Updated: Oct 24, 2023
Regularly maintained chimneys should provide many years of safe and efficient service. However, if a chimney reaches the age of 50, 75, or more years, some issues should be foreseen. Chimneys in ancient residences can still function and their much younger counterparts with adequate repairs and possibly some changes.
About Historic Chimneys
Most people who buy historic properties know they will need much repair. There are structural and cosmetic issues to solve, and the larger the home, the more issues to address. Few homeowners, however, know the extent to which their chimneys will need to be restored, and it frequently astonishes them to learn how much work they require to bring a chimney up to current rules and standards while retaining its original beauty.
Chimney flue liners may not have been installed in homes built before 1920. Flue liners keep poisonous hot gases and creosote inside the flue rather than outside the chimney or inside the house. Flue liners are so crucial in old chimneys and must be handled. There are lots of factors to look at when choosing the right size and kind of flue liner, so a skilled chimney sweep or chimney contractor should be approached for guidance and installation. It is not a do-it-yourself (DIY) project by any means.
Common Problems with Historic Chimneys
The smoke chamber is the second most prevalent region in an older chimney that has to be addressed. It is the inward-leaning section above the damper that supports the flue liner. It’s also where some folks used to smoke their meat.
The fireplace is the next item to take care of. In many antique homes, they built the fireplaces relatively tiny and shallow. Smaller fireplaces will not burn wood.
Finally, look for missing mortar and bricks, a broken or missing cement crown, a lack of chimney cover protection, and flashing on the external chimney. The historic bricks used in Victorian-era chimneys and the construction style with fragile butter joints are not well known nowadays.
As a result, finding a professional chimney sweep or mason who knows how to rebuild or repair a chimney using traditional methods can be challenging.
If repair work is too expensive, you might place a direct gas vent insert instead of a historical aspect. It will allow the fireplace to be used without a central flue or chamber repairs. If there is enough room, the DV fireplace has a tiny liner system that may be fitted inside the previous flue liner. If not, another option is an electric insert with a vintage appearance.
How Frequently Should My Chimney Be Cleaned?
It will depend on how frequently you use your fireplace or stove. According to the Chimney Safety Institute of America, fireplaces and chimneys must be examined at least yearly. If required, cleaning, maintenance, and repairs will be carried out.
Even if you don’t use your chimney often, birds, squirrels, raccoons, and other wildlife may have used it, making it dangerous to use without sweeping away the debris from nesting activities.
Cleaning Your Old Chimney
For a good reason, most people are better off employing a professional to clean the chimney. Chimney cleaning is more complex than it appears, and it is a job that requires prior experience.
These are the measures that the experts take:
- They’ll put plastic across the fireplace entrance or close the door to the woodstove.
- Thread on the first rod from above, with the damper open and the chimney cap removed.
- They will insert the brush into the chimney and push it down while cleaning up and down.
- They’ll continue cleaning until they reach the bottom by threading on additional lengths of a rod as needed.
Why Choose Chim Chimney for Professional Historic Chimney Care in Hermitage, TN?
Old homes with architecture and elegance from the past have many attractions, but it’s vital to deal with the challenges associated with an old chimney. Chimney difficulties are unavoidable in older and historic properties.
Chim Chimney has the knowledge and skills to deliver high-quality chimney services for historic and antique properties. Call Chim Chimney today to schedule a chimney inspection, chimney lining installation, chimney cleaning, and any other chimney services.
Updated: Oct 24, 2023
Is there a way to make peaceful evenings in Nashville even better? With a wood pizza oven outdoors, you can fill the air with the irresistible aroma of wood-fired pizzas. You can gather around your patio with friends and family. At Chim Chimney, we create your dream outdoor kitchen or pizza oven exactly as you envision it. Discover what makes our pizza oven installation the best in Nashville, TN.
