Prolonging Your Chimney’s Life
If you have a masonry chimney, you may have discovered that proper chimney maintenance, like keeping up with your annual chimney sweeps and inspections, goes a long way to help extend the life of your chimney. However, part of your chimney is always exposed to the elements – its exterior, and you may have noticed loose bricks or chips in the mortar of your chimney. Take heed to these warning signs, as they indicate water is leaking into your chimney.
According to the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), water is your chimney’s biggest enemy, and to extend the life of your chimney, looking out for this enemy and preventing it from entering your masonry chimney are crucial. We at Chimney Saver Solutions are expertly familiar with battling chimney water leaks and offer a few ways to combat this enemy as well as other ways to prolong the life of your chimney. Battling water penetration is key in extending the life of your chimney. The primary reason, as stated by the CSIA, is the amount of damage it can do to your chimney and your home, for example:
- Rusted chimney accessories
- Rotted wood around your fireplace
- Water stained walls and ceilings
- Deteriorated central heating system
- Cracked or deteriorated flue lining system
- Tilted or collapsed chimney
- Chimney settlement
Waterproofing
Adding up the amount of dollars in repairs due to water penetration, you can see why water is such an enemy to your chimney’s life. Fortunately, there is something you can do to be proactive in this battle: waterproofing your chimney. Of course, if your chimney has suffered any water leak damage, it should be repaired before you waterproof, along with being cleaned. Chimney Saver Solutions offers certified professional waterproofing, using formulas that are 100% vapor permeable, allowing your chimney to breathe while sealing water out of the bricks and mortar. The best preventive step you can take to extend the life of your chimney, waterproofing will save you money in repairing water penetration damage.
Chimney Relining
Another way Chimney Saver Solutions can help you prolong your chimney’s life is relining your chimney. As Richmond’s top chimney relining company, we use both the stainless steel liner systems and HeatShield, a less expensive option. HeatShield allows you to restore the clay flue liner of your chimney without going through the whole relining process. If only your mortar joints need repairing, we will use the Joint Repair System method of HeatShield; however, if you need other repairs in the tiles the line your flue, we will use the Resurfacing System. If HeatShield is not an option, we can reline your chimney with a stainless steel flue liner with a lifetime warranty.
Chimney Maintenance
Of course, the easiest way to extend your chimney’s life is to keep up with its regular maintenance of an annual chimney sweeping and inspection, and we at Chimney Saver Solutions are more than happy to assist you with this task. Contact us today if you need to make your appointment, and we are on hand to discuss waterproofing as well as relining your chimney to help you prolong the life of your chimney.
