by Mark Hudson | May 9, 2017 | chimney maintenance
When you acquire a property whether by inheritance or purchase, or when you sell a property, the chimney is quite a selling point. In fact, a fireplace is the most common factor that home buyers request. However, a new homeowner doesn’t want to be surprised with a faulty fireplace, unsafe chimney, and damaged home because of it.
CSIA Chimney Inspections
The Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) prioritizes consumer safety, and strives to educate the public and train professionals in chimney and fire safety. CSIA credentials are nationally-recognized and its members offer three levels of CSIA inspections that are vital for chimney safety. A level two inspection is required for the transfer of property. It includes the basic assessment of a level one inspection as well as hidden portions that are accessed with special tools. A level two inspection also includes a video scan of the interior portions of the chimney system. In addition, a detailed report for your real estate agent, loan officer, and home buyer. The officials who have an interest in your sale, whether you’re the buyer or seller, will look for a CSIA signature on official documents.
Routine Maintenance and Repairs
When you buy a home with an existing chimney system, you have no assurance that the system has been properly maintained. The required chimney inspection is combined with a home inspection. This discloses any issues that might exist with the home and chimney system. If there is a chimney, you should receive a report of the required inspection. If the seller doesn’t repair damage prior to the sale, you should at least get a recommendation for repairs. Take the costs into account when making an offer for a home. If you’re working with a real estate agent, you might negotiate repairs before your purchase is final.
Selling Your Home
Your fireplace is a valuable selling point during a property sale. It’s wasted if you don’t take advantage. In order to make the most of your sell, you should keep your fireplace and chimney properly maintained. Before you put your home on the market, schedule a chimney sweep! This is so that your prospective buyers can’t smell the smoky soot in the fireplace. Your chimney sweep can assess the system during this appointment and present a report for your legal purposes. If you have been vigilant about your chimney’s maintenance over the years, your inspection should discover surprising damage, but it is still required.
Fireplace Facelift
Is your chimney is functional, but the fireplace is worn? You can update it with a beautiful and efficient fireplace insert. This can work together with your existing chimney. Before a sale is the best time for a fireplace facelift. Why? Because you can increase your price substantially with far less cost than you gain.
Hudson Chimney offers both gas and wood-burning inserts that will fit your space perfectly, whether you’re selling or buying a home. A Hudson Chimney sweep is standing by to make your purchase or sale as easy as possible. Call 904-282-4159 today, or contact us online.
by Mark Hudson | Apr 25, 2017 | dryer vents
While planning for home safety and disaster preparedness, families often overlook the clothes dryer. While locating exits and the suspected location of a possible fire, the clothes dryer is also a risk. In fact, according to the U.S. Fire Administration there are 2,900 reported clothes dryer house fires per year. These account for five deaths, 100 injuries, and $35 million in property loss. These fires and this damage can be prevented by maintaining the dryer vent properly. The best way to have a safe and efficient dryer? Have the dryer vent installed correctly and to have it cleaned regularly!
Dangers of a Dryer Vent
If the dryer vent isn’t installed correctly it can welcome lint buildups, create obstructions, allow gases to escape the vent, and lead to dangerous fires. In addition, most cities have municipal codes that specify how the dryer vent should be installed.
- According to most manufacturer’s specifications and local codes, dryer ducts should be 4” in diameter, or less, and as large as the dryer outlet.
- Unless otherwise specified by your dryer’s manufacturer or local code, the length of the dryer duct shouldn’t exceed 25 feet. Every 90º turn adds 5 feet for the actual length.
- The dryer vent should be independent of all other systems. They should terminate outdoors only, not in a chimney, crawl space, or attic.
- Your outdoor exhaust vent’s termination hood should prevent back draft to ensure the exhaust doesn’t come back into the home.
- Metal transition ducts should be used between the dryer and exhaust duct.
- Flexible transition ducts should never be used in an attic, a crawl space, or inside a wall.
