Sweeping and repairing chimneys from the 1700 and 1800’s requires an intricate understanding of construction and materials used in centuries prior and how to repair them to stand firm in the 21st century.
Beyond simply cleaning a chimney, Charleston Chimney Sweeps is highly trained and experienced and knows what to look for and how to repair a chimney according to the codes and regulations of historic Charleston architecture. Most commonly seen are draft and flow issues due to the construction of the home being too tight. If the angles and proportions of the fireplace were not built correctly, airflow from the fireplace through the chimney is hindered. We provide a complete interior and exterior assessment of your chimney system to identify any cause of concern and areas that can be improved. Generally we can adapt current structures and make modern improvements to resolve any issue.
Historic chimney restoration is often more extensive due to the age of the home and how long issues have been left unattended. Occasionally we will need to address structural issues even under the house so chimney integrity is preserved.
Did you know that all bricks are unique to the year they were made? For example, homes built circa 1812 were constructed with large wheat bricks with very little mortar between them. You can hardly expect to repair such homes with the bricks we use to build homes today.
The mortar used for these 1812 bricks was very different as well. Charleston Chimney Sweeps had the honor of working on several such period homes recently. While making repairs, we took several weeks combining various mixtures of historic mortar and testing the durability of each recipe before adding the right mix to the home.
We may not have to recreate mortar from 200 years ago for your home but we will give you the same level of time and attention to make sure your chimney is holding faster, working properly, and providing a safe place for you to enjoy fires in your home whenever you want.
