When buying firewood, be sure to buy seasoned wood or if you buy green wood, let it season a year outside to reduce the amount of creosote and don’t burn wet wood!

What most people think of as “smoke” is better termed “flue gas.”  This gas is released by the initial fire and consists of  steam and vaporized but unburned carbon based by-products (vaporized creosote).  As the flue gas exits the fireplace or wood stove, it drafts upward into the relatively cool flue where condensation occurs. Like hot breath on a cold mirror, the cool surface temperature of the flue causes the carbon particles in the warm vapor to solidify.

The actual cause of creosote condensation is the surface temperature of the flue with which the flue gas comes in contact. This resulting carbon based condensation which materializes inside the flue is creosote and is usually black in appearance. It can be the fine black dust called soot, (1st stage creosote); or porous and crunchy, (2nd stage); or it can be tar-like: drippy and sticky, until it hardens into a shiny glaze, (3rd stage).  All forms of creosote can occur in one chimney system. Whatever form it takes, creosote is highly combustible. If it builds up in sufficient quantities and ignites inside the chimney flue, the result is a volcanic chimney fire.

Several conditions encourage the buildup of creosote:

• A flue too large for the wood burning appliance, (e.g.. unlined insert);
• A restricted air supply;
• Unseasoned or rain-logged wood;
• Cooler-than-normal surface flue temperatures, (e.g.. metal fireplace chimney).

Cool flue temperatures: The primary cause of creosote build up is a cool flue temperature. Metal, prefabricated zero clearance fireplace chimney’s are the worst offenders. Their light sheet metal construction actually causes the interior flue temperature to be abnormally cool. Because of this, creosote condenses inside a prefabricated chimney at an accelerated rate.

If an older fireplace insert or hearth mounted stove is vented into a masonry chimney, usually the flue is too large for the inserted stove. This increases the smokes “residence time” and decreases draw. While modern specifications call for a 6″ round flue, older inserts may be vented into a 13″ x 17″ flue: that’s 10 times too large! In such conditions, the flue rapidly builds up creosote because the large air space can’t heat up enough. Not only does this cause rapid creosote condensation, it also keeps the stove from burning efficiently! Simply relining such a chimney may increase heat out put and efficiency by 200%, and will reduce creosote condensation to minimal levels. Because the total volume of air inside a smaller flue IS less, it can stay much hotter and produces a stronger draw. A stronger draw enables the stove to burn hotter.

In the case of older wood stoves, fully packed loads of wood (that give large but cool fires with eight or 10 hour burn times) contribute to creosote buildup.

Creosote condensation also occurs more rapidly in a chimney that’s on the side of the house, rather than in a chimney that runs through the center of a house.
Air supply: The longer the smoke’s “residence time” in the flue, the more likely it is that creosote will form. If the air supply of a fireplace is restricted by closed glass doors, or by failure to open the damper wide enough to move heated smoke up the chimney, creosote will build up rapidly. A wood stove’s air supply can be limited by closing down the stove damper or air inlets too soon and too much, or by improperly using the stovepipe damper to restrict air movement.

Unseasoned firewood. Wet wood is bad wood. Because it is wet, it creates much less heat, and actually fails to burn up a lot of the available fuel in the wood. Because so much energy is used initially just to drive off the water trapped in the cells of the logs, burning green wood causes the whole fire, and the flue to stay cool. The “smoke” of unseasoned wood is heavily laden with unburned creosote. Because unseasoned wood causes the whole system to burn cool, the creosote laden flue gas quickly condenses on the surface of the flue.  Only dry, well seasoned wood should be used in any chimney system. Third stage glazed tar creosote in an open chimney is almost always caused by burning wet, or unseasoned wood.

Regards, Jeffrey Brown

Thank you for all your help! Your service is much appreciated for a first time homeowner!  Jill Czilatol

I want to personally thank you for the professional home inspection you conducted for Renee and me last Saturday. Your attention to detail, pictures and write-up exceeded our expectations. We greatly appreciate the suggestions you provided us, and we intend to use you again in the future and will recommend you to friends and family.

Warmest regards and God bless,

Wade Thompson

Thank you for such a thorough inspection yesterday. Needless to say, I’m stunned. Also, I am grateful to find out now. A biological hazard in my dream home isn’t what I care to deal with.

I was disappointed that Joe caused his workmen to pour clorox on all the mold last night. Thant does seem like cover up behavior. I don’t think that is showing good faith in having the inspection you recommended to him.

Anyway, thank God for protecting me from what could be a disaster!

Sincerely,  Marilyn Draper

Thank you so much for helping us out on Saturday. Your inspections are always so thorough and we also appreciate the fact that you did it on such short notice. Unfortunately, we lost in the bidding process. Foreclosures are often tricky and the people with inside scoop pick the great deals up!

We’ll keep trying! Blessings, Charlie Price

Thank you for sending me a sample report. it is certainly the finest looking report I’ve ever seen. I’ll look forward to working together in the near future.

Laura Cohen, Exclusive Buyer’s Agent

Again, thank you for your thorough home inspection, professional (plus friendly resale) advice and blessing my home with your prayers. Either Joel or I will call you if there are any questions. Based on my great experience with you, I definitely feel comfortable referring my family, friends, and professional contacts to you. I pray that your parents are well and your mother is recovering quickly. I pray also for the children you’re supporting inThailand. Have a very blessed day!  Raquel Jarrett