Santa's Friend Chimney Service Blog

The Best Way to Start a Cold Fireplace

If you have ever attempted to start a fire in a cold fireplace, you are most likely familiar with how difficult and frustrating it can be. When the fireplace is cold, you can end up with smoke rushing into your home when you do get a fire going due to the cold air from the chimney pushing down into the fireplace. This issue can be even worse if your chimney is located on the exterior of your house. At Santa’s Friend Chimney Service, we are asked regularly about how to best start a fire in a cold fireplace, so we thought we would give you some tips to help you be as warm as possible this winter.

Be sure that the damper is fully opened.

Although this sounds obvious, some people think that if they keep the damper closed while trying to start a fire, it will keep the cold chimney air from causing problems. However, this does not work and can be disastrous. Always ensure that your damper is completely opened before you attempt to start a fire. If the damper is closed, you could end up becoming ill from smoke inhalation.

Warm up the flue.

To counteract the rush of the cold air sinking down from the chimney into the fireplace it is recommended that you prime the flue by lighting a rolled-up newspaper and holding it up the damper for a few minutes until you feel the draft reverse. This will let you know that your flue is primed and ready to go.

Develop a bed of ashes.

While it is important to keep your fireplace clean from ashes, you should leave behind a layer of about one inch of ashes to help insulate your fireplace. Even the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) recommends this tip. If you have never burned a fire in your fireplace and have no ashes, you can take ashes from your outdoor grill to build an ash bed. Just keep in mind that the ash bed should not be higher than one inch.

Know the best way to build a fire.

Of course, there are several ways to build a fire, but if you build your fire upside down, you will have a long-lasting and clean-burning fire. Place your large pieces of firewood at the bottom, and then stack smaller logs on top. On the top of this stack, add a layer of kindling. To finish your upside down build, top off the stack with bunched-up balls of newspaper, and then light the stack from the top.

For more suggestions and tips on burning wood, click here to contact us at Santa’s Friend Chimney Service. We are here to help you stay warm and safe this fireplace season!

Keep Your Steel Firebox Unit from Rotting

Over the years, our Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA)-certified chimney sweeps at Santa’s Friend Chimney Service have found all sorts of problems with every component of a fireplace and chimney system. Some of these problems are difficult to believe, such as steel firebox units rotting. However, when water is leaking into your chimney, it can cause damage to every part of your fireplace and chimney. The CSIA does not call water the biggest enemy of a chimney for no reason. If your steel firebox unit has been exposed to water and has begun to rot and deteriorate, it can lead to an extremely hazardous situation, including a residential fire. Keeping water out of your chimney is one of the things we do best at Santa’s Friend, and we would like to tell you how we can protect your steel firebox unit from rotting.

Install a chimney cap on top of your chimney.

Called the least expensive way to prevent water penetration of your chimney by the CSIA, a chimney cap will protect your chimney from damaging water leaks as well as birds and animals that are trying to get inside your chimney to nest. Santa’s Friend Chimney Service recommends installing a chimney cap made from copper or stainless steel because of the lifespan and durability, but we also sell and install caps constructed from aluminum, electrolytically-painted iron, and clay. We can also make and install a custom cap to perfectly fit the top of your chimney.

Install a customized flashing system.

Consisting of sheets of metal that are wrapped around your chimney where it meets your roof, flashing makes a watertight seal that can be a great way to keep water out of your chimney. Santa’s Friend Chimney Service will provide a completely customized job by precisely measuring the area around the chimney and cutting sheets of metal to these exact measurements. We ensure we will cover every angle of the intersection of your chimney and roof. When we construct a flashing system, we will take the metal pieces and weave them into the shingles on your roof, fold them around the chimney, and even embed pieces into mortar to ensure the flashing remains in place.

Apply a waterproofing formula to your chimney.

To give your chimney the ultimate protection against water penetration, Santa’s Friend Chimney Service can apply a water repellent formula to your chimney. We start this process by cleaning your chimney, and then we will cover all of the exposed brick and mortar with a coating of the waterproofing formula. We have been using a formula from Chimney Saver for over 20 years and have found that it best creates a barrier to protect the exterior of your chimney from water leaks.

Your steel firebox unit can rot if enough water gets into your chimney. Protect your chimney from water penetration today by contacting us at Santa’s Friend Chimney Service.

How a Chimney Cap Can Improve Draft

You may know how important a chimney cap is to a chimney because of how it prevents water from rain and melted snow as well as birds and animals from entering inside the chimney. A chimney cap is one of the least expensive ways you can protect your chimney from the extensive damage that water, birds, and animals can cause to the interior of the chimney. A chimney cap also has another helpful function in that it can improve any draft issues your chimney might be having. If you have ever noticed smoky air or unpleasant odors coming from your fireplace, your chimney has draft problems. Draft issues can also be hazardous such as poisonous gases like carbon monoxide remaining inside your chimney for longer than they should. Santa’s Friend Chimney Service would like to share some information from The Wood Heat Organization to explain exactly how a chimney cap can solve draft issues by improving how air flows through your chimney.

Wind and Its Effects on Chimney Draft

To understand how draft works in a chimney, you need to know how the speed and direction of wind around the chimney affects the chimney draft. When air flows across the top of your chimney, it creates a driving pressure that increases the chimney draft because it helps pull the exhaust gases up and out of the chimney. In a perfect world, wind would always blow directly over the chimney; however, the wind is unpredictable and uncontrollable. If wind flows downward into the chimney after passing over a neighboring obstacle like a roof or tree or flows upward to the chimney from below its top, the wind creates a positive pressure over the chimney which can cause a negative effect on the outward flow of air from the chimney. That positive pressure results in chimney draft issues such as smelly, smoky air and toxic gases entering your home from the chimney through the fireplace.

