Your chimney and fireplace is an intricate heating system that requires you to take care of it. After all, it makes your home warm and cozy during the winter months. However, there is one part that some homeowners typically forget, and that is the smoke chamber, hidden above the firebox. Different components of combustion go through the smoke chamber before exiting the chimney. If your chimney is running into issues, parging comes into play. In this post, Batts Chimney Services, a top chimney repair company, shares a brief primer on parging.
What Is Parging
Smoke chambers built by corbelling are inherently strong, but this design method has a severe drawback. The stairstep design has numerous exposed joints and corners where ash, soot and creosote can build up. To address this issue, the edges and corners in the smoke chambers are smoothed out by a process called parging. The stairstep masonry ends up smoothened out after the process is done.
Importance of Parging
Creosote is a highly flammable material that builds up within your smoke chamber. In a corbelled smoke chamber, creosote can reach nooks and crannies that can’t be reached in normal circumstances. Your chimney cleaning expert will state that parging the smoke chamber can reduce creosote buildup since it can reach corners and joints where it can accumulate.
You also have to know that the masonry joints in a corbelled smoke chamber can deteriorate quickly due to exposure to heat over time. Having it parged can help strengthen the structural integrity of your chimney and smoke chamber.
For more information about chimneys or if you wish to speak with experts in the field, call Batts Chimney Services at (205) 956-8207 in Jefferson County and (256) 660-1338 in Northeast Alabama. We also handle chimney sweep and cleaning services. You can also fill out this form.