Month: September 2026

A chimney fire can sound like a low roar or a freight train. What Algonquin homeowners should do in the first five minutes, and what happens after.

Run through this before the first fire of the year in a Lake in the Hills home: damper, flue, detectors, hearth clearance and the smell test.

What a chimney inspection should cover when you are buying or selling a home in Marengo, and why a general home inspector cannot tell you the flue is safe.

When mortar joints fail, sweeping will not help. How Wonder Lake homeowners recognise a chimney that needs tuckpointing, and what the work involves.

Masonry and prefab chimneys look alike from the curb but need different repairs. How Bull Valley homeowners tell which one they actually have.

Ash holds live coals for days. The safe way to remove and store fireplace ash in an Oakwood Hills home, and the shortcut that starts house fires.

Dropping a wood stove into an existing fireplace only works if the flue is sized for it. The rules Prairie Grove homeowners should check first.