CSIA certified Archives - Atlas Chimney

Why You Need to Hire a Certified Chimney Sweep to Service Your Chimney

Now that school is starting back, it is time to start on your fall home maintenance checklist. One of the most important tasks on that list is scheduling your annual chimney sweeping and inspection. Many national fire safety organizations like the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommend that homeowners have their chimneys professionally swept and inspected before lighting the first fire of the new fireplace season. Finding a trusted and reliable chimney sweep can be challenging, which is why it can help to look for a sweep who has been certified by the CSIA. All of our chimney sweeps at Atlas Chimney have received certification from the CSIA, which is known as the industry standard. We would like to tell you more about why you should have a certified chimney sweep service your chimney.

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GUARANTEED SAFETY

When you are dealing with a dangerous element like fire in your home, it is crucial to be absolutely certain that everything in your chimney and fireplace system is working safely. According to the CSIA, certain repair needs such as a too small flue or a too short chimney can lead to serious problems that could put your safety at risk. When a CSIA-certified chimney sweep inspects your chimney, these types of issues will be found and investigated. You will receive written and photographic documentation of the issue that is necessary to repair to ensure your safety.

SKILLED AND TRAINED SERVICE

An annual chimney inspection involves much more than just looking at the interior and exterior of the chimney. During the CSIA certification process, chimney technicians learn the important details of fireplace construction and clearance requirements that are necessary to perform a competent chimney inspection and any needed repairs. You can feel secure knowing that a certified chimney sweep has the skills and training to do the job properly and safely.

HONEST AND ETHICAL BEHAVIORS

One of the biggest parts of being a CSIA-certified chimney sweep is signing and following the CSIA Code of Ethics. The sweeps at Atlas Chimney strictly follow this code to reduce any risk of having their certification revoked. You can trust us to honestly discuss what we find during the chimney inspection and to give you all of your options so that you can make an informed decision about the work needed to be done to your chimney. You will not have to worry that you know nothing about chimney work because we will never take advantage of any lack of knowledge.

Be prepared for your first fire of fireplace season. Contact us today at Atlas Chimney to schedule your annual chimney sweeping and inspection from one of our CSIA-certified chimney sweeps.

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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