location_on Serving Allen & All of Collin County
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(972) 521-7225
Need smoke chamber cleaning in Allen, TX? The smoke chamber sits just above your firebox, and it traps creosote where a quick sweep misses it. Collin Chimney Sweep & Repair cleans the smoke chamber and smoke shelf, checks for cracks, and can smooth the chamber to improve draft in Allen fireplaces. Call (972) 521-7225.
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Look up past the damper in a brick fireplace and you will see the smoke chamber. It is shaped like a funnel turned upside down. Its job is to squeeze the smoke from the wide firebox into the narrow flue. Right behind the damper is a flat ledge called the smoke shelf. Together they are the first place smoke slows down and cools, so they are the first place creosote sticks.
Many smoke chambers in Allen were built with stepped brick, which masons call corbeling. Each step is a ledge that catches soot. The smoke shelf also collects what falls from above. We find creosote flakes, bits of mortar, leaves, and sometimes an old bird nest sitting on the shelf. A brush pushed up the flue from below often skips this area. The flue looks clean on camera while pounds of fuel sit right above the fire.
That is why we check the chamber during every chimney cleaning and clean it by hand and with rotary tools. The national chimney standard, NFPA 211, calls for smoke chamber walls to be smooth. If we find cracked or rough brick after cleaning, we explain smoke chamber repair, where the walls are coated smooth with heat-proof mortar. Clean first, then decide. Many chambers only need the cleaning.
Draft trouble can start in the chamber or higher up. We check the whole path during a chimney inspection. If the flue walls are coated too, chimney flue cleaning is part of the same visit.
The best place to start is our chimney sweep and inspection, which is $99 for a limited time. We look at the smoke chamber and smoke shelf during that visit and show you photos. If the chamber has hard, glazed creosote or needs repair, you get a price before any more work.
It is the space between the top of the firebox and the bottom of the flue. It is shaped like an upside-down funnel and guides smoke from the wide fireplace into the narrow flue. The damper sits at its base.
The smoke shelf is the flat ledge behind the damper at the bottom of the smoke chamber. It helps stop downdrafts. It also catches falling soot, rain and debris, so it needs to be cleaned out.
It should, but quick sweeps often skip it. The chamber is wide and hard to reach, and a flue brush does not touch its walls. Ask your sweep to show you photos of the chamber and the shelf. We do.
Smoke slows down and cools as it turns from the firebox into the flue. Cool, slow smoke drops creosote. Rough, stepped brick gives it more surface to stick to, so the chamber often has the thickest layer in the chimney.
Not in the same way. Prefab metal fireplaces have a short metal throat instead of a brick chamber. They still collect soot at the top of the firebox and around the damper, and we clean that area during every sweep.
Once a year, at the same time as the flue. If you burn a lot of wood, or your fires are short and cool, creosote builds faster and a yearly cleaning matters even more.
Parging is coating the rough smoke chamber walls with a smooth layer of heat-proof mortar. A smooth chamber drafts better and holds less creosote. We only suggest it when the brick is rough or cracked.
Yes. Heavy build-up narrows the path for smoke and a full smoke shelf stops the damper from opening all the way. Smoke that cannot go up comes out. Cleaning the chamber often fixes a smoky start-up.
Yes. Collin Chimney Sweep & Repair serves Collin County, including Plano, McKinney, Frisco, Fairview and Lucas. See our full list of chimney sweep and repair services or visit the Collin Chimney Sweep & Repair home page.
Mon–Sun: 7am–8pm
We respond within 2 hours during business hours.
