In the wintertime, your fireplace provides excellent respite from the cold, blustery outdoors. Now that winter is over and the temperatures are on the rise, many homeowners are closing the fire doors and forgetting about their fireplaces and chimneys until later in the year, but this can cause serious issues. Below, you’ll learn about some excellent summer chimney maintenance tips that can help keep you safe and save you money at the same time.
Check, Repair, or Install Your Chimney Cap
During the summer months, your chimney cap serves as the barrier between your home and the outdoor elements. It keeps precipitation like rain and hail from entering your home, and it also blocks things like pine needles, leaves, and acorns from falling into your chimney. Believe it or not, your chimney cap even keeps animals like birds, bats, and squirrels outside where they belong. During the summer, be sure that you check your chimney cap for signs of disrepair and call a professional for a repair if necessary.
Get a Cleaning and Inspection
Having your chimney cleaned and inspected during the summer months benefits you in many ways. Because it’s the offseason for chimney professionals, you can schedule your cleaning and inspection on your own time. What’s more, if early fall brings a significant chill, you will know that your chimney is clean and in good repair when you build your first fire of the season. Cleaning and inspection goes hand-in-hand, so it makes sense to schedule them both at the same time, too.
Schedule and Complete Masonry Repairs
Repairing masonry during the winter and early spring is possible, but if you want the job to be done as quickly as possible, it’s best to schedule services like tuckpointing during the summer. The nicer weather allows the professionals to get the job done quickly, and just like scheduling your cleaning and inspection, scheduling your masonry repairs in the summer affords you more flexibility. Summer is also a great time to consider replacing or repairing your chimney crown, which is the masonry at the very top of your chimney, and the flashing, which is the metal shield that covers the area where the chimney enters through the roof.
Install a Fireplace and Chimney
If your home doesn’t currently have a fireplace and chimney, or if you’d like to add a fireplace to another location in your home, summer is the perfect time of year to do it. After all, you won’t be relying on your fireplace to provide heat during the warm months, so installations and new builds will have very little effect on your comfort. You can choose from traditional wood-burning fireplaces and brick chimneys to incredibly efficient and modern-looking gas fireplaces with simple flues.
Keeping your fireplace and chimney in good repair protects you and your family’s health and safety. Because chimney maintenance can also ensure the proper operation of your fireplace, it can also prevent devastating issues like house fires, roof leaks, or chimney collapse. The summer months provide some of the best possible weather for these repairs, and better still, when it’s time to build a fire later in the year, you can do so with peace of mind.
