While most people are thinking about where and when to take their summer vacation, for a chimney professional, the summer can be a very busy time of the year. And why would that be when nobody uses their chimney over the summer? Because the best time for a chimney professional to inspect it and look for any defects is when your chimney isn’t in use.

Over time the exterior masonry brick chips and gets damaged from the elements including high winds, rain, snow as well as freezing and thawing. In other cases, the masonry brick flakes or another when spalling occurs due to rain and snow, water can penetrate the structure.

These external chimney defects make their way to the interior of the chimney causing further damage. The moisture on the exterior of the chimney can allow water to enter the chimney and water to leak into your living space.

Using our specialized chimney tools we’ll be able to take a closer look at the walls and liners, paying close attention to see if the firebox has any damaged brick and missing or crumbling mortar and checking the damper for cracks, pitting or rusted-out sections and for broken or damaged bricks or flue liners.

Aside from fixing any technical problems a chimney and fireplace restoration can also be performed for aesthetic reasons. If you’ve recently moved into a new home or it might just be time for a change, remodeling or refacing a fireplace can revitalize a space such as living room or bedroom.

And if you would like something different than brick, there are many new and modern materials that you can use to reface your fireplace such as stone, granite ceramic tile and mosaic tile. Refacing with stone adds warmth and a natural beauty to a room, and you can choose colors and tones that match with the décor of the room. Mosaic tile is a great way to update the look of the fireplace and you can tile the whole fireplace or floor in front of the fireplace opening.

Another important consideration when refacing a chimney is the height of the chimney and fireplace. You can create a focal point by extending the face of your fireplace floor to ceiling using a wide range of stones and textures. Thinner stones can be stacked for more texture while larger fieldstones add character and are ideal for larger rooms giving them a country appeal.