Santa's Friend Chimney Service Blog

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.

Remember Your Chimney this Spring

As you write down your Spring home maintenance checklist, make your chimney a top priority.

We’ve had our share of unpredictable spring and summer weather in Mississippi, and that affects our lives in a number of ways, from the way we prepare our homes to the way we prepare ourselves.

As chimney technicians, part of our job at Santa’s Friend Chimney Service is to make sure our clients’ chimney systems are prepared to withstand a rainy spring and stormy summer without developing chimney leaks or other forms of damage. That’s part of why we encourage clients to make chimney maintenance a part of their spring home maintenance checklist.

Getting Your Chimney Ready For The Warmer Months

Chimney maintenance is an ongoing process, and the more consistent you are with your system’s routine needs, by and large, the fewer unexpected and unwanted surprises will pop up. As we close out the heating system and your fireplace or stove is getting ready to rest, here’s what we recommend:

Schedule Your Annual Chimney Inspection and Sweeping in the Spring

Many homeowners choose to wait until the start of the following heating season to take care of their annual chimney maintenance, but scheduling a chimney inspection and chimney sweeping in the spring can make your life easier, and your spring and summer more pleasant.

If you’ve been using your fireplace or stove all fall and winter, your flue has developed creosote and/or other byproduct deposits that should be swept and removed before the next heating season. By having that work done in the spring, you’re not only prepared for next fall ahead of time, but you’ll enjoy a cleaner-smelling home now.

Creosote has a smoky, often unpleasant odor, and the heat and humidity of summer magnifies that. If you’ve noticed a dank smell in your living area in past summers, there’s a good chance that’s the culprit. A swept chimney gets rid of those deposits.

Scheduling your inspection at the end of your system’s season of hard work benefits you too. Any issues that might have cropped up over the winter — from a missing chimney cap to a damaged flue liner  — can be found and repaired before the rains and storms really hit in earnest, leaving your system (and the interior of your home) more protected.

Add Some Extra Protection Against Chimney Leaks

Even the strongest masonry chimney undergoes wear and tear over years of moisture and temperature fluctuations. And the more worn your bricks and mortar joints get, the more likely a leak becomes. Your masonry can begin sucking water in like a sponge, damaging the interior of your chimney and the interior of your home.

We can help protect your masonry, your chimney system and your home’s interior by applying a specially formulated chimney waterproofing sealant. This product stops your masonry from absorbing water, but it’s completely vapor permeable, so the natural expulsion of vapors and small particles — part of your chimney’s proper function — will still occur.

Let Santa’s Friend help you go into the spring and summer with a chimney system that’s strong and prepared. If you have any questions about what your chimney needs — or want to schedule an appointment with our CSIA-certified technicians — give us a call!