Liscensed and Insured

ATLANTIC CHIMNEY Inc.

Home

Services

Thermocrete

Specials

Helpful Hints

        Successful Fire Building Techniques

First and foremost be sure your extinguisher is nearby. Now, open the damper and be sure it's open all the way. If you've never used the fireplace, first test the draft with one newspaper at a time until you have successfully lit 10 pieces. If there are two fireplaces, be sure the damper of the fireplace not in use is closed. Now roll up 7-10 pieces of newspaper and stuff them below the grate. Take three more pieces of rolled up newspaper and lay them on top of the kindling. The kindling should be no more the 1 inch in diameter, and no large pieces should be on the grate at the start. Our # 1 tip is to crack he window on the same level, or below, as the fireplace. Basement windows work best. When you open the window make sure you feel the cold air blowing in. Now let's start the fire. Hold 2 or 3 burning pieces of newspaper up to the damper, then drop them on the grate and light the newspaper below the grate.

Smoking Fireplaces and Odors

Smelly fireplaces commonly occur when the weather is damp and humid, or a low pressure system has moved into the region, or anytime the weather is coming from an easterly direction. These problems occur most often in the late fall and the early spring when the temperature difference between the outside air and the inside air is not as great as it would be in the winter months. If you use the fireplace moderately, you are going to have this problem.

Some solutions we can offer to help with the problem are as follows: make sure your chimney has been cleaned recently. If so, then try using windows to reverse the pressure coming down the chimney. The best windows are the one's on the side of the house that the wind is coming from, usually easterly. If there are no easterly windows try the windows that seem to have the most pressure or wind coming in them. Basement windows are always loaded with pressure. You only need to crack the window a quarter of an inch, and then give it several hours to see if it makes a difference. If that doesn't help, continue trying windows, until you've found the one that works best. You're trying to relieve the pressure in your home, and it's a good way to bring fresh air into your home during low pressure systems. This is when most home have the highest levels of indoor pollution, so cracking a window helps to keep the air in the home fresh.