How a Chimney Cap Improves Draft

Without a chimney cap installed at the top of your chimney, you will most likely experience problems with the draft. A standard chimney cap is better than no cap, but to most successfully battle wind problems, a chimney cap equipped with baffles, flow-directing panels, can do the trick by limiting the access of wind into the chimney. Designed to always create a driving pressure at the top of the chimney, a chimney cap with baffles will improve your chimney draft regardless from which direction or speed wind approaches your chimney.

Experiencing chimney draft issues? Contact us at Santa’s Friend Chimney Service to learn more about how we can solve that problem by installing a new draft-improving chimney cap.

It Could Be Time to Replace Your Chimney Cap

Long been recognized as an important chimney safety and damage prevention component, chimney caps have been called by the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) as the least expensive preventive measure a homeowner can take to prevent water penetration of the chimney. When water leaks into your chimney, it can cause extensive and costly damage to its masonry materials and other components like the liner and the damper. Santa’s Friend Chimney Service understands the importance of having a chimney cap professionally installed on top of a chimney to keep water from deteriorating the bricks and mortar of the structure. If you do not have a chimney cap installed on top of your chimney or if your existing cap is aging and damaged, fall is the best time to replace your chimney cap because you want to be sure your chimney is protected before the arrival of winter. We would like to tell you more about this crucial part of your chimney system.

Why is it so essential to replace a damaged chimney cap before winter begins?

Without a proper chimney cap protecting your chimney, there is the potential for large amounts of rain and snow to easily enter the chimney flue. Over the course of just one winter season, the freeze/thaw cycles of that winter can cause large amounts of spalling damage which can jeopardize the structure of your chimney. It is especially important to prevent water penetration of a chimney during the cold months of winter to avoid the chipping and breaking apart of bricks and mortar that occurs during spalling.

What are other benefits to having a chimney cap other than preventing water leaks?

A strong, well-designed, and correctly installed chimney cap can keep birds and animals from invading your chimney to nest. Chimney caps are equipped with mesh sidings to prevent animals from getting into the chimney. This meshing also serves as a spark arrestor to keep sparks and hot embers from jumping out of the chimney to ignite a fire on a roof, tree, or yard. Certain types of chimney caps can also improve the draft inside your chimney.

What types of chimney caps does Santa’s Friend Chimney Service sell and install?

Our expert, CSIA-certified chimney technicians recommend installing a chimney cap made from stainless steel or copper because they are more durable and will last longer. We also carry chimney caps constructed from aluminum and electrolytically-painted galvanized iron. We also sell and install chimney caps made from clay, which are also known as pot toppers or chimney pots. If you cannot find exactly what you are looking for, Santa’s Friend Chimney Service can also make a custom chimney cap, which we will also install for you to best protect your chimney.

Is it time to replace your chimney cap? Contact us at Santa’s Friend Chimney Service to schedule an appointment with our experienced chimney technicians.

We Love Serving the Jackson, Mississippi Area

For more than 26 years, the residents of Jackson, Mississippi have counted on Santa’s Friend Chimney Service for their fireplace and chimney needs. Our commitment to safety has made us the top choice for chimney maintenance and sales in the Central Mississippi area. Our Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA)-certified chimney sweeps provide chimney cleaning, inspection, repairs, sales, and installation services, and we can also prevent devastating house fires by cleaning clothes dryer vent systems. We are proud to serve this area, and we also love living here ourselves. We would like to tell you why we love Jackson, Mississippi.

Musical Heritage

Part of the Mississippi Blues Trail, Jackson has more historical musical markers than any other city in the state. Known as the “City with Soul,” Jackson is home to several blues record companies, including Trumpet Records, Ace Records, and Malaco Records. Legendary blues singers and musicians like Sonny Boy Williamson and Lightnin’ Hopkins recorded albums here. Every August, the city hosts the Jackson Rhythm & Blues Festival, which offers five stages of Mississippi Blues musical acts, along with regional and national Rhythm & Blues artists. We love to catch some of the best blues musicians in the country as well as enjoy delicious Southern cuisine like catfish and barbecue ribs.

Sports and Recreation

Santa’s Friend Chimney Service looks forward to every fall because of college football from the Jackson State University Tigers and the Belhaven University Blazers. We also enjoy playing sports ourselves at the numerous athletic centers, sports fields, and parks throughout Jackson. Fans of sports history love the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. Featuring exhibits on famous Mississippi athletes such as Jerry Rice, Archie Manning, Brett Favre, Dizzy Dean, and Ralph Boston, this museum was named by ESPN as one of the top ten most amazing baseball museums in the United States.

If you are fortunate enough to be a resident of the Jackson, Mississippi area, contact Santa’s Friend Chimney Service for all of your fireplace and chimney needs. We provide many services such as repairing and cleaning chimneys. Since the safety of our customers is always our top priority, you can count on our certified staff to reduce fire hazards.

Animals and Your Chimney Crown

Animals don’t just move into your chimney flue for a warm place to live. They also find their way underneath your chimney crown. Call us today if you think critters might be up in your chimney. The damage they do can be very expensive!