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Our Company Blog
by Mike O'Mara | Sep 13, 2014 | fire safety
We at Weststar Chimney Sweeps are excited to tell you about a new service we now offer — fireplace door installation. We have partnered with another company, Fireplace Door Guy, who custom designs fireplace doors. Once you have purchased and received your fireplace doors, our expert technicians will come to install these doors. We would like to take the opportunity to share with you the benefits of having fireplace doors.
Safety
According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), every year thousands of homeowners experience property damage that could have been prevented if their fireplaces had doors. Even more serious, not having fireplace doors also causes thousands of deaths and injuries from house fires. How exactly do fireplace doors reduce dangerous home fires? Glass fireplace doors reduce the chances of sparks or logs falling out of the fireplace. This prevents damage to wood or tile flooring, destruction of carpet, and melting of linoleum floors. Additionally, you will not have to worry about sparks and cinders popping out of the fireplace and landing on clothing, furniture, and other household items, which can cause a destructive fire. Closing off the fireplace with glass doors has been proven to increase fire safety and prevention.
Increased Energy Efficiency
By minimizing and reducing air going out of your chimney, fireplace doors will save you money on both your heating and cooling expenses. An open fireplace is the same thing as an open window. If you do not have fireplace doors to close this window, warm air escapes your home in the winter, and cold, air conditioned air exits through your chimney during the summer. Remember, though, that if you are burning gas logs or a large wood-burning fire, you should open these doors.
Clean Up Reduction
When fireplace doors are closed, ash, wood chips, cinders, and other debris are contained, which decreases (or even eliminates!) the task of sweeping up these things after a fire. You also will not have to worry about ash smudges left by fallen ashes. Your household items near your fireplace are also protected from getting dirty from debris when the fireplace doors are closed.
Decor and Style
Adding fireplace doors can update the look of your hearth. One of the reasons Weststar Chimney Sweeps chose to partner with the Fireplace Door Guy is his variety of styles and designs of custom fireplace doors. Whether your decor tastes are classic and traditional or modern and contemporary, the Fireplace Door Guy has the perfect set of fireplace doors for you. With shapes ranging from rectangular to L-shaped to arched to U-shaped, you are certain to find the perfect fireplace doors for your hearth and home. You can even come up with your own design idea, and the Fireplace Door Guy can craft it from scratch.
If you would like to install fireplace doors, you can now contact Weststar Chimney Sweeps to do this service for you. Our staff can tell you more about these benefits of fireplace doors.
by Mike O'Mara | Aug 30, 2014 | Chimney Maintenance
The National Fire Protection Association’s standard for chimneys and fireplaces calls for homeowners to have their system inspected and swept each year in order to keep the system as safe as possible. At Weststar Chimney Sweeps, we can make maintenance a breeze, and keep your system in top working order.
When you have a fireplace in your home, the most essential maintenance step you can do is hire a professional chimney sweeping company, such as Weststar Chimney Sweeps, to perform an annual cleaning of your chimney. This task ranks high in importance, as annual chimney sweepings prolong the life of your chimney as well as ensure the safety of your fireplace and chimney. The Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) has published The Homeowner’s Guide to Chimneys, Fireplaces, and Woodstoves to provide helpful information for understanding how these heating systems work and how to properly maintain them. We would like to share some facts from this guidebook with you to help you understand why annual chimney sweepings are so important.
Removal of Chimney Deposits
According to the CSIA, there are three types of deposits that build up on chimney walls:
- Soot — Primarily composed of carbon particles and possibly ash remnants, soot can be highly flammable, depending on the concentration of soot and ash. Since ash is not combustible, a higher ash content in soot reduces its flammability.
- Creosote — Naturally formed during the condensation process, creosote is a highly flammable residue of the by-products of incomplete combustion. Varying in its appearance, creosote can be black or brown, hard and shiny, sticky and tar-like, or crusty and flaky. No matter what it looks like, creosote deposits are hazardous as they are one of the main causes of chimney fires.
- Glaze — The most difficult deposit to remove, this shiny, tarry substance creates a large amount of fuel to burn and poses a serious danger of a destructive chimney fire.
Removing these deposits is the major reason for annual chimney sweepings. Preventing chimney fires, eliminating chimney odors, ensuring proper venting to the outdoors, removing blockages that could cause toxic gases like carbon monoxide to enter the home, and stopping deterioration to chimney walls from the acids in these deposits are all accomplished during a professional chimney cleaning by removing buildups of soot, creosote, and glaze.
Discovering Essential Repairs
Another important reason to have your chimney swept once a year: CSIA-certified chimney sweeps, including our staff at Weststar Chimney Sweeps, will look at the exterior of your chimney for loose bricks and mortar and other signs of water penetration damage, examine the condition of your flue liner to check for cracks and deterioration, and monitor the venting system of your chimney to ensure the toxic by-products of combustion are exiting through the chimney. When we find any needed repair work, we can fix it for you. We specialize in crown repair, resurfacing, repairing, or replacing damaged flue liners, water leak repair and prevention, and customized repair or replacement of flashing where your chimney meets the roof.
