If you live in an old house that dates back to the days when open fireplaces were positioned in several of the house rooms (if not all); you probably noticed that these fireplaces were placed against an outside wall and then the chimney ran up the outer wall to allow smoke to come out from the chimney top at roof level. This was the easiest way to extract all the dirty smoke associated with both wood and coal fires. Chimney design was slightly more complicated if it had to go up an internal wall, but that did not stop house designers from placing chimneys there – especially in adjoining row houses. Those days, every habitable house had at least one chimney and often quite a number more.
Old Chimney Construction
A smoke filled room with a hole in the roof center to let some smoke out, and the rain in was never going to be a lasting success. Designing of a sort of vertical tunnel that ran up the wall and out through the roof wasn’t really any stroke of genius. Refinements that improved the up draught and stopped rain, snow and birdlife, etc from entering down from the top were added but the concept was simple and could be easily constructed from bricks and mortar (or hewn rock stones).
Such early examples would have needed Chimney Repair In Worthington, OH mainly to replace heat damaged motor in the construction plus possible replacement of chimney pots and the like. External damage from the likes of falling trees, lightning strikes or extremely high winds would also be on the list for Chimney Repair In Worthington, OH.
What About The Modern Home?
The city of Worthington was founded in 1803 and still contains a number of houses built around that time and all will have these old style chimneys – but, do they still burn old style fires in the grates below? Gas or oil fired furnaces have largely taken over the job of providing the domestic hot water supply and those furnaces are often utilized to provide hot air to feed around the house for its winter heating.
This approach is usually utilized in newer constructions – especially for apartment style blocks. Stylish, manufactured fireplaces that burn in a highly controlled manner have largely replaced the open fire and grate – visible flames are now more decorative than functional.
The exhaust from this new style burning still has to be taken outside; but, metallic ducting has replaced brick and mortar chimney stacks – although, in old houses, the duct may run up the center of the existing chimney. Nevertheless, contractors like Business Name still continue to carry out Chimney Repair In Worthington, OH by maintaining these ducting systems in good order.
