It only does it when I first light it.

That is usually a cold flue. The column of air in the chimney is heavier than the rising smoke until it warms. Priming the flue — warming the air at the top of the firebox first — often fixes it, and your technician will show you how. If it persists once hot, something else is wrong.

Is a bit of smoke normal?

No. A correctly working fireplace sends its smoke up the chimney. A puff as you open the damper is one thing; smoke rolling into the room is a fault and it needs looking at.

Could it be the new windows?

Genuinely, yes. Tightening a house — new windows, insulation, a powerful kitchen extractor — can leave the chimney unable to pull enough air. It is a common cause after renovations and the fix is usually about providing combustion air, not about the chimney.

Do I need a carbon monoxide alarm?

Everyone with any fuel-burning appliance needs one, on every level of the house. They are inexpensive and they are the only warning you get.

Stop using the door

Smoke is coming back into the room

Smoke goes up when the chimney pulls harder than the house does. When it comes back at you, something is blocking the flue, the flue is cold, or the house is winning — and every one of those puts combustion gases in the room.

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While you wait — please don't

Put the fire out and open a window. Smoke in the room means combustion gases in the room, and carbon monoxide comes with them.
Do not keep lighting it to see if it clears. Each attempt puts more in the house.
If anyone feels headachy, dizzy or sick, get them outside and call 911. That is carbon monoxide until proven otherwise.
Do not use the fireplace again until someone has looked up the flue.

What has probably happened

The flue is blocked — creosote, a nest, leaves, or a collapsed liner.
The damper is only partly open, or it is rusted and not moving as far as it looks.
The flue is stone cold, so the column of cold air in it is heavier than the smoke trying to rise.
The house is too airtight, or an extractor fan or dryer is pulling harder than the chimney.
The chimney is too short for the roofline, so wind rolls down it instead of drawing across it.
The fireplace opening is too large for the size of the flue.

What the technician does

The flue is swept and camera-inspected so the blockage is found rather than guessed at.
Damper freed, repaired or replaced so it actually opens fully.
Draft tested, and the cause identified — blockage, sizing, height or house pressure.
Cap and crown checked, since a crushed or blocked cap does this too.
Height or a draft-correcting cap addressed where the chimney is genuinely too short.
Smoke chamber and smoke shelf cleaned and, where needed, parged smooth.

Questions people ask

It only does it when I first light it.: That is usually a cold flue. The column of air in the chimney is heavier than the rising smoke until it warms. Priming the flue — warming the air at the top of the firebox first — often fixes it, and your technician will show you how. If it persists once hot, something else is wrong.
Is a bit of smoke normal?: No. A correctly working fireplace sends its smoke up the chimney. A puff as you open the damper is one thing; smoke rolling into the room is a fault and it needs looking at.
Could it be the new windows?: Genuinely, yes. Tightening a house — new windows, insulation, a powerful kitchen extractor — can leave the chimney unable to pull enough air. It is a common cause after renovations and the fix is usually about providing combustion air, not about the chimney.
Do I need a carbon monoxide alarm?: Everyone with any fuel-burning appliance needs one, on every level of the house. They are inexpensive and they are the only warning you get.

Get a technician out

Free estimate. The price is agreed before the work starts.

Call now · (866) 576-7943

Something else going on?

One Call Chimney arranges the visit; the technician does the work and gives you the price.