While an annual chimney cleaning generally is sufficient to keep your fireplace and chimney safely maintained, more frequent chimney sweepings should be scheduled under certain conditions. The number of cleanings needed depends on the amount of time your fireplace is used, the installation of your fireplace, the type of fuel used for your fires, and your burning habits. Our chimney sweeps can tell you if your chimney needs to be cleaned more often than once a year.
If you have not scheduled your annual chimney sweeping yet, contact Weststar Chimney Sweeps today to schedule an appointment. Keeping your family safe from the dangers posed by a dirty chimney is one of the most important tasks on your home maintenance checklist.
by Mike O'Mara | Jul 9, 2014 | Chimney Maintenance
Prevention is The Cure: Top 3 Chimney Repairs
It’s tough to manage and organize your own home. You have a handful of big and important decisions to make, plus a seemingly never-ending to-do list. You are not only concerned about the well-being and functionality of every aspect of your home, but you also need to think about the safety and security of you and your family.
This sentiment is doubled when homeowners have chimneys in their home. Based on our years of experience here at Weststar Chimney Sweeps, we know what you need to do to optimize performance and safety.
Over the course of your home’s life, your chimney will likely need repair. Here are three of the most common.
To help you further, here are the top 3 parts of the chimney that are usually subjected to repair:
As its name suggests, the chimney crown is located at the top most portion of the chimney. The chimney crown’s main function is that it covers the chimney to prevent moisture from filtering down in the stone or brick walls. Basically, it protects the mortar, which in turn holds everything in place. This part of the chimney is constantly subjected to drastic changes in weather and temperature so with time, the chimney crown may have cracks and leaks that may cause varying degrees of problems.
According to the Chimney Safety Institute of America a chimney liner is a; “clay, ceramic or metal conduit intended to contain the combustion products and direct them to the outside atmosphere”. So basically, your chimney liner not only protects you, your family and your home from the harmful products of combustion and burning, it also protects your chimney and allows it to last longer.
Flashing is done to ensure that your chimney is waterproof and safe. Flashing is basically a sheet of metal which consists of two panel parts. These are installed to make sure that the area where the chimney meets the roof of your home is watertight and safe.
To know your chimney and to avoid huge damages, you need to understand how each part of your chimney works. You need to have an idea what each part is for to see their importance. Once you get to grasp that, you’d be more careful and mindful of your chimney as a whole.
by Mike O'Mara | Jun 23, 2014 | Dryer Vent Maintenance
It’s very important to keep up with dryer vent cleaning, as the built up lint is a fire hazard that endangers your house and everyone in it. Call Weststar Chimney Sweeps to schedule an inspection and cleaning of your dryer vents to help you maintain a safer and more efficient dryer.
If you have any questions or would like to schedule an appointment, please give us a call! We look forward to providing you with a lifetime of high-quality, professional services!
by Mike O'Mara | Jun 9, 2014 | Chimney Maintenance
What is the one thing that’s been an annoyance to chimney owners everywhere? Masonry stains. Throughout time, numerous homeowners have complained and scratched their heads over the hassle and irritation that these unwanted stains bring.
At Weststar, we care about and respect each of our customers, and are dedicated to ensuring that their chimneys and dryer vents are well-maintained and functioning properly. Whether you need masonry repair or annual maintenance, we’re here to help.
Here at Weststar Chimney Sweeps, we do our best to cater to your chimney needs. So, here are a few things that you should know about chimney stains.
Not all stains are created equally.
The stain on your chimney is characterized by the source of the stain. Once you are able to identify which type of stain you have, it will be easier on you or the chimney professional that you hire to find a solution.
The following are some of the most common stain complaints:
- Smoke – It only makes sense that majority of the chimney owners complain about having smoke stains and are earnestly looking for ways to remove them. Since smoke is a natural byproduct of burning and the chimney is an area where the burning process occurs frequently, there presence of smoke is inevitable. Smoke stains, therefore, are going to occur.
- Mildew – This is the white substance (a fungus, to be more specific) that usually grows on the surface of wet or warm conditions.
- Efflorescence – This is that white, powdery and, often times, fluffy stuff (or so it appears) that accumulates around your chimney masonry.
- Rust – We all know what rust looks like, right? And you may say that rust only appears in metal materials. But actually, rust thrives on both metal and nonmetal surfaces, therefore, you shouldn’t be surprised if you find a little rust in your chimney masonry every now and then.
- Paint – It may range from small whisks to huge splatters. Paint stains are usually brought about by artistic or domestic accidents. It may happen to households with or without children and is one of the most common chimney masonry stains.
How can you remove these stains?
As each stain is classified differently based on its cause, there are also various methods and chemicals used to remove each type of stain. Boral.com has a short summary of ways to remove various stains. But to some people, handling chemicals is something with which they’re not really comfortable. Another option, therefore, is to contact a professional to help you out.
Gone are the days when you had to worry about your chimney masonry stains. The answer to all your stain problems is just a phone call or email away. So what are you waiting for?
