You Should Schedule An Annual Chimney Inspection

An annual chimney inspection is like a yearly physical with your doctor: it can give you peace of mind when all is well, and when all isn’t well, it can point you to things that need to be fixed before the situation becomes worse. Oliver Twist Chimney & Fireplace of Huntington Beach, CA, provides basic Level 1 chimney inspections as well as Level 2 and Level 3 inspections, which are a little more involved (see below). We’d like to share some information about this important chimney maintenance task.

Basic chimney inspections

Annual chimney inspections look closely at all visible areas of your chimney system. These areas include:
• Masonry bricks and mortar
• Chimney liner and flue (video imaging is used for this)
• Chimney cap
• Concrete chimney crown
• Chimney flashing

The majority of chimney issues center on or stem from these areas.

Licensed chimney inspectors are able to spot early signs of damage that could lead to a leaky chimney, structural instability, a chimney fire, or smoke and carbon monoxide backups.

Let’s look at three common chimney problems that a proper inspection will detect.

1. Excess creosote

A chimney inspection will determine if your flue has accumulated a large amount of flammable creosote. This substance forms each time a wood fire is burned and is the cause of most chimney fires throughout Southern California every year.

2. Damaged masonry

Chimney inspectors look for loose and cracked bricks (spalling) and deteriorated mortar between the bricks. These conditions can be caused by intruding water as well as earthquakes, hail storms and other events.

3. Debris in the flue

If a chimney is operated without a chimney cap, outside debris can narrow the flue and cause smoke to back up into the home. Smoke is no good, but much worse is carbon monoxide, an invisible and odorless gas that’s present in smoke. Breathing carbon monoxide can be fatal to people and animals.