There is some very important fireplace maintenance you can do yourself. You don’t need to hire a specialist each year when he or she will be doing things that you can do instead. In fact you don’t need many specialty tools for this project. Keep reading to get a better understanding of what goes into fireplace maintenance that keeps it operating efficiently.
Fireplace maintenance is one of the home maintenance tasks found on My FREE Home Maintenance Checklist. You can get your copy today to make sure you don’t leave out any important tasks that should be done on your home. The checklist is set up to help you keep up-to-date in your maintenance routines, so your house runs as efficiently as possible. Save money in the long run, and enjoy your home more with this FREE Home Maintenance Checklist.
Fireplace Maintenance Cost
The cost to maintain your fireplace can vary depending on a few factors. The first is the type of fireplace you own. The fireplace type with the highest level of maintenance is a wood fireplace. If you want to do the maintenance on it yourself, you will be spending money up front for a chimney sweep and some fireplace tools. The chimney sweep is around $60, and an ash bucket set is about $50. Total cost for you to do it yourself is a one time fee of a little over $100.
If you have any other repairs to make on the fireplace you will need to purchase some fireplace mortar repair caulk. This is usually around $10 for a tube.
If you are interested in hiring someone to do the work it can be anywhere between $150 and $1000. This cost will depend on the level of work needed to be done, and the rate the worker charges you.
My Home Maintenance Checklist is a free resource to help you keep up to date on your home’s maintenance. It is designed to remind you of what needs to be done at a specific time. You will know what maintenance tasks need to be done:
- Monthly
- Annually
- Seasonally
- For your household appliances
- And More
Get your free copy of My Home Maintenance Checklist today by clicking the link below!
Wood Fireplace Maintenance You Can Do Yourself
A wood fireplace is a beautiful addition to your home. As the warm smell of a crackling fire fills the room, you are taken to another place. But it’s important to maintain a wood fireplace, to keep it in the best condition for many years.
The main goal for maintaining this type of fireplace is to prevent the buildup of high levels of “creosote.” This article will use the words creosote and soot interchangeably. When wood burns, there are particulates of un-burned wood that are emitted in the smoke. This builds up on the walls of the chimney, and should be kept to a minimum.
There are some tools that are commonly used to perform wood burning fireplace maintenance. Some of these tools are common household tools, and others are specifide tools for fireplaces. Don’t let that scare you away from this project. They are not super expensive and they don’t take a lot of training to master. Lets take a look at the tools used in wood burning fireplace maintenance.
Wood Fireplace Maintenance Tools
A good Ash Bucket Kit has a few important components. Ash buckets should be made of metal. This will allow it to hold hot embers without burning or melting the bucket. This kit includes a bucket with lid, shovel, broom/brush, and gloves.
This kit will be used throughout the wood burning season. It is important to remove old ash from previous fires before it builds up too much.
A good Chimney Sweep Kit is an important tool for anyone with a wood burning fireplace to have. This kit includes extensions for up to 30 feet, making it possible for you to clean the entire chimney.
This kit is designed to use with a power drill like a Dewalt Cordless Drill that I recommend. It makes it easier to use, and does a thorough job of cleaning your chimney well.
Wood Burning Fireplace Maintenance Process
The steps that go into maintaining a wood burning fireplace are pretty straight forward. Part of this process will be repeated over the course of the fireplace season. The rest of it only needs to be done once a year, before you use the fireplace. That would most likely be in the fall season, to get it ready for the winter.
Clean The Fire Box
The fire box is the portion of a fireplace that the wood is burned in. It is where the ash accumulates after the wood has finished burning. This ash will need to be cleaned ideally after each use, but may be delayed two to three uses. Too much ash will be a hindrance to the magnitude of fires, and may pose a health risk with more ash in the air than ideal.
It’s best to wait several hours after the fire has been extinguished. This will make the handling of the ash safer because it isn’t as hot anymore.
Use your Ash Bucket Kit to sweep and scoop up the old ash. If you have a yard or a compost pile this is a good material to put in it. But if not this can be placed in a bag and thrown in the garbage can.
Inspect The Fire Box
The fire box will regularly see a fluctuation of very high temperatures, that eventually cool off to much lower temperatures. This can cause the mortar or bricks to crack. Any cracking can cause a space for creosote to accumulate. Over time this may combust and create a much larger problem.
There is a simple repair that can be done when a crack is discovered. You only need a couple of tools and materials to do this repair. Lets take a look at what you can do in the case of finding a crack in a fireplace fire box.
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Repair The Fire Box
A fire box repair is nothing more than applying a bead of Fire Mortar Repair Caulking, and spreading it on with your finger.
There are several options to chose from, but it is important that you get a mortar repair tube specifically for fireplaces. Below is my favorite optio.
Rutland Fireplace Mortar and Repair Tube makes it easy to repair cracks in fire brick and mortar. It can be used to adhere fire bricks to other firebricks as well.
It requires heat to set properly, and can withstand temperatures of up to 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. Use it in areas that come in direct contact with flames.
This product comes in black, grey, or buff colors. It requires a caulking gun to apply.
Clean The Chimney
The main goal while cleaning the chimney is to remove any loose creosote off the sidewalls of the chimney. You only need to focus on what is loose, because this has the unburned wood materials. You don’t need to worry about getting the chimney looking like new.
There are two options for this part of the job. If you feel comfortable with going on the roof, that would be the better location to work from. The good news is you can do the work from the firebox opening as well. I will walk you through both options right here.
