by Cliff | Dec 19, 2020 | Uncategorized
You stand in your yard, coffee or beer in hand, and look up at your chimney. You can clearly see that there is loose mortar between the bricks, or that even some of the mortar joints have fallen out, and suddenly dollar signs are flashing in front of your eyes. You...
by Cliff | Sep 3, 2020 | Chimney cleaning and inspections, Woodstove Repairs
When the EPA started to crack down on wood stove emissions, the early technology utilized catalytic converters to help clean up the emissions from the stove. Over time these converters can become brittle. Sometimes it gets as bad as when the chimney sweep pulls it out...
by Cliff | Feb 3, 2020 | Brick and stone chimney repair, Cinder block chimney repairs
A customer had called and wanted a bid to replace their entire chimney because it looked like this disaster.(click on photos to enlarge): We came up with a brilliant solution, which was to resurface the faces of the damaged block and paint the chimney! ...
by Cliff | Aug 3, 2018 | Chimney cleaning and inspections, Removing non- EPA certified wood-stoves, Woodstove insert (into a fireplace) installation
Chimney sweeps in Portland Oregon are having to deal less and less with un-lined woodstove inserts. Back in the ancient days wood stove inserts ( a wood stove that has been set into an open fireplace ) were not installed with a stainless steel liner being...
by Cliff | Jul 30, 2018 | Chimney rain caps/spark arrestors, Home fire safety for you and your family
A spark arresting chimney rain cap installation is a smart move for several reasons. These caps are tight-fitting metal chimney caps that reduce spark output into the environment. They are made of galvanized steel, stainless steel, copper, etc. This year I have...
by Cliff | Jul 30, 2018 | Chimney cleaning and inspections
A chimney sweep’s brush vs chimney sweeping logs. Do these logs really clean the chimney? I have been cleaning chimneys for 30 years now, and I get this question asked of me several times each year. I cannot speak for the cleaning logs because I have not...
by admin | Jul 26, 2018 | Chimney cleaning and inspections
Fireplace opening sealed off with plastic sheeting to prevent creosote from coming into the living room while sweeping the chimney. Creosote build-up on a chimney rain cap. The lid of the chimney cap has been removed. Chimney cleaning in the Portland metro area occurs...
by Cliff | Jul 25, 2018 | Brick and stone chimney repair, Chimney cleaning and inspections, Chimney rain caps/spark arrestors
A fireplace damper repair can be easily achieved by installing a top-closing damper to take the place of a missing or existing defective damper. With a few simple tools and some very basic masonry skill and knowledge, you can remove your defective damper and install a...
by Cliff | Apr 19, 2017 | Chimney rain caps/spark arrestors
When you need a cap that can keep the rain and animals out, as well as stop downdrafts, the Monsoon cap is what you need. We install these caps. Call today to schedule or talk to us about your chimney. (503) 653-3819. Click here for Monsoon Cap...
by Cliff | Apr 18, 2017 | Fireplace/Firebox repairs
We have installed several of these Pleasant Hearth glass fireplace doors over the years for our customers; they are sturdy, easy to install and look great. The screens behind the glass doors are hinged, not hanging from a curtain rod. Do it yourself, or call us and we...