Straight-talk chimney guides for Philadelphia homeowners : sweeps, flue fires, relining, caps, masonry, and hiring honestly.
What every Philadelphia homeowner should know about how do you measure for a chimney cap, explained without the sales pitch.
Read more →On a Philadelphia block of attached homes, the chimney is often built into the wall you share with your neighbor, sometimes carrying more than one flue. Here is why that construction matters and what an honest inspection looks for.
Read more →Creosote is the reason chimneys need sweeping, and most homeowners do not understand how it forms or why some flues build it up so much faster than others. Here is the plain explanation.
Read more →Spalling brick, crumbling mortar, and a leaning stack all trace back to one thing: water getting into the masonry and freezing. Here is how the cycle works and how to stop it.
Read more →The liner is the part of the chimney that keeps heat and combustion gases where they belong. On older Philadelphia homes the original clay tile has often cracked with age. Here is how to tell, and what replacing it involves.
Read more →A chimney cap is a small, inexpensive piece of metal that prevents some of the most expensive chimney problems. Here is what an open or failed flue lets in, and what a good cap keeps out.
Read more →Smoke spilling into the room, a fire that struggles to catch, a chimney that smells in summer. These are draft problems, and they have a handful of common causes. Here is how to read them.
Read more →Need a chimney looked at? Our Philadelphia crew assesses it honestly, quotes the work in writing, with up-front pricing and no pressure.