Chimney damper replacement for Atlantic Beach homes

Cooled air escaping up the flue in Atlantic Beach? We get the plate seating tight again, backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Fully licensed and insured
Locally owned
Family owned and operated
Same-day service

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Get a quote for chimney and fireplace repair and installation in Jacksonville.

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(904) 920-5495 Free Inspection

Damper specialists who find the failed part first

Locally owned in Jacksonville
Family owned and operated
100% satisfaction guaranteed
Free inspection and estimate
Same-day service available
10% off any service

A cap goes on the estimate when rain is what rusted the damper in the first place.

Free inspection and estimateYour Atlantic Beach damper is run through its full travel and checked with a light at no charge.
100% satisfaction guaranteedIf the repaired damper does not open fully and close flat, we come back and make it right.
Family owned and operatedA family business does the diagnosis and the repair, so the person who quoted it answers for it.

Call (904) 920-5495 Free Inspection

A damper that rattles in the wind

A metallic tapping from the fireplace on a gusty day is often the damper plate lifting and dropping on worn pivots. The holes the pivots ride in wear oval over years of use, and the plate starts to float instead of resting on its seat.

The noise is harmless on its own. What it reveals is a loose plate, and a loose plate leaks air and can drop off its pivots. We check the pivot holes and the frame lugs, then rehang the plate or replace it when the holes have worn too far. Hearing the damper tap in Atlantic Beach? Our family-run damper pros take calls at (904) 920-5495.

In the 2020 Census, Atlantic Beach counted 13,513 residents. Atlantic Beach reaches the coastline.

Plate, frame, pivots and control

Broken handle links and rivets reconnected
Rust scale cleared from the seat the plate closes on
Full travel and seal tested with a light
Damper checked at your Atlantic Beach home with the fireplace cold

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How chimney damper replacement runs

Handle and plate tested
With the fireplace cold, the control is worked through its travel and the plate checked from below with a light.
Failed part named
Pivots, plate, frame or control, the part that failed is written down with the repair options and prices.
Freed, rehung or replaced
Sound parts are cleaned and freed, a plate is matched to its frame, or a new damper is set at code height.
Travel and seal confirmed
The plate must open fully and close flat under the light before the job is done.

Damper rust at the edge of the ocean in Atlantic Beach

Atlantic Beach sits on the coast, and moist air carrying chloride speeds up rust on bare iron. A damper plate below an open flue meets that air and any rain that falls straight down.

On dampers in Atlantic Beach we look hard at the top face and the pivots, and a cap over the flue goes on the estimate when there is none.

10% off any service booked within 72 hours of inspection

Freed, rehung or replaced, a damper job in Atlantic Beach carries the discount.

Call (904) 920-5495 Free Inspection

Cast iron plates and stamped steel plates

Throat damper plates come in two broad kinds. Heavy cast-iron plates hold their shape well under heat and rust slowly because of their thickness. Stamped steel plates are lighter and cheaper to make, and they give less warning before rust eats through them.

Both are ferrous metal, which is what the code asks for. The difference shows up in the repair: a cast plate that has only scaled can usually be cleaned and kept, while a thin steel plate with pitting along the edge rarely justifies the effort. We name which kind you have on the estimate, because it decides whether freeing it is worth the labor.

The light test for a damper seal

The simplest damper test needs a dark room and a good flashlight. With the damper closed, the light is held in the firebox pointing up at the plate, and someone in the room looks for light spilling past the edges. On a bright day the test can run the other way, with daylight from the top showing through the gaps.

We use both, depending on the time of day, and we mark where the gaps are. A gap along one edge points to warp or a bent lip. Gaps all round point to scale on the seat or a plate that has dropped on worn pivots. Each has a different fix.

Cutting out a rusted damper frame

When a damper frame has rusted into the masonry, it cannot simply be lifted out. The frame is set in mortar at the top of the firebox, and freeing it means cutting it into pieces and removing the firebrick or masonry that locks it in place.

The new damper is set level at the required height, with its control positioned to reach the room. Disturbed firebrick is relaid in refractory mortar, and the mortar is allowed to cure for the time its maker states before the first fire. The estimate for this job shows how much masonry the swap disturbs, because that is what sets its size.

What we measure on dampers in Atlantic Beach

Full travel measured, with where the plate stops and why
Smoke shelf cleared of debris resting behind the plate
Replacement plate matched by frame size, pivot style and handle lug
Whether the fireplace can be used while a part is ordered

Before a damper part is ordered

Can a rusted damper be saved?

Often, when the rust is on the surface and the pivots still have their metal. A plate that has thinned, holed or warped is replaced. We grade it on the visit and show you what we found.

Why is there a clamp on my damper?

It is probably there for a vented decorative gas appliance, whose instructions require the damper to stay partly open. We leave it while that appliance is installed and remove it only when the fireplace returns to wood.