Why does the smoke only come back sometimes?

A cold flue draws badly until it warms, so the first few minutes of a fire are the worst. If a bathroom or kitchen extractor fan is running in a tightly sealed house, the fan can beat the chimney for air and pull the smoke inward.

Could snow be blocking my chimney?

It can. Lake-effect snow and ice off Lake Erie can bury or cap a masonry chimney in Buffalo, and a blocked cap stops the flue venting. That gets checked along with the crown during the inspection.

Is smoke in the room a carbon monoxide risk?

Yes. Smoke in the room means combustion gases in the room and carbon monoxide with them. Put the fire out, open a window, and if anyone feels headachy or dizzy get outside and call 911.

Do I need a permit for the repair?

In New York, permits are handled by your local municipal or county building department, not by a state agency. Sweeping and inspection generally do not need one, but installing a stove or insert, relining as part of an appliance install, or rebuilding a chimney above the roofline usually does. Call your local building department before work begins.

Are you the ones doing the work?

No. One Call Chimney is a referral and scheduling service that arranges chimney work with independent sweeps and masons across all fifty states. We are not the contractor and we do not perform the work.

How do I know what it will cost?

Every job comes with a free estimate. The technician inspects the chimney in person, gives you the price before any work starts, and you approve it first.

Stop using the door

Smoke in the room in Buffalo, NY

You lit a fire and the smoke came at you instead of going up. That means the chimney is not pulling. Either something is blocking the flue, the damper is not opening the way it should, or the chimney cannot get the air it needs to start a draft. Smoke in the room also means combustion gases in the room, and carbon monoxide comes with them. Put the fire out, open a window, and leave the fireplace alone until someone has looked up the flue. If anyone in the house feels headachy or dizzy, get outside and call 911.

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In Buffalo this happens a lot in the cold months, and there are reasons for that. A cold flue draws badly until it warms up, and Buffalo winters are long, with deep freezes and lake-effect snow off Lake Erie from November into March. Snow drifts and ice can bury or cap a masonry chimney outright. Add that much of the city's housing is pre-1940 wood-frame doubles and cottages with masonry chimneys, many originally built for coal or older gas appliances, and repeated freeze-thaw cycles chew at crowns, mortar joints and liners. A tightly sealed house or a strong kitchen extractor fan can also beat the chimney for air, so the smoke takes the easy route — into your living room.

While you wait — please don't

Do not light another fire. Until the flue has been looked at, every fire you light puts smoke and carbon monoxide back into the house.
Get outside if anyone feels unwell. Headache, dizziness or nausea after a smoke event needs fresh air and 911, not a wait-and-see.
Do not force a stuck damper. A damper that will not move is often seized or broken, and levering on it can jam it shut or snap the linkage.
Do not clear snow or ice off the chimney yourself. Buffalo roofs in winter are ice-covered, and a blocked cap or crown is not worth a fall.
Do not seal the fireplace up and forget it. If the chimney also vents a heating appliance, closing it off can push exhaust back into the house.

What the technician does

The flue gets sweptSoot and creosote buildup narrows the flue and chokes the draft. Sweeping is the first step and it also clears the way for a proper look.
Camera inspection to find the blockageThe technician runs a camera up the flue to see what is actually in there — a nest, debris, fallen tile, or a collapsed section. Ask to see the footage yourself.
The damper is checked and dealt withA damper that is rusted, warped or half-open will smother a fire. It gets freed, repaired or replaced depending on what shape it is in.
Draft is tested and the cause namedTesting the draft tells whether the problem is the flue itself or the house pulling harder than the chimney. Ask for the reasoning in writing.
Cap and crown get looked atA crushed or snow-packed cap and a cracked crown both affect how the chimney pulls, and both are common on older Buffalo masonry.
Smoke chamber cleaned and pargedThe smoke chamber sits just above the firebox and rough, sooted brickwork there slows smoke down. Cleaning and parging it smooths the path up.

Why this happens in Buffalo, NY

Buffalo has some of the oldest housing stock in the country, and masonry chimneys are very common here. Many were built for coal or older gas appliances, not for the way the fireplace gets used today. A century of freeze-thaw cycles leaves spalled brick, failing crowns and deteriorated liners, and those show up first as draft and moisture problems. That is often exactly what is behind smoke rolling back into an Allentown, North Buffalo or South Buffalo living room on the first cold night of the year.

Season matters too. Demand climbs across Buffalo in October and November when people get ready for winter, again after the big lake-effect snow and ice events between December and February, and once more during the spring thaw when freeze damage to masonry becomes visible. Buffalo summers are humid, which keeps an unused flue damp, and a damp flue does not draw well when you first light it. In New York, permits for chimney work are issued locally by the municipal or county building department, and solid-fuel work is commonly evaluated against NFPA 211 and the appliance manufacturer's instructions — worth asking about if the fix turns out to involve relining or masonry above the roofline.

Questions people ask

Why does the smoke only come back sometimes?: A cold flue draws badly until it warms, so the first few minutes of a fire are the worst. If a bathroom or kitchen extractor fan is running in a tightly sealed house, the fan can beat the chimney for air and pull the smoke inward.
Could snow be blocking my chimney?: It can. Lake-effect snow and ice off Lake Erie can bury or cap a masonry chimney in Buffalo, and a blocked cap stops the flue venting. That gets checked along with the crown during the inspection.
Is smoke in the room a carbon monoxide risk?: Yes. Smoke in the room means combustion gases in the room and carbon monoxide with them. Put the fire out, open a window, and if anyone feels headachy or dizzy get outside and call 911.
Do I need a permit for the repair?: In New York, permits are handled by your local municipal or county building department, not by a state agency. Sweeping and inspection generally do not need one, but installing a stove or insert, relining as part of an appliance install, or rebuilding a chimney above the roofline usually does. Call your local building department before work begins.
Are you the ones doing the work?: No. One Call Chimney is a referral and scheduling service that arranges chimney work with independent sweeps and masons across all fifty states. We are not the contractor and we do not perform the work.
How do I know what it will cost?: Every job comes with a free estimate. The technician inspects the chimney in person, gives you the price before any work starts, and you approve it first.

One call

One call to (866) 576-7943 and we will arrange for a sweep to come out to your Buffalo home and look at the chimney. The estimate is free, and you hear the price and agree to it before any work starts.

Call now · (866) 576-7943

Something else in this area

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