fireplaces will be labeled as unsuitable for continued use until necessary repairs are made, as building code requires these vents for safe operation.
Heat-form fireplaces are constructed from a mild steel material, and are double-walled. They tend to rust and warp over time, becoming unserviceable and unusable. Heat-forms haven't been installed in new home construction since the early 1980s, and some rare 3rd-gens into the late 1980s.
The majority of heat-forms rust from the outside in, due to age coupled with water/moisture intrusion. It is always recommended to remove a heat-form fireplace, and have the firebox and smoke chamber rebuilt with masonry. Given the age of homes built with heat-forms, chimney relining will mostly be required to maintain code compliance.
Textured, or "ribbed" rear walls indicate an early 1st-gen heat-form, installed from the 1940s to early 1960s. An integral heat exchanger is located above the fireplace opening, and obstructs access to the damper and smoke chamber. These cannot be serviced.
Instead of recirculation vents on the left and right sides, this 1st-gen heat-forms have heat exchanger "tubes" above the fireplace opening. This component will obstruct chimney brush passage and collection of soot and flammable material, which may accumulate behind the damper.
There are three generations of heat-forms. The 2nd-gen is most commonly occurring. In over 20 years, I have only seen two 3rd-gen heat-form fireplaces. While still having two vertical, C-shaped recirculation vents, their rear wall is ribbed again. Additionally, flue sizing has been increased to 12"x18" (1st and 2nd generations will have a 12"x12" flue size).
The 2nd and 3rd generations came with a pre-ordered modular smoke chamber, either centered or offset. While uncommon, there are heat-forms with an absence of a steel smoke chamber assembly. These will also be labeled as unsuitable for continued use, and a smoke chamber (or similar medium) is required for fireplace construction for code compliance.
Pictured: 1st Generation
Pictured: 1st Generation
Pictured: 1st Generation
Pictured: 1st Generation
Fireplace Grates & Dampers
I'll remove your heavy and dirty grate after laying down a clean tarp. Pictured above is a Thermo-Rite grate. These are integral to some models of glass door sets, and usually cannot be removed. These may cause the price to increase due to hindered access, additional labor, and time spent.
Large recirculators and heat exchanger grates (above) obstruct access to the damper, and chimney brushes cannot pass unless the recirculator is removed. These cause the price to increase due to hindered access and increased labor as well.
Most factory fireplace models have grates fixed in place, against the rear wall, and cannot be removed. These seldom cause an issue in timely service, as there is still an abundance of open space on the fireplace floor. There is no price increase for these variants.
Electric fireplaces do not burn any type of fuel, and therefore don't vent exhaust into a chimney. Most are stood up against a wall, nowhere close to an actual chimney structure. This means there is no such thing as chimney sweeping for these "appliances," as they're nothing more than bougie space heaters.
Dampers are extracted for masonry fireplaces. The retaining pin holding the damper handle to the damper blade is removed to gain access to the fireplace's smoke chamber. This is necessary prep-work, and is required to pass chimney brushes into the smoke chamber.
Occasionally, the retaining pin may be seized, or instead of a pin, a nut/bolt or bent nail will be present. Seized cotter pins and nut/bolt hardware will be cut out using an angle grinder, and replaced with a new, stainless steel cotter pin. Price is subject to increase.
Replacement of these retention pins is sometimes subject to a price increase due to additional time and labor spent on the service. A functions check is performed after reinstalling all dampers.
Damper cables for these aftermarket "top-sealing" solutions sometimes have to be retracted from above for fireplace chimney sweeping services. This is performed by accessing the top of the chimney. Price is subject to increase.
Be advised, a follow-up service post-season may be required if you're scheduling during the winter, if your roof and chimney top cannot be safely accessed. Weather-related conditions will restrict roof and ladder access.
While fireplaces can still be serviced by means of conventional, static sweeping brushes, occasionally it yields sub-par results compared to the preferred method of rotary sweeping.
Types of Wood Stoves & Wood Inserts
Masonry Fireplace Wood Insert
Masonry Free-Standing Wood Stove
Masonry Fireplace Wood Insert
Fully lined with a stainless steel sleeve, as per manufacture's instructions, and for building code compliance. "Unlined" inserts will not be serviced.
Masonry Alcove Wood Stove
Masonry Free-Standing Wood Stove
Masonry Fireplace Wood Insert
Vent pipe isn't removed, as it is connected to a stainless steel sleeve, similarly to fireplace inserts. "Unlined" stove applications will not be serviced.
Masonry Free-Standing Wood Stove
Masonry Free-Standing Wood Stove
Masonry Free-Standing Wood Stove
Stove's vent pipe is disconnected for cleaning, and to facilitate servicing for the chimney. If the thimble/chimney base area is shallow, servicing may sometimes be performed from indoors. Servicing is suspended Nov/Dec (pending weather) until the springtime, as roof access is required.
