News | Admiralty Chimney

Dec 2, 20212 min read

3 Festive Activities to Safely Enjoy your Fireplace this Winter

The heart of winter is approaching, and with it comes the peak of fireplace season. Your hearth provides more than warmth on a cold day. It is also a welcoming gathering space for family and friends to relax and connect with one another. In this month’s blog, the CCP-certified chimney professionals at Admiralty Chimney share creative fireside activities to enjoy this winter and important safety tips:

1. Make it a game night.

Pull out a deck of cards or your favorite board games and play something that the whole family can enjoy together. The flickering flames of the fireplace will be the perfect backdrop for these warm and cozy festivities.

Source: NBC News

2. Fire up toasty fireside flavors.

Try cooking a meal over the warm, smoldering coals. Fireplace cooking gives food a delicious flavor and creates an adventurous activity your family can enjoy. For that quintessential fireplace experience, roast s’mores for dessert!

Source: Pinterest

3. Take a staycation.

Sometimes there is nothing better than staying just where you are. Grab your favorite hot beverage, and sit in front of the fire with a good book. Let the crackle of the fire lull you into a relaxed state.

Source: Acuity Insurance

The Fun Begins with Safety

Before you kick your indoor festivities into high gear, be sure your fireplace and chimney are ready to use. Start by scheduling a professional chimney cleaning and inspection with a CCP-certified chimney sweep. Your annual appointment ensures your system is operating safely and effectively. Follow it up by incorporating these safety practices every time you use your fireplace:

Only burn seasoned firewood. Unseasoned wood burns inefficiently, causing excess smoke and creosote in your chimney.
Limit usage. Your fireplace should never take the place of a furnace. Fireplaces aren’t built for long-time uses, so be sure to use it for short-duration fires—no longer than five hours.
Keep the doors open. Keep glass doors open to ensure the air can be drawn up to cool the chimney. Remember to keep the screen closed, though. This will prevent sparks from jumping onto your flooring.
Use the right tools. When using your fireplace, be sure to use the proper fireplace tools to handle the burning logs, especially if you just need to shift something slightly. Even brief exposure can cause burns or an unexpected accident.
Clean the firebox. Fireboxes need weekly cleaning when they are used in the cold months. Leave no more than an inch of ash to act as insulation, allowing the coals to heat up faster and retain heat during your next use.
Keep children and pets safe. Place fire tools and equipment out of reach of young children and never leave your child or pet unattended by an active fire. In fact, you can use this time to teach your whole family about fire safety.

Chimney Cleaning, Inspection, and Repair in NH and MA

At Admiralty Chimney, we are dedicated to keeping your family safe and warm. You can count on our CCP-certified chimney professionals to provide you with expert care for all of your fireplace and chimney needs. Contact us today to schedule your next appointment.

Nov 2, 20212 min read

Get the Most out of your Fireplace: 5 Best Practices

Your fireplace provides the perfect ambience, but its ability to transfer heat into your home can be less than optimal if you’re not using it correctly. So what can you do to generate a warmer and cozier hearth? Here are five best practices to help you get the most from your fireplace this winter.

1. Burn seasoned firewood.

Whether you use hardwood or softwood, your firewood must be dry, or seasoned, before burning. Wet wood causes a decrease in efficiency as the energy from the fire is used to evaporate the water within it.

Pro Tip: A firewood moisture meter can help you accurately read the moisture content of your wood so you know if it is seasoned and ready to burn. Properly dried wood should have a moisture reading of 20 percent or less.

2. Build a strong-burning fire.

Starting a fire seems simple, but there are techniques to create a fire that produces more heat while using less wood. Try these steps for your next fire:

Open the damper all the way.
Place shredded newspaper and small pieces of kindling at the base.
Add one or two logs on top, then light it.
Let the small fire grow until it is roaring then add more wood. Be sure to keep space between the firewood to encourage air flow and keep the fire burning.

3. Maintain adequate airflow.

Remove the ash from your fireplace whenever it reaches the bottom of the grate. This ensures there is proper air circulation for efficient-burning fires. Leave one or two inches of ash within your fireplace at all times to help insulate the new bed of hot coals in the next fire and improve its heat output.

4. Circulate the heat.

The warmth from the fire tends to stay in the area immediately around your fireplace–rather than circulating efficiently through your home. To help move trapped hot air, run ceiling fans counterclockwise at low speed. This redirects warm air from the ceiling down the walls and into your living space.

5. Professionally service your chimney and fireplace.

Creosote buildup in your chimney not only reduces the draft–hindering efficiency–but it also creates a fire hazard. Professionally clean your fireplace and chimney at least once a year, or more if you use your fireplace frequently. Additionally, schedule an inspection with a certified chimney sweep to check for any gaps, crevices, or cracks that may serve as an inlet for cold air.

Chimney Cleaning, Inspection, and Repair in NH and MA

Following these steps will help you transform your fireplace into an efficient, effective heating source. If you need to get your chimney and fireplace serviced or repaired, contact Admiralty Chimney’s CCP-certified technicians. Our team will take special care to keep your system in peak condition and your family safe.

Oct 3, 20212 min read

Chimney Liners Deliver Fireplace Safety to your Home

A chimney liner might seem like a “nice to do,” instead of a “have to do” for your chimney system. After all, it’s hidden, undetectable, and deep inside the chimney structure, how important can it be? It’s actually an essential safety component for your chimney, and here’s why.

The Role of a Chimney Liner

Chimney liners are a protective barrier that act as a conduit inside your chimney. The liner is a sealed unit from bottom to top to ensure smoke, creosote, and carbon dioxide from burning fuels are forced outside your home without contacting the actual chimney structure. Made of metal or ceramic, liners also:

Protect your home from accidental fires by absorbing high temperatures, and keeping the heat inside the chimney from reaching the combustible material outside it.
Prevent chimney masonry from forming cracks or crumbling mortar due to repeated heating and cooling.
Defend your masonry from corrosive substances, as liners are more resilient than typical brick and mortar.
Stop hot embers from igniting flammable areas of your home’s structure.

Because of their location in the heart of your chimney, annual inspections are essential in tracking the condition of your liner. A damaged liner can leave your home susceptible to serious dangers such as carbon monoxide poisoning or house fires. A CCP-certified chimney professional can monitor the integrity of your chimney, checking for small cracks or breaches and other signs it might need to be repaired or replaced.

Benefits of a Chimney Liner

Chimney liners not only deliver added insurance to keep your chimney system operating safely, they also provide other benefits such as:

Increasing your home energy efficiency by reducing the downdrafts that can come through when there is no fire in the hearth.
Enhancing air flow and providing improved heat retention for a more energy-efficient chimney.
Providing proper ventilation to help reduce the amount of creosote that forms inside your chimney.
Preventing water moisture from becoming trapped inside your chimney.
Maintaining good standing with building and fire code standards and homeowner’s policies.

Chimney Liners, Installation, Service and Repair in NH and MA

Looking for a new or replacement chimney liner, contact our CCP-certified chimney professionals for a no-obligation quote. Customers have trusted us with their chimney needs for over twenty years. We can help you find a liner that is right for your chimney and home.