- The CSIA Certified Dryer Exhaust Technician credential is the only nationally-recognized credential of its kind.
Certified Dryer Exhaust Technicians
So, why opt for a professional installation? You have a better chance of your dryer exhaust vent meeting the standards of your homeowners or renter’s insurance. When you schedule with a Certified Dryer Exhaust Technician, you can rest assured knowing that your technician is experienced and trained in dryer vent safety, installation, and cleaning. Your technician will use the proper materials in the proper proportions. Afterwards, they would be happy to forward-schedule upcoming maintenance appointments. This ensures that your dryer vent hose stays clear of flammable lint that can cause a hazardous fire!
Hudson Chimney has been serving families in Northeast Florida for nearly thirty years and can help you. Have you recently purchased a new clothes dryer? If so, hire a C-DET professional to install your dryer vent hose. It’s the best way to preserve it’s life and your home’s.
Hudson Chimney makes it our priority to keep our customers safe and warm year round, and part of being safe is making sure the dryer vent is in proper working order. If you’re not sure about your dryer vent, you can schedule your annual cleaning and find out more about your system. Call Hudson Chimney at 904-282-4159 or request an appointment online.
by Mark Hudson | Apr 10, 2017 | Chimney Cap
The chimney cap is a vital part of the chimney system that has multiple jobs. The chimney cap is often overlooked, but when it’s gone it’s missed.
The Chimney Cap Keeps Weather Out
The chimney cap is placed at the flue opening. It prevents water from rain, snow, or hail from entering the flue. When the cap is missing, the water drops right into the flue’s opening and can cause water damage throughout the entire system in just a short time.
The Chimney Cap Keeps Wildlife Out
At various times throughout the year, animals seek shelter in chimney flues because they are warm and dry. These animals can bring debris with them. Even scratching the liner, damaging the masonry, blocking airflow, and can suffocate and die resulting in foul odors. A missing chimney cap can also allow sticks and leaves to fall into the flue during fall weather.
The Chimney Cap Keeps the Fire In
At times an unruly flame can throw sparks up the chimney along with the smoke and vapors naturally produced by the fire. If sparks are allowed to escape the flue opening, a fire can result when leaves and debris on the roof are ignited. Sparks have even been known to ignite dry grasses on the ground around the home.
Diagnosing a Chimney Cap Problem
The chimney cap is one component of the chimney system that can be visually inspected quite easily. Assessing your chimney system monthly, year-round, you will notice quickly if something has changed with your chimney cap. If it is turned, shifted, crooked, or missing it should be replaced as soon as possible. Do you have sudden downdrafts that push smoke into your living space? You should take a look at your chimney cap. The cap and screening is designed in a way to allow vapors to vent properly while preventing down drafts from blowing down your chimney. Downdrafts can decrease efficiency substantially and make it difficult to heat or cool your home and keep a fire going.
The most thorough assessment you can do for your chimney? Having a CSIA inspection! This is when a certified chimney sweep inspects your chimney from top to bottom. When you schedule an inspection your technician will notice right away if there’s a problem with your chimney cap. Not only will he point it out in the report, but will check thoroughly for damage caused by the missing cap.
Give Us A Call
Hudson Chimney not only replaces standard chimney caps, but we also specialize in custom chimney caps for our customers that prefer a personalized color or shape. Our chimney experts use stainless steel or galvanized metal to create caps that are both beautiful and functional. Call a Hudson Chimney expert today and get started with your chimney cap assessment and repair!
by Mark Hudson | Mar 26, 2017 | leaky chimney
When it comes to chimneys, leaks are a common problem. Leaks inside the chimney as well as on the outside of the chimney are detrimental to the structure of the home and the chimney. At Hudson Chimney we make it our priority to keep your chimney functioning safely and efficiently. Many chimney sweeps might repair the damage from a leaky chimney year after year, failing to fix the problem at it’s source—the leak. At Hudson Chimney we repair the damage and fix the problem.
