Company Blog

Schedule Now to Have Your Fireplace Ready for the Holidays

During the holiday season, your fireplace is a popular spot for friends and family to catch up and celebrate. Not only do you want your hearth to look its best, but you also want to be sure that your fireplace and chimney system is working efficiently and safely. In order to get your fireplace ready for the holidays, you should have your chimney professionally swept and inspected. For over 25 years, All Seasons Chimney has provided superior chimney maintenance services to the lower Hudson Valley area. Although we are in the middle of our busiest time of the year, we can still find the time to schedule your appointment for your annual chimney sweeping and inspection before the holidays arrive if you contact us today. We would like to tell you why it is so important to have your chimney professionally serviced every year.

Prevent Chimney Fires

Schedule Now to Have Your Fireplace Ready for the Holidays - Poughkeepsie, NY - All SeasonsHave your chimney swept every year to remove the creosote residue from your chimney walls. A natural compound, creosote develops during condensation that occurs during the combustion process. This residue is so flammable that the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) has named creosote as a leading cause of chimney fires. You can trust our CSIA-certified chimney sweeps to make sure every bit of creosote is removed to greatly reduce the risk of a chimney fire ruining your holidays.

Avoid Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Debris blocking the flue forces smoke and other toxic combustion gases like carbon monoxide into your home. Unless you have a carbon monoxide detector alarm, your family, friends, and other guests could inhale this poisonous gas and become seriously ill. All Seasons Chimney offers professional chimney inspections with our annual chimney sweeping service. We check for flue blockages as well as any other problems or types of damage. If we find a problem, we provide you with a written explanation, photographs of the damage, and a written estimate of the necessary repairs.

Get your fireplace ready for holiday season! Contact us today at All Seasons Chimney to schedule your annual chimney maintenance services.

Understanding The Freeze/Thaw Cycle

The brutally cold temperatures of winters in the Hudson Valley can be rough on masonry chimneys. In addition, they can also cause quite a bit of damage. Have you noticed a few cracked or missing bricks and mortar joints from your chimney after a long winter? If so, the reason why these masonry materials have deteriorated has to do with the freeze/thaw cycle. According to the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), water causes the most deterioration to masonry materials. Unfortunately, freeze/thaw cycles in the winter significantly speeds up this deterioration. All Seasons Chimney knows how to repair chimney masonry damage from the freeze/thaw cycles that happen each winter. Additionally, we can also prevent them happening during the next one. We would like to tell you more about the freeze/thaw cycle and what we can do to help you deal with it.

Freeze Thaw Cycle Image - Poughkeepsie NY - All Seasons ChimneyWhat is the freeze/thaw cycle?

The reason why water is so damaging to masonry materials has to do with how porous they are. The bricks and mortar joints of your chimney naturally absorb moisture from being exposed to rain, ice, and snow. Whenever the temperature falls below the freezing point of 32 degrees Fahrenheit, any water trapped within the bricks and mortar joints will freeze within the masonry materials. As the weather warms back up, the water thaws. This causes the bricks and mortar joints to crack and crumble apart, which is called spalling damage. Over a winter season, the temperature can go up and down many times, and this is a freeze/thaw cycle.

How can All Seasons Chimney help me with freeze/thaw damage?

For over 25 years, we have been providing the Hudson Valley with professional chimney masonry repair services. Have you have seen damaged or missing bricks or mortar joints from your chimney? If so, contact us to schedule an appointment with one of our experienced chimney masons. We can remove the spalled masonry and replace it with durable and long-lasting bricks and mortar joints. Also, we know how to prevent spalling damage from occurring during a freeze/thaw cycle with our professional chimney waterproofing service. We apply a 100 percent vapor permeable waterproofing formula to your entire chimney to create a barrier against water penetration of your bricks and mortar joints. After we have waterproofed your chimney, it will be protected during each freeze/thaw cycle for the next 10 years.

Protect your chimney this winter from the damage that can happen during freeze/thaw cycles. Contact us at All Seasons Chimney to schedule an appointment for our professional chimney masonry repair and maintenance services today.