Blog Page 38 - Austin TX - Atlas Chimney, Inc.

A Storm Collar Helps Keeps Water Out of Your Chimney

Keeping water out of your chimney is one of the most important tasks you have as a homeowner. Water can do a lot of expensive damage and deterioration to your chimney, fireplace, and even the interior of your home. When water leaks into your chimney, it can cause the metal components like your damper and liner to corrode and break apart. It can create water stains on your ceilings and walls. It can rot wooden structures that surround your chimney. Not only can water deteriorate the parts of your chimney and home, but too much moisture in your chimney can also lead to mold growth. Here in the Austin, TX area, we can see quite a bit of rain each year, and Atlas Chimney has been working to prevent chimney water leaks in the Austin area for over 25 years. Our staff knows the best ways to keep water out of your chimney, and we can make sure your chimney is leak-proof. One of our preventive measures we use is a storm collar as part of a flashing system. We would like to tell you more about storm collars and how they are an important part of a good flashing system.

A Storm Collar Keeps Water out of your Chimney - Austin TX - Atlas Chimney

Courtesy of Jerry Isenhour

What is a storm collar?

If you have a prefabricated chimney, you most likely will need a storm collar, also known as a chimney collar, to prevent rain from getting into the space where the chimney pipe meets the roof. Storm collars are usually integrated into the flashing system around your chimney. Similar to a chimney cap for masonry chimneys, storm collars are different because they fit onto the chimney pipe instead of sitting on top like a chimney cap does on a masonry chimney. Unfortunately, storm collars do not last forever, and you will eventually have to replace this important part of your chimney system.

How do I know when I need to replace my storm collar?

According to the Home Guides at SF Gate, you should replace your storm collar if you see water in the attic or water stains on the ceiling in the same room as your fireplace.

What exactly is a flashing system?

To protect the vulnerable area around your chimney where it meets the roof, a flashing system is constructed of sheets of metal that are strategically layered on the roof and wrapped around the chimney. Flashing provides a watertight barrier that keeps water from entering at this point. Over the years, Atlas Chimney has seen many poorly installed and damaged flashing systems, and we not only repair these types of flashing systems, but we can also construct new customized flashing systems that will keep water from leaking into your chimney. When our customers have a prefabricated chimney that consists of a metal pipe, we always use a storm collar as an important part of the flashing system.

Keep water out of your chimney this spring and summer. Contact us at Atlas Chimney to find out if a flashing system with a storm collar is right for your chimney.

What to Expect From Your Chimney Sweep Appointment

When you own a home with a fireplace, you must keep up with maintaining the chimney to keep everything working efficiently and safely, and the most important maintenance task is scheduling an appointment for a professional chimney sweeping and inspection at least once a year. Recommended by the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and other national fire safety organizations, these chimney maintenance services ensure that your chimney system poses no problems that could lead to hazardous situations. Atlas Chimney is proud to offer these services to the residents of the Austin area. All of our chimney sweeps have been certified by the CSIA, which means you can trust their training and experience to do the best job possible. We get a lot of questions from our customers about what they can expect from their chimney sweep appointments, so we thought we would let you know more about these services.

Atlas Chimney will arrive at your home within the time window you were given when you made the appointment.

We know how busy you are, and we value your time. We will never make you wait around all day for us to show up to sweep and inspect your chimney; however, we cannot guarantee that we can be at your home at a specific, precise time. This is why we will give you a time window of our arrival when you make your appointment. We hope you understand how important this flexibility is to us. Sometimes when we are sweeping chimneys, we run into an unforeseen problem that must be addressed, and this can cause us to run behind schedule. This is why that time window is so important. We are professional chimney technicians, not pizza delivery drivers who are able to get to your house in 30 minutes or less.

Atlas Chimney will take every precaution we can to keep your home clean.

Before we start sweeping, we will place tarps and drop cloths down around your fireplace to protect the area from getting dirty from soot. We also set up special vacuums that will be running during the entire process to keep soot and creosote from even entering your home. After we are finished, we will be sure to leave your home even cleaner than it was when we arrived.

Atlas Chimney will ensure you are safe from the hazards of a chimney fire or a carbon monoxide leak.

When we clean your chimney, we take great care to be sure that we remove every bit of creosote from the inside of your chimney. The CSIA has named creosote as the main cause of chimney fires because it is so flammable. Your risk of experiencing this type of fire is greatly reduced after we have swept your chimney. As we inspect your chimney, we will also be sure that your chimney contains no blockages or damage that could force carbon monoxide back into your home.

If you have not scheduled your annual chimney sweeping and inspection this year, contact us at Atlas Chimney to set up an appointment. We guarantee to keep your fireplace and chimney working efficiently and safely.

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