Month: August 2026

A rough smoke chamber makes rooms fill with smoke and collects creosote. What parging is, and when an Island Lake fireplace actually needs it.

The crown is the slab on top of the chimney, and cracks there let water into the whole structure. Repair or replace, for Lakewood homeowners.

An insert changes the venting, the liner and the maintenance. What Fox River Grove homeowners should understand before converting an open fireplace.

A summer of cooling leaves dust, pollen and moisture in Huntley ductwork. What builds up, what it affects, and whether cleaning is worth doing now.

Every elbow shortens the vent run a dryer can handle. Why some McHenry dryer vents clog twice as fast, and what a correct installation looks like.

Birds, raccoons and squirrels get into open flues. How Woodstock homeowners identify what is up there, why not to light a fire, and how removal works.

Not every chimney is brick. What a chase cover is, how it fails on factory-built fireplaces in Cary, and why a rusted one leaks into the house.

Fireplace smell peaks in humid August weather. Why an Algonquin chimney gets worse in summer, and which fixes stop the odor rather than mask it.

A stuck, warped or missing damper costs heat all winter and can trap smoke. How to test yours in a Lake in the Hills home and what repair involves.

Carbon monoxide and fireplaces: where detectors belong in a Crystal Lake home, what a blocked flue does, and the symptoms worth acting on at once.