Adams Chimney Specialist

Your chimney is a very important part of your homes heating system. According to The National Fire Protection Association's 211: A Standard for Chimneys, Fireplaces, Vents, and Solid Fuel-Burning Appliances (NFPA 211), recommends an annual evaluation of all chimneys, fireplaces and vents. For safe and efficient operation, your chimneys should receive at least one inspection annually by a Certified Chimney Sweep. Each year improperly maintained chimneys cause significant numbers of injuries, deaths and accounts for millions of dollars in property losses.

Unlike those other exhaust points in your home, however, fireplace and wood stove chimneys need a special kind of care. As you snuggle in front of a cozy fire or bask in the warmth of your wood stove, you are taking part in a ritual of comfort and enjoyment handed down through the centuries. The last thing you are likely to be thinking about is the condition of your chimney. However, if you don't give some thought to it before you light those winter fires, your enjoyment may be very short-lived.

Throughout history, fire has been crucial to human existence. Primitive people relied on fire to cook their food, to keep them warm and to provide light. Although we no longer depend on fire in quite the same way, images of children around campfires and holiday gatherings around an open fireplace abound. Our use of fire has changed over the centuries, so too have fireplaces and heating appliances that contain the fire and make it useful. Classical Greek and Roman homes contained simple fire pits.

At first, this might sound complicated. But really it isn't. Here are some simple scientific fundamentals to explain how and why a chimney works - or maybe why it doesn't. This brochure is designed to make it easy to follow along with the procedures a knowledgeable Certified Chimney Sweep will use to diagnose smoking or odor problems with your chimney. Even though you can't see it, the air in your house is constantly in motion. In general, airflow tries to flow out of your house in the upper parts and make up air tries to flow into your house in the lower parts of your house.