The Dangers of a Leaky Chimney
A leaky chimney can cause unseen damage for weeks or months before it’s noticed by a homeowner. That’s why it’s vitally important to schedule regular maintenance like chimney sweeps and annual chimney inspections. It’s at these appointments that a professional will get a look at your chimney.
When it’s caught early you can avoid the many damages and dangers caused by a leaky chimney.
- Rusted and Deteriorated Parts
Water can cause metal and cast iron parts like the damper and the liner to rust and malfunction or crack. A damaged chimney liner can raise fire risk and allow carbon monoxide and other harmful gases into your home.
- Stained, Weakened, and Ruined Structures
Water will ruin your walls, floors, and ceilings. A chimney leak can cause a leak in other parts of the house because the water runs to a lowest point, pools, then forms a leak. You might have a leak several feet or a couple rooms away from the chimney, but an experienced chimney sweep will check the chimney first.
- Stained and Deteriorated Masonry
Water damages and weakens masonry faster than anything else. It stains the exterior and interior of your chimney, the firebox, and hearth. Water stains are unsightly and point to a big problem. If your chimney has been leaking long enough to cause a stain, there is most likely already costly damage to the entire system.
- Increased Fire Risk
Water in the chimney affects the draft that keeps the chimney functioning properly, safely, and efficiently. When the draft is compromised, the air slows and stalls in the chimney, allowing hot gases and sparks to linger in the chimney, igniting creosote and soot that is highly flammable.
- Shortened Chimney Life
When water mingles with soot, it creates a highly corrosive substance that can damage masonry and chimney liner. Moisture disrupts the function of the chimney system and damages it structurally.
Trust In Us
Water causes such extensive damage, that it should be avoided at all costs. Not only can a certified chimney sweep catch a chimney leak in time to save your chimney, but he can also catch it in time to save you in catastrophic costs. Schedule your inspection and let a chimney expert diagnose and cure your leaky chimney today!
by Mark Hudson | Mar 12, 2017 | dryer vents
When your bought and installed your clothes dryer it should have worked great, drying clothes in one cycle, and since then it has declined. Many would attribute this change to age or “wear and tear”, but it’s actually more than that. If your clothes dryer is taking more than one cycle to dry an appropriately sized load of clothes, then there is a problem with your dryer. The most common reasons for a dryer failing to do the job it’s supposed to do is a heat element burning out or a ventilation issue.
Trouble Shooting Your Clothes Dryer
If you think your clothes dryer is working poorly, then you can check it out before calling in a professional.
- First, you should feel the dryer during and after a cycle. If the dryer is warm, then the heat element is working. If the dryer is warming up the area around it, even heating up the room where it’s located, then you most likely have a venting issue. A dryer is designed to vent excess heat. It shouldn’t add heat to the home if the vent hose is working.
- Check the vent flap on the outside of the house to make sure it is venting. Hold a hand in front of it to feel for warm air, make sure it opens as it should and is not clogged with lint or other debris.
- Remove the lint “trap” and wash it with warm, soapy water. Let it air dry, and return it to the dryer. This should be repeated monthly and will mostly help even if it doesn’t resolve the problem completely.
If your clothes continue to dry slower than they should, you can assume the dryer vent is clogged. Clogged dryer vents are a leading cause of house fires in the United States, accounting for 2900 house fires per year. This number is decreasing, but will remain a problem until clothes dryer safety is taken as seriously as chimney safety. Most homeowners don’t even know that local codes regulate how the dryer vent is installed, how many turns it can make, how long it is, and more. Most wouldn’t know there’s a problem with the clothes dryer at all because we assume it’s normal for dryers to take more cycles as they get older. This isn’t the case.
Click here for tips to protect your home from your clothes dryer, and call Hudson Chimney to have it cleaned regularly. Hudson Chimney specializes in dryer vent cleaning as part of a full menu of services designed to keep our customers safe. Find out how we can help you.
