A yearly checklist for your chimney and fireplace

Once a year: the inspection NFPA 211 calls for

Under NFPA 211, every chimney, fireplace and vent gets a yearly inspection of its structure, its deposits and its clearances to anything combustible, with cleaning, maintenance and repair when the inspection shows a need. That yearly visit anchors any chimney maintenance schedule, including this one. Everything below is what you can do between visits, and what to watch for so the next visit has less to find.

Book it at a time that suits how you use the fireplace, such as ahead of the first fire you plan to light or ahead of a home sale. A flue that sat unused all year still gets checked, since an idle flue still collects water, debris and nests.

First fire of the season checklist

Before lighting the first fire after a long break, walk through the list below. If the fireplace has gone unused for many months, or anything on the list looks wrong, have the yearly check done before striking a match.

• Open the damper fully and close it again. It should move freely and seat when shut.
• Look up past the damper with a flashlight and check for debris, nesting material or anything hanging loose.
• Check the firebox for cracked or loose firebrick and open joints.
• Inspect the hearth extension for cracks or loose tile, and clear rugs, furniture and anything combustible from in front of the opening.
• Check from the yard that the cap and its mesh are in place, and look for brick or crown pieces on the roof.
• Test the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and replace batteries where the alarm uses them.
• Have dry, seasoned firewood on hand, stored off the ground and away from the house wall.

Carbon monoxide alarms near the bedrooms

Florida Statutes 553.885 calls for an approved carbon monoxide alarm placed 10 feet or less from every bedroom in a new building or addition permitted on or after July 1, 2008, when it has a fireplace, a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage. Whatever the age of your house, that placement is a sound guide.

Carbon monoxide has no color or smell, so the alarm is what warns you. Test alarms on the schedule printed on them, and replace each one by the date its maker gives.

While the fireplace is in use

A few habits keep the flue cleaner and the room safer through the burning months:

• Keep the wood dry and seasoned and the fires lively, since slow, smoky fires leave the heaviest deposits.
• Leave the damper fully open until the fire and embers are out.
• Use a screen in front of an open fire.
• Shovel cooled ash into a metal container with a tight lid, and keep that container outside on a noncombustible surface, away from the house.
• Watch for smoke rolling into the room, a strong smell after fires, or water in the firebox. Each is a reason to stop and have the flue checked.

If the flue roars

A loud, rushing roar from the flue, heavy smoke, or sparks and flames from the chimney top can mean a chimney fire. Take everyone outdoors, then call 911 from the yard. After the fire department has cleared it, the flue has to be inspected before anyone lights the fireplace again, because a chimney fire can crack tile and damage the masonry around it.

Gas fireplaces: the schedule in the manual

Gas units skip the firewood and the creosote and follow a different list. The manufacturer's manual sets the service interval and what the service covers: the burner, the logs and their placement, the pilot assembly, the glass and gasket, and the vent.

Vent-free units add operating rules, including room-size limits and an oxygen depletion sensor that shuts the unit off if oxygen in the room drops. Week-to-week care an owner can do safely is covered in the guide on how to maintain a gas fireplace.

Smell gas? Take everyone outside, then phone 911 or the gas utility from there. The fireplace can wait until the utility has made the house safe.

Before hurricane season opens

NOAA's National Hurricane Center dates the Atlantic season from June 1 through November 30. Before it opens, look at the parts of the chimney that wind and heavy rain test hardest.

• With binoculars if needed, check that the cap is on, straight and fastened.
• On a factory-built chimney, check that the chase cover lies flat with no rust holes and that the termination cap is secure.
• Scan the edge of the crown for cracks or missing pieces.
• Look for loose or missing brick near the top of the chimney.
• Check the flashing line for gaps, lifted metal, or sealant smeared where metal should be.
• Trim tree limbs that hang over or near the chimney.

After a storm passes

Once it is safe to be outside, look at the chimney from the ground. A missing or tilted cap, a lifted chase cover, a leaning stack, loose brick lying on the roof or the lawn, or new water stains inside near the chimney each mean no fires until someone has checked the chimney.

Stay off a wet or damaged roof. Note what you can see from below, and let the inspection handle the roof itself.

When the fireplace sits idle

An unused fireplace still needs its cap and crown in order through the season, since water and animals find an idle flue as readily as a working one. Keep the damper closed to hold conditioned air in the room, and test it again before the next fire. If the fireplace is not coming back into use, a top-sealing damper or a capped, closed-off flue can be part of the plan. Any flue plug or draft stopper comes out before a fire is lit.

The checklist at a glance

The whole year on one list, which doubles as a fireplace maintenance checklist:

• Every year: the NFPA 211 inspection, with sweeping when deposits call for it.
• Before the first fire: damper, flue, firebox, hearth, cap seen from the yard, alarms, firewood.
• During use: dry wood, an open damper, a screen, ash in a lidded metal can, and an eye on smoke and smells.
• Gas units: the service interval and checks in the manual, and a call from outside, to the utility or 911, at any smell of gas.
• Before June 1: cap, chase cover, crown, brick near the top, flashing and overhanging limbs.
• After a storm: a ground-level look, and no fires until anything unusual has been checked.