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.

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.

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.