Chimney Inspection
Chimney inspection in Atlanta is one of the most important things for your
family’s safety. It’s actually hard for you to know when your chimney needs cleaning, or
even if it needs cleaning. Only a qualified chimney sweep can tell you.
Call Atlanta Chimney Sweep Pro at 770-285-0551 today to schedule your inspection.
Before we go any further, you need be alert for chimney cleaning/repair
scams. Many companies will come to your home with only one purpose….to “find” a
problem that takes thousands of dollars to fix.
The best chimney inspection and cleaning companies don’t do this. You can actually be
sure that we don’t do it because WE DON’T DO MAJOR REPAIRS! That means when we
tell you something is wrong, it’s not because we will make money. We would refer
you at that point, or you could find someone on your own.
If you are moving, in or out, and need an honest Atlanta chimney sweep’s opinion,
we’re here. You don’t know how much the previous occupants used the chimney, or if
they ever cleaned it. You may not know even if it meets basic code requirements .
If you haven’t used your chimney for a while, it could have animal nest in
it.
If you light your chimney and smoke comes back into the room, you need a
chimney inspection to know the cause. It could be extremely dirty, blocked by a
nest, have a poor design, or some much more serious problem.
Before you buy a home is the best time to have the fireplace inspected to
make sure it is safe and that it works!
I went to a home with four chimneys for an inspection. They had just
bought the house, and the owner told me the main reason he bought the house was
for the four fireplaces. Unfortunately for him, none of the fireplaces
worked….they all smoked into the room. They were not designed properly. It would
have taken lots of money to fix the problem. I never heard what he did about it, but he
was VERY disappointed.
You can prevent this problem by getting the inspection before you buy.
When appropriate, we light a fire in the fireplace to make sure the draft works.
Real Estate agents: Use us for your inspection and you won’t get an
unpleasant surprise about thousands needed for repairs right in the middle of a
closing (unless it actually needs it).
Chimney Inspection methods.
Different Ways to Inspect.
1. Visual Inspection is done with a light and eyeballs. By taking into account where the fireplace is in the house, and the condition of the chimney on the outside, this is usually good enough.
2. Sometimes, if there is not a good visual path (curving flue pipe), a video inspection may be warranted. Video inspection shows you every little imperfection, and will obviously show any large problem. Just remember, 99% of the time, chimneys have small cracks and imperfections. Because of the redundancy built into chimneys, these are perfectly safe. After you have had a serious chimney fire is a good time for a video inspection. You want to make sure your flue pipe tiles have not seriously cracked.
3. There is a third type of inspection where the sweep will actually make holes in your walls around the fireplace to be able to see every square inch of the outside of the bricks where they are hidden behind the walls. This should be extremely rare, and only if you are having a very strange smoking issue, or if your chimney was badly damaged in a chimney fire.
Take chimney inspection very seriously if you want a safe cozy home.