Your chimney is one of the most important parts of your house. It allows you to run the heater or build a fire in your fireplace without endangering your family with dangerous CO2. But since you really don’t think about chimneys unless they are broken, you may forget to perform regular maintenance on them-which can have disastrous results, especially if you live in a storm ridden area. Consider the following ways you can protect your chimney:

Chimney Caps

Chimney caps are an inexpensive and effective way to prevent water damage to your chimney. They are essentially a guard that goes over the top of your chimney and prevents debris, rain and snow from clogging up the flue. If you live in an especially windy area, you may want to get a wind directional cap with rotates to align the wind and prevent backdraft of smoke back down the chimney-which not only makes your house smell like smoke, but whose residue can also damage your chimney interior.

Repair or Replace a Damaged Chimney Crown

The chimney crown is the top part of the chimney. It seals the top of the chimney from the flue liner and chimney edge. In order to work correctly, it should have a downward slope so that water flows to the edge of the crown. This helps prevent erosion by taking water away from the porous masonry. If this crown is damaged or deteriorated, then it needs to be repaired or replaced before water damages the interior of your chimney.

Repair or Replace Flashing

The seal between the roofing material and the chimney is called the flashing. It prevents rain water and snow from running down the chimney and causing damage to the interior of your home. Over time, the joints controlling the flashing can rot and become ineffective.

Waterproof Your Chimney

Since chimney materials are so porous, water will absorb into them, eventually misshaping or causing stability issues. One way to prevent this is to have a professional waterproof your chimney using chemicals that keep water from absorbing into your chimney while at the same time allowing vapor out and keeping your chimney smelling great. Most of these products come with a 5 or 10 year warranty, and are much safer than using paint or clear sealers.

We trust products from ChimneySaver because they are easy to apply, durable, and come with a nice warranty. Both of the Chimney Sweeps at Lou Curley’s Chimney Service are CSIA Certified (Chimney Safety Institute of America Certified) and we continue our education in the field of chimney services at every opportunity. We feel that continued education is extremely important in every field and that it adds to the value of services we can provide you.

We’re located in Drexel Hill and provide top notch chimney services throughout Springfield and the Main Line. Give us a call at 610-626-2439 to discuss ways we can help you protect your chimney in time for summer thunderstorms.