Free-Standing Class-A Wood Stove
Class-A Chimney Pipe With Removable Tee Cap
Masonry Free-Standing Wood Stove
Non-masonry chimney system, comprised of triple-walled stainless "class-A" piping, and the vent pipe isn't removed.
Servicing is suspended Nov/Dec (pending weather) until the springtime.
Class-A Chimney Pipe With Removable Tee Cap
Class-A Chimney Pipe With Removable Tee Cap
Class-A Chimney Pipe With Removable Tee Cap
Removeable tee cap at the bottom, allowing for year-round servicing, as chimney sweeping can be performed from the bottom up.
"Slammers"
Class-A Chimney Pipe With Removable Tee Cap
Class-A Chimney Pipe With Removable Tee Cap
"Unlined" fireplace inserts will not be serviced. Servicing will not be taken on if a client removes the appliance. Reinstallation without a liner is illegal. Homeowners insurance companies will drop policy holders with this type of application.
Stove Pipe "Reclaimers" & Clearances
Expect a significant mark-up because of how dirty these make your chimney. Conventional chimney sweeping may have little to no effect, and most likely descaling rotary sweeping will be required to remove creosote accumulation. Stove appliances with a reclaimer are only eligible for service during the off-season, spring through summer. An estimate will be remitted to remove the reclaimer, and replace with standard, steel stove pipe as they are no longer permitted under NFPA-211 standards and regulations.
Gas Fireplace Systems
Open-Faced Gas Logs
Chimney sweeping is seldom, if ever, required for open-faced fireplaces when the fuel type is gas (NG or LP), as it burns extraordinarily clean when compared to solid-fuel applications (wood, coal, pellet).
Prior to a wood-to-gas conversion, the chimney is typically swept one last time, and future servicing and troubleshooting is performed by a licensed plumber for the new appliance.
MFC is not a licensed plumber, and cannot repair or perform diagnostics. However, for chimney evaluation and inspection services, pilot lights must be off for at least two hours prior to an appointment, and MFC will not reignite the appliance for a test-fire upon completion.
Sealed Gas Fireplace Inserts
Sealed gas inserts (with a glass service panel covering the fireplace opening) are ineligible for servicing and evaluation. Only a licensed plumber can remove the glass service panel. Again, MFC is not a licensed plumber.
UL testing and listing definitions are included in ICC/IRC building code, NFPA-211, and NJAC 5:23. All modern gas log sets and sealed gas inserts are UL-listed for specific fireplace types, and permits are required for installation. Unless there are clearance violations, gas log installation is permitted in all masonry fireplaces (homes built prior to 1996 will require new lining installation). Factory-prefab fireplaces' installation manuals will annotate whether your specific model is rated for solid-only, gas-only, or dual-fuel types. Heat-form fireplace systems predate UL testing standards, and gas conversions are never permitted.
Additional Chimney Information
Service Intervals
Most fireplaces with a one square-foot flue area can burn through approximately one full cord of firewood before requiring service. For casual weekend use from Nov-Feb, one cord may last about 3 years. Most free-standing and inserted wood stoves can consume double before the chimney needs to be swept, due to higher efficiency.
Smoke Staining
This is the side effect of restricted flue dimensions from either negligence of maintenance (excessive build-up) or construction defects (undersized flue area). While it may not be visually apparent, smoke is "curling" outside the fireplace, and contacting the above surface.
Smoke Re-entry
Smoke Re-entry
The more severe outcome of restricted flue dimensions; loss of performance, down-draft, and smoke re-entry into the living space. This may also lead to odor issues, especially during the humid, summer months. Odor, however, isn't always indicative of a needing a sweep, and chimney sweeping doesn't always reduce or stop odor.
Rooftop Considerations
While not uncommon, stone caps are becoming less frequent due to no longer being permissible under building code (R1003.9.3). Free-standing wood stove and home-heating appliance chimneys with stone caps cannot be serviced from the roof with this type of cap configuration, and services will be retracted.
Temporary fan emplacement up top and/or the usage of a heat gun at the bottom are sometimes deployed to counter down-draft. A down-draft will stop me in my tracks due to soot spillage concerns. Plan accordingly for appointment rescheduling if your chimney has a down-draft and if your roof is snow-covered.
Roofs comprised of slate, Spanish tile, wood shake, metal, or roofs with solar panels will not be accessed due to safety and damage considerations. Slate and solar panels are fragile and expensive; excluding asphalt shingles, these listed roof types have poor traction, especially when slightly damp or wet.