Do It Yourself and Other Educational Chimney and Fire Safety Articles

The best way to determine if you need a chimney repair or replacement is to hire a professional chimney sweep and allow them to do a full inspection of your chimney and fireplace, or stovepipe.  A professional will be able to spot unsafe situations that can put your home at risk such as water damage, damage to the structural integrity of the bricks and mortar, cracks, unsafe drafting that causes smoke to enter your house, improper installation and unsafe clearances to combustibles. 

Deciding whether or not you repair or replace a chimney depends on whether or not your chimney will adequately protect your home against fire and smoke if it is only repaired.  If you have structural damage or the chimney was installed improperly the first time, it is likely a fire safety hazard.  Replacing a chimney altogether is a job that requires a professional chimney sweep or mason. This job is out of the league of the vast majority of home improvement enthusiasts because there are many safety codes you must know and it is quite dangerous.  An improper installation of a chimney is costly and it risks your home, family and everyone else in your home.    

Your chimney may be able to be repaired if there is water damage, cracks in the mortar or a few bricks, or unsafe drafting.  A chimney will sometimes need repairs around the stovepipes. These aren’t structural repairs so they are generally within the abilities of most homeowners.  In most cases, the mortar of the chimney takes the worst abuse because temperature changes cause it to expand and to contract, which leads to cracks.

Repairing this mortar requires you to clean out the crumbled mortar completely, make sure the structural integrity is still good, and replace the gaps with fresh mortar. This sounds simple enough, but mortaring bricks correctly does take some practice. To ensure you don’t damage the bricks, you can use a cold chisel, joint raker, or handheld grout saw to tap it out. If you are confident in your abilities with a grinder, you can use a 4-inch angle grinder, but be careful not to cut into the brick. After all the mortar is removed, hose down the area to remove any dust particles.  Moisture in your bricks will also ensure that the bricks do not absorb all the water out of the fresh mortar you install.   Next, you want to mix your new mortar.  If you want to be sure you are using the correct mortar replacement, you can check with a mason specializing in chimney restoration work, or you can send a sample of your current mortar to be analyzed to a company that specializes in analyzing and matching the contents of mortar.  Finally, the new mortar needs to be inserted using a pointing trowel.  Wait about an hour until the mortar has hardened a bit, and then scrape off any mortar that has remained on the brick face.  

If you have a problem more serious than water damage, cracks in the mortar or a few bricks, or unsafe drafting, you may need a replacement.  Complex chimney repairs include fixing an improper installation, repairing structural integrity of the chimney, and fixing unsafe clearances to combustibles.  Because it’s so vital to your health and safety, it is best to have complex chimney repairs done by a professional chimney sweep. If you do the work incorrectly, there will be little or no benefit and you may end up with a dangerous situation in which the chimney collapses and injures someone, or starts a chimney fire.  Having unlicensed people, such as yourself, make repairs on your chimney may also have negative effects where your homeowner’s insurance is concerned.  Hiring a professional chimney sweep will give you peace of mind that the job was done correctly and your fireplace or stovepipe is safe for further use.