4 Tips For When You Need To Have Chimney Repairs Done

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Having a chimney can provide warmth and comfort, but the structure will likely need to be repaired at some point in its life. If you're wondering whether it might be time to ask a professional to do some chimney repairs, these four tips will help you get the most bang for your buck.

Identifying Trouble

There are a number of potential indicators that something is wrong with a chimney. In cases where water damage has been ongoing, you may see staining of paint or peeling of wallpaper in the interior areas of your home next to the chimney. Crumbling debris and collecting materials can also clog a chimney, potentially causing an unusual amount of smoke to feed back into the room where a fire is. You should also pay attention to noises from debris, especially on windy days, as this may indicate that the structure is beginning to degrade.

If you have a chimney in your home, it's also wise to add smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Should either of these go off without an obvious reason, such as something burning in the kitchen, you might want to be suspicious of the chimney.

Inspecting a Chimney

A professional can swing by your place, set up a ladder, and take a few minutes to check out the condition of a chimney. As a rule of thumb, a chimney should be inspected each year. If you're not sure of what the inspection schedule for a residence has been, such as when you've just moved in, it's wise to just go ahead and have a contractor check and see if any repairs might need to be done.

When to Call

Should you notice that your chimney needs immediate work, you'll obviously want to contact a chimney repair services contractor as soon as possible. If there aren't major signs of trouble, you might want to wait until the offseason in the industry. In the business, the stretch between April and September--the warmer months of the summer--tend to be a downtime. Beyond easier scheduling, your contractor will also appreciate being able to do work in nicer weather.

What Can Be Done

Most chimneys are masonry structures, and replacing cracked bricks and crumbling mortar are the two most common solutions. Flashing and caulk may also need to be used to redirect rain. In extreme cases, owners might need to have an entire chimney removed and replaced.

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