When was the last time that you looked at your chimney? Has it been a while? Well, the next time you are outside, you may want to look up and make sure your bricks are not falling apart. If you notice that any of your bricks are falling apart or missing from your chimney, then you have a problem that is called spalling. Spalling can happen when moisture penetrates the bricks.

Once you have found out that you have spalling happening with your chimney, you will want to fix it right away.

Here are the steps that you will need to take:

  1. First you will want to hire a professional chimney sweep to clean and inspect the chimney.
  2. Once the problems that are causing the spalling are found, they should be fixed quickly.
  3. A professional can seal the bricks and crown of the chimney and then install a chimney cap, so that no more water leaks into the chimney causing the bricks to crumble.
  4. If the damage is too great, then the damaged bricks will need to be replaced and a new crown may need to be installed.
  5. The new bricks will then need to be sealed as well as the rest of the chimney to prevent this from happening again.

Now that your chimney is fixed and the bricks are all there and in one piece, we thought that we would share some fun facts about your bricks.

  • Your bricks are energy efficient because they hold the sunlight during the day and release it at night when the sun goes down.
  • In 200 B.C., the Great Wall of China was built using eight million bricks.
  • Did you know that bricks have frogs? The indentation on a brick is called a frog and people are always debating as to whether bricks should be laid frog up or frog down. What do you think?
  • There are numerous types of bricks and each one is designed for a specific use.
  • Brick is considered an exceptional building material, because it can withstand extreme temperature changes.

We understand that many people do not pay much attention to their chimneys. However, it is part of your house and it has a job that it has to do. It needs to be maintained properly, so that it can continue to function well for years in the future.

Give us a call at 610-626-2439 if Lou Curley’s Chimney Service can assist you with your chimney repairs this year. Make sure to schedule your post-winter chimney inspection and cleaning by spring so we can get you on the schedule. Don’t wait until the end of summer, because that’s when our rush starts. Plan early and get it over with early.