Get the chimney inspected before the first cold front, not during it

Every year the first real cold front hits the Hill Country in late October or November, everyone lights the fireplace the same evening, and the phones of every chimney company in Central Texas ring for two weeks straight. The homes that get inspected in September get a slot in a day. The ones that call in November wait.

Why once a year

The National Fire Protection Association standard for chimneys, NFPA 211, calls for an annual inspection, whether you burn wood, gas or nothing at all. Chimneys deteriorate from the outside in through weather, and from the inside out through creosote and animals, and neither is visible from the living room.

What creosote is

Wood smoke condenses on the cool inside of the flue and leaves a tar-like residue. First stage is a dusty film, second is crunchy flakes, third is a glossy hard glaze that is essentially fuel stuck to the wall of the chimney. Third-stage creosote is what chimney fires burn. A sweep removes the first two stages; the third takes more work and is a reason to fix whatever is causing it, usually wet wood or a smoldering fire.

What we check

• Firebox: cracked firebrick, failed mortar joints, the damper and its seal.
• Flue: creosote stage, cracked or missing tile liners, blockages from nests or debris.
• Smoke chamber and smoke shelf.
• Crown, cap and flashing on the roof: the crown is the concrete top that keeps water out, and it is where most of the expensive damage starts.
• Gas fireplaces: burner, logs, pilot, and the venting, which clogs with dust and spider webs just like wood flues clog with creosote.
• Photos of all of it, inside the flue included, so you see what we see.

Sweep or inspection?

An inspection tells you whether you need a sweep. Most fireplaces that get used a few dozen evenings a winter need a sweep every year or two. A fireplace that has not been used in years needs the inspection more than the sweep, because animals and water have had time to work.

The one thing to do this week

Book the inspection while it is still warm. We do them across Marble Falls, Horseshoe Bay, Georgetown and the lake communities, and the inspection is free with a written quote for anything we find.