Experts in Custom Pizza Ovens & Outdoor Kitchens
Our pizza oven installation is so popular with Nashville homeowners because we create custom pizza ovens and outdoor kitchens that fit your personal style. We can customize everything from masonry materials to the shape of the pizza oven. Here are some pizza oven ideas for inspiration:
- Brick fireplace with wood oven
- Rustic outdoor kitchen with wood-burning oven
- Tuscan-inspired pizza oven with stone arch
- Covered outdoor kitchen with contemporary pizza oven
- Outdoor bar with sleek metal pizza oven
- Elegant pizza oven with granite surfaces
- Industrial chic with concrete pizza oven
- Artistic pizza oven designs with ceramic mosaics
Whether you’re looking for something small and charming or large and inviting, we can create the perfect pizza oven and outdoor kitchen for your home. Whatever you imagine, we can build it.
The Benefits of Pizza Oven Installation
Building an outdoor pizza oven is a decision you’ll never regret. It’s good for your family, good for your home, and good for your happiness. That’s why many homeowners have contacted us for pizza oven installation in Nashville, TN, and surrounding areas.
A Boost to Your Home’s Resale Value
We know that you’re probably not planning on selling your home anytime soon, but you should still know that an outdoor pizza oven adds a lot to your property’s resale value. Potential buyers fall in love with outdoor kitchens and pizza ovens, especially custom ones. Having a gorgeous outdoor spot to relax and entertain friends is hard for anyone to resist.
Unforgettable Moments as a Family
One of the main purposes of choosing pizza oven installation is to celebrate life. Italian families knew what they were talking about. Gathering around a pizza oven and eating delicious pizza with the people you love is a great way to draw everyone together. Even teens can’t resist the pull of crispy, smoky pizza made in a wood pizza oven.
Amazing Outdoor Entertaining
A stunning patio with a pizza oven makes your home the go-to place for outdoor entertaining. Friends love it. Family members love it. You get the amazing aromas of freshly made pizzas, the warmth of the perfect conversation spot, and the beauty of a stylish outdoor space.
Whether your parties consist of custom cocktails and tapas or game-day pizzas and hot wings, our pizza oven installation takes things to the next level. What really turns heads are the style accents we can add. From distinctive arches to incredible terracotta designs, these details add major personality to your home’s exterior.
Backyard Grilling with Style and Convenience
When you have an outdoor kitchen and a pizza oven, you’re more likely to spend evenings outside grilling. It’s faster and easier to prepare meals and enjoy summer. This also has benefits for your happiness and health. The more time you spend on your patio, the more relaxed and refreshed you feel.
With a custom outdoor kitchen, you have all the storage space you need right at your fingertips. Your pizza oven is ready to go anytime, and you don’t have to go back and forth between your kitchen and the patio.
Healthy and Delicious Homemade Pizza
Don’t forget about the benefits of wood-fired pizza itself. The flavor and crust of mouthwatering pizza made from scratch and cooked in a wood oven is something you can’t get anywhere else. Wood-burning ovens are also great for cooking other delicious foods, including smoked meats, roasted veggies, grilled fish, flatbread or garlic bread, corn-on-the-cob, and even baked desserts such as cinnamon rolls.
How to Build an Outdoor Fireplace with Pizza Oven
To get the pizza oven of your dreams, it’s essential to call professionals in pizza oven installation. Building a pizza oven that lasts a lifetime is more complicated than you may think. We use high-quality materials and the best techniques, so your new oven stands up to the elements year after year without problems. Decades later, it still looks amazing and performs perfectly.
Chim Chimney for Pizza Oven Installation in Nashville
Choose the masonry experts at Chim Chimney for the best pizza oven installation in Nashville, TN. Enjoy an incredible pizza oven without having to lift a finger. Our team takes care of everything, from helping you choose the style you love to ordering the stone or granite for your outdoor kitchen.
We design, build, and install everything ourselves on location, so you get an exclusive pizza oven that no one else has. Of course, if you see pizza oven ideas you like online, our professionals can recreate the style using the materials and accents you want.
Learn more about pizza oven installation by contacting us right away in Nashville, TN. We’re also happy to travel to surrounding areas to give you the custom pizza oven or outdoor kitchen you’ve been waiting for.
