Chimney questions, answered
The questions people type into a search engine about their chimney, fireplace or flue — answered plainly, with what you can check yourself and when to get a technician out.
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Smoke comes back into the room
- Can a kitchen extractor fan pull smoke from my fireplace into the room?
- How do I prime a cold flue before starting a fire?
- Why does my chimney smoke worse on windy days than calm ones?
- How do I check whether my damper is fully open before lighting a fire?
- What does it mean when my fireplace only smokes for the first few minutes?
- Why does smoke come into the room when I light a fire?
Never been swept
- Why is my wood stove suddenly hard to light and slow to draw?
- What does it mean when black tar is dripping out of my damper?
- Why does my fireplace smell strongly of smoke even when nothing is burning?
- What are the warning signs that a flue needs cleaning right away?
- We have burned wood for years and never had the chimney cleaned, what now?
- How often does a chimney need to be swept if we burn wood every winter?
Something living up there
- Why are there feathers and twigs falling into my firebox?
- What causes a buzzing or humming noise inside a chimney flue?
- Why does my fireplace smell like rotting meat or dead animal?
- What does it mean when I hear chirping birds inside my chimney?
- Why do I hear scratching sounds coming from my chimney at night?
Smells of smoke or damp
- Why do I smell the chimney only when the air conditioning is running?
- What causes a sour musty damp smell coming from my fireplace opening?
- Why does my fireplace smell bad every time it rains outside?
- What does it mean when my chimney smells like a campfire with no fire burning?
- Why does my fireplace smell worse during a humid summer than in winter?
Cracked crown or crumbling brick
- Why does my chimney look like it is leaning to one side?
- Why is the mortar between my chimney bricks crumbling and falling out?
- Why are pieces of brick falling into the yard below my chimney?
- What does it mean when brick faces are flaking off my chimney?
- Why is the concrete crown on top of my chimney cracked?
Liner damaged or missing
- Why does my chimney smell so strong during a humid summer?
- Why do I smell smoke in upstairs rooms when the fireplace is lit?
- Why is my carbon monoxide alarm going off when the fireplace is burning?
- Why are pieces of clay tile falling into my fireplace?
- What does it mean when an inspector says my flue tiles are cracked?
Rebuild or new chimney
- What does a cracked chimney crown mean for the rest of the stack?
- Why are my chimney bricks flaking and the faces popping off?
- What does white chalky staining on my chimney bricks mean?
- What does it mean when bricks are falling off my chimney into the yard?
- Why is my chimney leaning away from the house above the roofline?