Think of your house as a miniature Times Square. Imagine that at midnight the famous ball will slide down your chimney to herald the new year, 2017. It’s admittedly a corny and cheesy notion. It won’t happen, and it won’t be broadcast around the world. Bear with us....
Does Jack Frost nipping at your nose pose a fire hazard? Not likely. Not unless your nose is made of flint or unless Jack is nipping with a fire starter. To be less far-fetched but staying with the holiday theme, what about chestnuts roasting on an open fire? Can it...
Is your fireplace just another episode of “That ‘70s Show”? (Choose your decade of the past, as needed. Eighties? Nineties? Fifties? Tell us when your fireplace was built, or last remodeled.) In other words, does your fireplace facing give off a tired and worn vibe?...
You know that old saying about closing the barn door after the horse has bolted? Well, let’s play with a few wintry variations of the phrase. “Don’t shovel the snow after the snow has melted.” No, that doesn’t quite make sense. How about: “Don’t look for chimney leaks...
You’ve heard of the CIA. Perhaps you know a CPA. Maybe you know someone who is in the CSEA. But what do you know about the CSIA? The Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) certifies technicians so that they have the skills and tools to clean your chimney properly....
Perhaps you’ve seen them in coffee shops or libraries or maybe even in your own home. Students intensely reviewing huge books devoted to detailed depictions of the human body. “Gray’s Anatomy” is the classic textbook. (The TV drama employs a different spelling.)...
Picture you and your family sitting peacefully by your fireplace on a December evening. You look like a pioneer family, knitting or smoking a pipe. Well, not exactly. Maybe a football game is on the big-screen television. Without obvious warning, your fireplace starts...
Hot and humid days of summer are well known for a particular type of flashing: the thunder-producing flashes of lightning that accompany thunderstorms. When it comes to your chimney, though, we at Northeastern Masonry & Chimney are referring to flashing as the...
Does anyone still have old-fashioned wall calendars made of paper? We do. The kind with great nature scenes and fine photography. They help with planning. We have no objection, however, if you do all your planning digitally on your device, as it’s called. (We wonder...
For many families, summertime is filled with transitions. And it’s not just vacations. Among the most significant transitions is the buying or selling of a house. Many people tidy up their home. They take to the curb broken or outdated furniture. They enlist the...
