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Chimney Sweep in Lewisville, TX 75010
Chimney Cleaning 101: Everything You Need to Know About Chimney and Fireplaces for your Home or Business in Lewisville, TX
If you have a chimney or fireplace in your home or business in Lewisville, TX, or are considering installing one, there is much you need to know. An improperly maintained chimney or fireplace can be extremely dangerous to those who live or work on your property. If you are unfamiliar with the ventilation system in your building and don’t know the first thing about how to clean a chimney, consider contacting a professional chimney sweep in Lewisville, TX, or the greater Dallas County area, such as the staff at Masters Services. However, you should still learn as much as you can to protect yourself as well as your family or employees. Here is some essential information that everyone with a fireplace or chimney should know.
Chimney and Fireplace Vocabulary
To start, you should be familiar with the components of a fireplace and the connecting chimney. Firstly, the box-like chamber where the fire sits is called the hearth. The hearth is constructed differently depending on if the fireplace is a traditional wood-burning fireplace, or a gas or electric one. The hearth should be lined with panels designed to direct heat back into the room and prevent any fire from escaping to another part of the building. Most fireplaces have glass doors to prevent sparks from flying out as well. Connecting the hearth to the chimney is the smoke chamber, which can be closed off by the fireplace damper. The smoke chamber is intended to direct smoke up into the chimney flue, while the damper is a small door that can close off the smoke chamber from the fireplace. The damper opens to allow smoke and ash to exit the fireplace and closes to prevent cold air from coming into the building through the chimney when the fireplace is not in use. The chimney flue is the tube-like space through which smoke travels to exit the building. The flue, like the hearth, is lined with panels that protect the rest of the property from dangerous fires. Finally, the chimney cap is a cover placed over the chimney on the outside of the building to prevent wind, rain, leaves, and wildlife from entering the flue.
How Chimneys and Fireplaces are Cleaned
Cleaning out the fireplace hearth and chimney flue is a complicated and messy process, which is why you should consider contacting a professional if you have a fireplace at your Dallas County property for chimney cleaning services. To clean out a fireplace and chimney, first you need to remove the logs and the grate (the metal frame upon which the logs sit). This is so you can sweep out ash and other debris from the floor of the hearth. Next you will need to scrub the floor and lining of the hearth with a thistle brush and a cleaning solution. You can either buy a solution at a home improvement store or make your own. You will also need the solution to clean the lining of the smoke chamber and the chimney flue. You can clean out the chimney flue using a flue brush. Finally, it is necessary to occasionally go up to the roof of the building and clean off the chimney cap and other exterior portions of the chimney. This is a lengthy process and if you are not 100% confident you are capable, you should invest in professional chimney cleaning.
Safety Concerns
The most important thing when it comes to fireplace and chimney maintenance is safety, both yours and that of the people around you. An inefficient or dirty fireplace can cause dangerous chimney fires that can spread to the rest of your home. Cracked panels in the lining will not be able to properly confine the heat of the fire to the chimney flue itself. Other broken or missing pieces of the fireplace can lead to the same results. An uncleaned flue can be dangerous as well; over time, ash and soot will build up inside the chimney and form a highly combustible substance called creosote. Furthermore, there are several safety concerns you should be aware of while cleaning your chimney or fireplace. You should wear gloves, goggles, and a mask to protect your eyes from ash and debris and prevent yourself from inhaling these substances. If you are cleaning the chimney cap, you need to be careful walking across the roof of the building. These safety concerns are another reason to consider hiring a Dallas County professional – the experience and expertise of the chimney sweeps at Masters Services will protect all those involved.
Installations and Replacements
Some chimney sweeps and businesses that offer chimney cleaning will also offer installation and replacement services for the entire fireplace and chimney or individual components. If you don’t have a fireplace in your home but are interested in one, it will be good to talk to someone who can manage an installation and help you learn about fireplace maintenance. You will need to learn about replacements that need to happen regularly; for example, if there are cracks in the lining of your hearth big enough for you to fit a dime, it is time for the lining to be replaced. Look for a professional who can replace individual components of a fireplace, such as the panels, doors, damper, flue lining, or chimney cap.
Certifications
If you have decided to hire a professional or are even considering becoming a certified chimney sweep yourself, you should know about the different certifications and qualifications that are out there. If you are looking at a company or business, you should look for approvals from Better Business Bureau® and Home Advisor. Both organizations promote consumer trust by pre-screening and certifying business so potential clients know who they can trust. Individuals can carry certifications as well as businesses, such as the Master Chimney Sweep Professional Certification. If you want to know more about a businesses or professional’s certifications or qualifications, don’t hesitate to ask!
If you have decided to contact a professional for chimney cleaning services in Lewisville, TX, consider calling Masters Services at 972-877-4650. We are a local business staffed with knowledgeable professionals who also put our clients’ safety first!
Some information about Lewisville, TX
Lewisville is a city in Denton County, Texas, United States, that barely overlaps with Dallas County, Texas. It is a suburb within the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex. The 2000 United States Census placed the city’s population at 77,737 and the 2010 Census placed it at 95,290, making it one of the fastest-growing city populations in the United States and the 33rd most populous in Texas. It occupies 36.4 square miles (94 km2) of land and includes 6.07 square miles (15.7 km2) of Lewisville Lake.
In 1841, the Republic of Texas chartered the Peters Colony Land Grant Company (named for William Smalling Peters, publisher of the song ‘Oh! Susanna’) to settle the North Texas area. In 1844, John W. King and his wife settled on the east side of the prairie, where the city now lies. Baptist settlers from Platte County, Missouri, settled on the west side; among them were John and James Holford, who named the area Holford’s Prairie. Further south, Presbyterians established a church and called it Flower Mound. In the confusion over land ownership after the Hedgcoxe War, Basdeal Lewis purchased Holford’s Prairie in 1853 and renamed it after himself.
In 1845, the Fox family, which owned about a dozen slaves, buried a slave child called Melinda on the family farm, which eventually became the town’s cemetery for black residents. Named Fox–Hembry Cemetery, the plot still exists today. After it had fallen into disrepair, local residents and businesses gathered to restore it in 2011. Though Abraham Lincoln was not on the ballot in the area for the 1860 Presidential election, residents of Lewisville (listed as ‘Hollforts’ on election results) still gave John C. Breckinridge only a 44–31 majority over an electoral fusion option.
During Reconstruction, Lewisville became home to Denton County’s first cotton gin. Built in 1867, it could produce up to three bales per day. The Thirteenth Texas Legislature chartered the Dallas and Wichita Railroad (later the Missouri–Kansas–Texas) on terms requiring 20 miles of track to be in running order by July 1, 1875. Lewisville paid the company $15,000 to come to the city, with a promise of another $5,000 on completion. The company fulfilled the deal by completing the railroad tracks to a point just south of Lewisville on the morning of the deadline, and the line began running full-time in 1881. Republicans in the Fourteenth Texas Legislature passed a law on April 30, 1874, prohibiting alcohol within two miles of the town. Many residents ignored the law, however, and the city retained as many as 17 saloons at one point. The population of the unincorporated town was 500 in 1888.
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