Twelve chimney guides, written to answer the question rather than to sell you something. Each one says plainly when the answer is that you do not need to hire anybody.
The guides
- What Is Chimney Draft, and Why Won’t Your Fireplace Draw? Your fire lights fine, then the room fills with smoke a minute later.
- What to Do During a Chimney Fire The freight-train roar coming from your flue means the fire has left the firebox and gotten into the chimney itself.
- Chimney Inspection Levels 1, 2, and 3, Explained Chimney inspection levels come in three tiers under the national standard, NFPA 211: a Level 1 visual check, a Level 2 video scan, and a Level 3 that opens up part of the structure.
- Common Chimney Problems: 23 Causes, Symptoms, and Costs You searched common chimney problems because something about yours doesn’t look right, or because you want to know what’s normal before it gets worse.
- Creosote Stages 1, 2, and 3: What Each One Looks Like Open the cleanout door and creosote tells you exactly how a fire’s been burning.
- How Often Should You Clean Your Chimney? How often should you clean your chimney?
- Masonry vs Prefab Chimney: How to Tell in 30 Seconds Masonry vs prefab chimney comes down to one question before any other: is yours built brick by brick on its own footing, or is it a manufactured metal unit standing inside a wood-framed chase?
- NFPA 211 Explained: What the Standard Requires A home inspector’s report came back with “NFPA 211 Level 2” typed across the bottom, no explanation attached and no number to call about it.
- Parts of a Chimney: What Each of the 12 Pieces Does Stand in the yard and look up.
- Sacramento Burn Restrictions: When You Can Legally Burn Wood Sacramento burn restrictions kick in every November, and they trip people up every single year.
- Types of Fireplaces There are five types of fireplaces you’ll run into in a Sacramento-area home: wood-burning masonry, wood-burning prefab (zero-clearance), wood stove or pellet inserts, gas, and electric.
- Seasoned Firewood Moisture Content Seasoned firewood moisture content is the one number that decides whether a fire burns clean or glazes your flue.
If you would rather someone just looked
Reading about a chimney only takes you so far, and some of these questions cannot be answered from the ground. A chimney inspection is $59, and it comes off the price of the job if you decide to go ahead, so it costs nothing extra to find out where you stand. Call (916) 833-2959 between 7am and 7pm, any day of the week.