Have you noticed loose bricks on the exterior of your chimney? Or maybe you have seen other repair needs to your chimney. To be sure your fireplace and chimney are in tip-top shape, The Mad Hatter suggests you take care of repairing those loose bricks and any other problems now, rather than later. Scheduling your annual cleaning and inspection before spring allows our chimney sweeps to find any needed repairs and arrange a time to fix them before these problems get worse. To let our customers know exactly what types of repair work The Mad Hatter provides, we would like to tell you more about our chimney repair services.

Common Chimney Problems - Indianapolis IN

Chimney Masonry

Our masons at The Mad Hatter have proven their excellence and experience in chimney masonry repairs over the years, and all of our masons are trained and certified in this field. When you need masonry repair work done, it is important to choose a company who specializes in this area. Common chimney masonry repairs offered by our masons include:

  • restoring old or damaged chimney bricks and mortar
  • demolishing chimneys which are beyond repair
  • rebuilding a damaged chimney
  • repointing missing or damaged mortar between bricks

Chimney Leaks

According to the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), water penetration is the greatest enemy to your masonry chimney, and repairing water leaks is the best prevention of suffering damage, such as spalled bricks, cracked mortar, and even mold growth. With a couple of ways to combat water penetration, our chimney technicians can protect your chimney from water leaking inside, and these two ways are:

  • repairing or replacing a damaged chimney cap and/or chimney crown
  • applying a 100% vapor-permeable waterproofing agent to seal water out of your chimney’s masonry work

If water damage is found by you (loose bricks on your chimney’s exterior, for example) or by our chimney inspectors, the leak source should be found and repaired as soon as possible to prevent any further deterioration.

Smoke Chamber Parging

If the walls of your smoke chamber have not been parged smoothly, your chimney is not up to code. According to both the National Fire Prevention Association and the 2006 International Residential Code, the inside surface of your smoke chamber should be parged. Parging is similar to stucco, but the concrete is smoothed before drying. Why is parging so important? Parging provides several benefits, including:

  • improves your chimney’s safety
  • increases the structural integrity of your smoke chamber
  • improves the draft and performance of your fireplace
  • lessens creosote buildup
  • makes it easier to service your chimney

If the interior of your smoke chamber has not been parged, our masons at The Mad Hatter can do this job for you to increase safety and efficiency.

Have more questions about our chimney repair work? Contact The Mad Hatter today to receive answers as well as schedule your chimney maintenance tasks now before the problems worsen.