Our Company Blog

Fire Hazards

Spring brings with it the promise of rebirth and renewal. Students are looking forward to summer activities away from the routine of the school day, families plan vacations, and parents think about doing a deep down spring cleaning before these activities take place. It feels good to clean out closets and attics, get rid of items you haven’t used in years, rake the yard, open the windows and let the fresh air blow through. But there are some areas that it’s best to let the professionals clean. Two of those places are your fireplace and chimney system, and your dryer vents. The reason this is so important is that both of these places hold the potential for a home-threatening fire to break out.

Creosote Buildup

A major cause of chimney fires is creosote. As you burn wood in your fireplace, the moisture that is trapped in the wood is released, along with a wide variety of chemicals. As this travels up your chimney, it condenses and forms a layer of flammable material called creosote. All it takes is one little spark and you could have a full-fledged chimney fire.

When you think of a chimney fire, most often the thought that comes to mind is a full-fledged, roaring fire, with smoke and flames billowing out of the chimney. Sometimes this is the case. More often, however, the fire that occurs is small, often going completely unnoticed by the homeowner. This is because there isn’t usually enough airflow in your chimney to feed this type of fire. Because of this, most often a fire will burn itself out before you know it is happening. This is equally dangerous, because your chimney may have sustained damage and you don’t know to have it fixed. If the mortar is damaged, the gases that are produced through fire burning may be leaking back into your home, causing health issues for you, your family, and your pets.

Full Dryer Vents

Another common place for a house fire to begin is in your dryer vent. It’s common knowledge that you should clean out your dryer’s lint screen after every load or two of clothes that you dry, but this isn’t enough to keep your home safe from a dryer vent fire. Some of the lint that pulls off of your clothes gets through that lint screen no matter how often you clean it, and as it blows through the dryer vent, it can get caught along the sides, attracting even more lint with each load you dry. This lint buildup is also highly flammable, and a stray spark from your dryer could cause a devastating house fire.

Call Atlas Chimney

At Atlas Chimney, we have the qualified professionals and the tools to look deep into your chimney to discover any and all creosote that has built up and to remove this hazardous material. Not only are we chimney experts, but we are also dryer vent experts, too! Although it may seem like a simple job, we have the proper equipment to get the job done thoroughly and with less mess. Give us a call and let us take care of all your chimney and dryer vent cleaning needs!

Is Your Prefab Fireplace Rusting Out?

If your home was built within the past several decades, you likely have a prefabricated, or prefab fireplace and chimney system. This type of system is also known as factory-built, as the chimney and the fireplace are manufactured to be installed and operated as one unit. One of the reasons why prefab fireplaces have grown in popularity is because they produce more heat than the traditional masonry fireplaces.

However, prefab units typically do not last as long as traditional units. A common problem with prefab fireplaces is that they suffer from corrosive damage that can possibly lead to safety hazards. At Atlas Chimney, your safety is our top priority. We would like to tell you more about the importance of having your rusted prefab fireplace repaired or replaced.

How does a prefab fireplace become rusted?

Since a prefab chimney consists of a metal pipe, it is typically concealed by a structure called a chase. Instead of having a masonry crown installed at its top, prefab chimneys have a chase cover to protect your home from water leaks. At Atlas Chimney, we have been working on the chimneys in the Austin area for over 25 years. We have seen our fair share of water damage caused by chase covers. According to the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), water can even rust or deteriorate metal firebox assemblies. It can leak behind the louvers of prefab fireplaces.

Why is a rusted prefab fireplace a possible safety hazard?

You may have heard that prefab fireplaces are dangerous fire hazards. This is because of the cracking that occurs when the firebox refractory panels have been rusted. When these panels are cracked, the extreme heat that is produced by the fires in your prefab fireplace can easily transfer through the cracks to the combustible parts of your home to ignite a devastating house fire. You can count on Atlas Chimney to properly repair cracks in the firebox panels of your prefab fireplace. However, you should consider the age of your unit too. If your prefab fireplace is over 15 years old, we can replace the unit with a new prefab system.

Have you noticed cracks or other signs of rusting on your prefab fireplace? Don’t hesitate to contact us at Atlas Chimney. We will inspect your unit and take care of any repairs to ensure your utmost safety.