Expert Masonry, Concrete, Brick & Stone Services in Everett, WA

First check that your damper is fully open. Crack a window or door open to allow replacement air into the room. If it continues close any glass doors to the firebox. Also check to make sure that bathroom, kitchen and attic fans are off. These devices can reduce the air pressure in the house, reversing the draft. At anytime if flames are coming out of the firebox, extinguish the fire and open all windows immediately.

We do a thorough exterior and interior inspection of the flue and chimney. We look at the type of chimney you have, we inspect the liner type and if present the size of your chimney flue. When cleaning your heating system flues, we will evaluate the interior flue for any deterioration and make sure that your heating appliances are properly sized for the chimney that they are venting into. We check for condensation/moisture and any damage that can be caused from moisture or gases. We will let you know the condition of your chimney and whether or not a chimney cap is present, check your crown as well as your flashing for cracks and leaks. We will do an inspection of the fire box to check for cracks and/or deterioration. We will check that the damper is properly working as well.

An insert is like a wood stove inside your firebox. Upon cleaning, it needs to be physically moved and vacuumed behind. They usually have black trim around their borders that nestle up against the fireplace.

Certain brick colors have integral minerals that may be negatively effected by the cleaning process. Interstate Brick has put together some general recommendations in our Technical Bulletin.

The standard brick size is a 4 x 8 paving brick. We call this a True paver because the actual dimension is 4in.x 8in. It takes 4.5 brick to cover one square foot of area. Take the total area of desired patio space and multiply it by 4.5 to get the total number of brick needed. Most installers assume that an additional 5% should be added to cover.