Our Company Blog

How To Keep Animals Out Of Your Chimney

More and more trees are being cut down to make room for new real estate developments. In turn, this has forced birds, squirrels, raccoons, and other wild animals to find alternative nesting spots. One of these alternatives could be your chimney! These critters see chimneys as safe places to build nests for their families.  So, it is important to make sure your chimney is protected from any animal invasions. Not only is an animal living in your chimney annoying, but it can also cause damage to your chimney and even spread diseases into your home.

Many species of birds, including chimney swifts, are protected by federal law in the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. This prevents them from being removed from their nesting sites; meaning you will be sharing your home with them until they leave in the fall. Atlas Chimney can help you keep wild animals and birds out of your chimney! We would like to tell you more about the best way to keep this from happening to your home.

How can I keep birds, squirrels, bats, raccoons, and other animals out of my chimney?

According to the Humane Society of the United States, the best way to keep wild animals and birds from getting into your chimney is to be sure the chimney opening is protected. How? By professionally installing an animal-proof chimney cap on the top of the chimney! Without a chimney cap installed, your chimney is an open door for these critters. Make sure to select a chimney cap that is equipped with animal guards. These are mesh metal sides on the cap that will prevent birds and animals intrusion. Atlas Chimney sells a wide variety of this type of chimney cap. In addition, we also provide professional installation services so that your chimney is properly protected.

What are the other functions of a chimney cap?

A chimney cap serves several different functions. First, it keeps birds and wild animals out of your chimney. Second, it stops water from rain and melted ice from getting inside the flue. This is a very important function, since water penetration can cause extensive and expensive damage to your chimney and your home! A chimney cap can also help prevent accidental roof and brush fires from occurring. The mesh metal sides prevent hot sparks from jumping out of the top of the chimney, igniting a fire where they land. Additionally, if you are having chimney draft issues, certain types of chimney caps are equipped with special side vents that direct the wind to draft properly.

Is your chimney uncapped? If so, it is at a high risk for animal and bird invasions, as well as water penetration damage. Contact us at Atlas Chimney to learn more about keeping animals out of your chimney with our chimney cap sales and professional installation services!

Spalling Brickwork: Why It Happens & How to Fix It

The bricks and mortar used to build chimneys are strong and durable enough to last for years. However, they can suffer from erosion damage, which is also known as spalling. This is from the constant exposure to the elements of weather. According to the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), water can cause extensive and expensive damage to masonry chimneys! That’s why they recommend homeowners take preventive measures to protect their chimneys from water penetration.

For over 25 years, Atlas Chimney has been providing several professional chimney maintenance services. These prevent spalling damage, as well as chimney repair services, to fix any damaged bricks and mortar on your chimney. We would like to tell you more about spalling. In addition, what we can do to repair and prevent this type of chimney masonry damage.

How does spalling occur?

Masonry materials are naturally porous. This means the bricks and mortar of your chimney naturally absorb water every time it rains, sleets, or snows. Since your chimney is constantly exposed to the elements, there could be quite a bit of moisture within the masonry materials, and this causes erosion damage. The majority of spalling damage occurs during the winter, especially during any periods of freezing conditions.

Whenever the temperature falls below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, the moisture within the bricks and mortar freezes and expands. As the weather warms up, the force of the water thawing causes spalling to happen. Repeated freeze/thaw cycles over the winter can lead to the materials cracking, breaking apart, and even becoming loose from the chimney. These gaps and voids left behind allow more water to penetrate the chimney. This leads to more damage. If not repaired, the structure of your chimney can be in serious jeopardy and can even collapse completely!

How can Atlas Chimney help me with spalling damage?

Is your chimney is missing bricks or mortar joints? If so, our experienced chimney masonry technicians use specialized techniques like tuckpointing to repair the spalling damage. You can trust us to properly restore soundness to the structure of your chimney. By doing this, it prevents water leaks into your chimney and home. To prevent spalling from occurring, we provide professional chimney waterproofing services, which is a smart investment. A vapor permeable formula is applied to your entire chimney. It creates a barrier against water penetration and spalling for at least a decade!

Protect your chimney from extensive and expensive spalling damage. Contact us at Atlas Chimney to schedule an appointment for our professional chimney maintenance and repair services to keep your chimney safe and sound.