The safety equipment that is recommended for this project is safety gloves, and safety goggles. In addition to the safety gear you will want to wear long pants, long sleeves, and closed tow shoes.
Option 1: Clean The Chimney From The Roof
Doing most of the work from on the roof has one major benefit. You will be able to seal off the opening of the firebox with a sheet of plastic like a drop cloth and masking tape used when painting.
This will eliminate the amount of soot that gets in the air and settles on your furniture. You will make your spouse very happy if you go this route.
Once you have masked off the opening, you can go on the roof. You will want to do this work when it’s dry out, reducing the likelihood of slipping.
Get the Chimney Sweep Kit ready by attaching the brush head to the first rod. This will hook into your electric drill. You may need to temporarily remove the spark arrestor from the top of the chimney (if yours has one).
Stick the brush end down your chimney, and start the drill spinning. You will want to focus on all four sides, to the depth your brush will reach. Slide it up and down the sides until as much of the creosote is dislodged.
Once you have reached the maximum depth of the brush, pull it out and add one of the extensions. Repeat the process until you reach the bottom of the chimney.
When you believe you have gotten all of the chimney, you can go back inside.
Remove the drop cloth and begin to sweep up the loose creosote that’s in the firebox. Start with the ash ledge. This is located above the firebox inside the chimney. it is near the flu. After sweeping and disposing of the loose ash, you can use a vacuum to get the remainder.
Option 2: Clean The Chimney From Firebox Side
Cleaning the chimney from the firebox the same as cleaning it from the roof side, with one main difference. If you are doing the work from the firebox, you are not going to be able to block it off with a drop cloth.
The main disadvantage of this is you have a chance of the dust getting into your home. This can be a problem if you end up stirring up too much of it too quickly. For this reason it’s recomended to go slowly with the chimney sweeper.
The main advantage of doing the work from inside the house is you don’t need to get on the roof. You will do the work the same way as previously discussed. Work one extension segment at a time. You can either put all the extensions that you need to get to the top and work your way down, or start low and work upwards. Its up to you.
Gas Fireplace Maintenance
Gas fireplaces don’t have as many tasks to maintain it. This is because the gas they burn doesn’t leave residue in the way a wood burning fireplace does. That being said, there are few things you can do to make sure your gas fireplace is running well for many years.
The first thing to do is to make sure the gas is turned off. This is an important step to take when working on any gas appliance, especially the fireplace. Next you will want to inspect the logs, and clean the gas igniters. These are the holes in the gas line where the flames appear when the fireplace is on. To clean them you can use some steel wool or a piece of fine sandpaper. Simply rub the wool on the igniter, cleaning off any possible buildup of dust or other debris that can hinder its performance.
Next make sure the glass doors are as clean as possible. To do so it’s best to take the doors off and lay them on a soft surface like a blanket or towel. Check the fireplace’s manual for the correct way to remove the glass doors.
To clean the doors you want to use a fireplace glass cleaner. The reason why you want to use a cleaner that is designed for fireplaces is because a conventional glass cleaner will leave minute amounts of residue that will gas off when the fireplace is heated up. These fumes can be harmful to you, which is why you want to use a specific cleaner for this part of the project.
Electric Fireplace Maintenance
Fireplace maintenance on an electric fireplace is minimal. The biggest thing to do is change the light bulb. This usually is accessible through a panel on the back of the unit. Start by turning it off and making sure it doesn’t have any power to the unit. Then remove the panel and light bulb. Swap it out with a light bulb of the same power level.
Once you replace the bulb, the only other bit of maintenance is to dust it off and clean it. This can be done with a wet rag and a bit of elbow grease. These fireplaces don’t require a great deal of maintenance that can be done every other year. The dusting may need to be performed more frequently, but to your own desires.
Once the fireplace is plugged in you can start it back up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it expensive to maintain a fireplace?
Fireplace maintenance doesn’t cost much money once you have all the tools you need. Wood burning fireplaces will require the most maintenance. The tools you should get are a hand broom and dust pan, and a metal container to put the ashes in. You will also need a chimney sweep with the right amount of extension handles. The only other main expense is if there are cracks you need to repair with Fireplace Mortar.
How often should a fireplace be cleaned?
The cleaning portion of fireplace maintenance should be annually, especially for wood burning fireplaces. A gas and electric fireplace doesn’t get dirty as easily as a wood fireplace, so you can get away with cleaning them every other year.
Are fireplaces high maintenance?
Wood fireplaces have the highest level of maintenance. Overall, The work done to maintain a fireplace is not extremely extensive, and can be conducted once a year maximum. It can be done by the homeowner, but there are fireplace maintenance services available to use as well. The steps listed above cover the main process for any type of fireplace you can own.
Conclusion
Fireplace maintenance is not a difficult thing to do. With the right tools, and a little time you are going to keep your fireplace in top working order. This isn’t something that needs to be outsourced to a professional, but it can be if you don’t have the desire to do it yourself.
I hope this article answered all your questions. If you have any other questions about home repair or maintenance, make sure you take a look at the blog articles here on Remodel Upgrade.
You Got This,
Kevin
Kevin
I grew up in a family where my dad and several uncles were general contractors. They took me to the jobsites, and also taught me so much about home maintenance. I remember spending several summers in high school helping my father build houses. It gave me so much knowledge that I am excited to share!
