Chimneys get used to vent a variety of modern heating appliances, from wood burning stoves and fireplaces to oil and gas fired furnaces, boilers and hot water heaters. When our customers call to inquire about the health or condition of one of these systems, the phone consultation often leads to the scheduling of an inspection or chimney cleaning. Sometimes the latter is a better value, especially if it has never been done, since chimney cleanings include an inspection and usually provide a more thorough, comprehensive means of assessing the venting system’s condition.
Publication 211, section 13.2, of the National Fire Protection Association, an organization which serves as the fire safety standard for state and regional building codes, explicitly stipulates that annual inspections are a minimal maintenance requirement for chimneys being used to vent any of the heating appliances listed above. The purpose of such an inspection is to determine (1) the presence of any obstruction and/or volatile deposits, and (2) the viability of the appliance installation. Whether we schedule an inspection or a cleaning, these minimal assessments of your venting system’s condition are always part of the job. |
There are of course many other reasons for scheduling inspections. Maybe you’re finding that when you light your living room fireplace the basement fills with smoke. Or you want to install a new wood stove but you’re not sure if the one chimney in you house will serve as a suitable vent. Perhaps during a recent period of heavy rain, dark wet stains started to appear on the wall of a bedroom upstairs. Again, the decision to schedule an inspection and the purpose it (or any other service) will serve starts with a careful assessment of your needs during the preliminary phone consultation.
One final note. When you hire us to clean your chimney, you are hiring a certified professional who has been practicing and refining the art of chimney sweeping for over four decades. No one in the Pioneer Valley has done it longer, and no one does it better. It’s that simple. References are gladly furnished on request. And if you’ve never dealt with us or had your chimney cleaned before, we’d be happy to walk you through a step by step review of exactly what you can expect. The first and final steps for us are always the same: to make sure we leave your home at least as clean as it was when we arrived. All the other steps are about making sure you get the best chimney cleaning value money can buy. Guaranteed.
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