Storks nesting in chimneys were once believed to bring good luck, according to European folklore. But, in fact, nests in chimneys – or blockages of any kind – are nothing short of bad news. They can cause smoking problems, chimney fires, and carbon monoxide poisoning. In 2005, there were 24,500 residential fires in the United States originating in chimneys, fireplaces and solid fuel appliances, according to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. These fires resulted in 20 deaths and $126.1 million in property damage. (Click here for more stats).
Virtually all of these fires were preventable according to the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), a non-profit institution dedicated to public and chimney professional education. Both CSIA and the National Fire Protection Association recommend yearly chimney inspections to help prevent these hazards. Many American homeowners think their chimneys only need to be cleaned and inspected if they burn wood in their fireplaces or wood stoves. But almost all heating appliances, whether they burn gas, oil, wood or coal, rely on the chimney to safely carry toxic gases produced by the heating system of the house. A carbon monoxide detector can warn homeowners of potential poisoning after the deadly gas has already entered the living area, but an annual chimney inspection can help prevent carbon monoxide from entering the home in the first place.
Each fall, homeowners shift into home-improvement mode. They clean gutters, garages, and basements — preparing homes for winter. But they usually don’t inspect, repair or clean their chimneys, despite the potential for damage to their property or even to their lives. An annual chimney inspection by a CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep® is a modest investment that can reduce the danger of chimney fires or carbon monoxide poisoning. CSIA Certified Chimney Sweeps have earned the industry’s most respected credential by passing an intensive examination based on fire codes, clearances, and standards for the construction and maintenance of chimneys and venting systems. In fact, when chimney fires occur, many insurance investigators rely on CSIA Certified Chimney Sweeps to determine whether a fire originated in – or damaged – the chimney system.
The CSIA, established in 1983, is a non-profit, educational institution, dedicated to educating the public about the prevention of chimney safety hazards. For more information about chimney safety, or for a list of CSIA Certified Chimney Sweeps, please visit the CSIA website at www.csia.org. The CSIA is located at 2155 Commercial Drive, Plainfield, IN 46168. More questions? Check out our Chimney and Fireplace FAQs.
Read Bec G.‘s review of Chim Chimney on Yelp
Updated: Oct 24, 2023
Think just because you don’t use your fireplace, or recently switched to a gas insert, that you are clear from chimney repairs? Think again! It’s easy to forget about the chimney when you aren’t a frequent fireplace user, but that does not remove the risk of needing a chimney inspection. Here are a few visible clues that it may be time to call Chim Chimney
- The cap on your chimney is missing. All you have to do is look at your chimney to be sure your cap is still there. If it has blown off, rain can enter your chimney and animals can build nests, both resulting in potential major damages over time.
- The crown on the chimney is damaged. The crown is the concrete slab at the top of the chimney. If it is cracked, you again have the potential for rain to enter your chimney and cause hefty rotting, mildew, mold, and a host of other damages.
- The mortar joints on your chimney are damaged. Damage between chimney masonry heightens the exposure of the bricks to more water. Freezing and thawing will cause large cracks over time and may lead to a chimney collapse. The exposed part of your chimney should be checked first, but also inspect your firebox for the same type of damage.
- You notice white discoloration on your chimney. This is a very good indicator that you need more than a cleaning. A crystalline deposit on the surface of your masonry, called efflorescence, is usually the result of the intrusion of water over time due to damage to the cap, crown, or mortar joints.
- You have a rusted damper or firebox – If you experience difficulty opening and closing your damper or see visible signs of rust in the firebox, you have a moisture problem on your hands. This typically starts with the cap, crown, or mortar joint issues, but can result in a cracked flue lining which can be dangerous for your home. The more the lining deteriorates, the greater the risk of a house fire.
Chim Chimney technicians are fully qualified to give your entire chimney system a thorough inspection and offer solutions for any potential problems. We keep a Master Mason on our staff and pride ourselves on the quality of our work. Contact us today.
For more information on chimney repair, give us a call!
Read Shaila B.‘s review of Chim Chimney on Yelp