Chimney's, inserts, and caps "Oh my"
As we get into the heating season, we need to use common sense when using the fire places we have in our homes. Regular maintenance of these fireplaces do'es not stop by cleaning out the ashes from the fire box.
If you use your fire place on a regular basis, then you should have the chimney flue cleaned. This way you can reduce or eliminate the chance of a fire from the soot build up in the chimney flue. Always call a professional to clean your Chimney. They are called "chimney sweeps".
Also there is a lot of maintenance that goes into operating and just plain having a fire place or any wood burning appliance within the home. Here are some photo's of what you don't want to have when operating a fire place.
Notice this chimney has no protection for the elements. No cap, no fire spark arrester. Also the cap for the mason work needs to be sealed to help keep out water and insects.
Here's a look at the fireplace from the inside. Looks like a good fire place at first glance.
Bu there are several "issues" with the fireplace.
1. It has no screens for the fireplace 2. there are no doors for the fireplace.
But here's the kicker. The fireplace needs to be properly sealed within the home. This will keep unwanted gasses from entering the home.
See tha damage to the masonary work at the base. This is a problem all the way around the front of the fireplace. Even though the fireplace has a steel insert. The gasses and sparks can still get to the home and this would create all kinds of problems. Time to put in a CO detector.
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