You have probably been looking at your fireplace and chimney for many years, yet you most likely know very little about both of them. They may keep you warm during those cold winter days and nights, but their history is more intriguing than you could ever imagine.

Here are 10 little things that you should know about your fireplace and chimney:

  1. Ben Franklin made current fireplaces more efficient when he invented the convection chamber for them.
  2. Chimney fires can reach 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which is why it is always important to remove the creosote from your chimney.
  3. The first chimneys were used in Northern Europe during the 11th and 12th centuries.
  4. Fires have kept people warm for centuries and all five continents have evidence of the fires that were built by people in prehistoric times.
  5. The tallest chimney is in Ekibastuz, Kazakhstan. The GRES-2 Power Station was built in 1987 and stands at 1,377 feet.
  6. The drafts in taller chimneys allow for more efficient fires, so we encourage people to construct taller chimneys whenever possible.
  7. Your home will never fill with smoke if your chimney is working properly because the warm air around the fireplace rises. This allows the draft to pull the smoke up the chimney and out of your home.
  8. If you ever find that your chimney is a little smelly, then it needs to be cleaned. The smell is usually from the creosote that builds up inside chimneys after fires burn. Anytime you smell an odor from your chimney, you need to call and have your chimney cleaned.
  9. Certain woods burn longer than others. White oak and hickory are two hardwoods that are dense, therefore they burn longer than many of the softer woods.
  10. Older chimneys had liners made from terra cotta, which is quite different than the new metal liners that are currently used.

These ten things are great conversation starters for the next time you are gathered around your fireplace with friends and family. You can stun everyone with your knowledge, while you are all getting toasty warm by the fire.

Our chimney services extend well beyond Drexel Hill and into most townships, towns, and cities along the Main Line. Call us at 610-626-2439 to schedule a consultation, chimney inspection, chimney cleaning, or dryer vent cleaning.