Chimney Sweep in Kirkwood, NY

Why Wood Stove Chimneys Need More Attention

Wood smoke that cools before it leaves the chimney leaves creosote behind, a sticky, flammable tar that coats the flue. A stove turned down low for an all-night burn makes cool, lazy smoke, and that's exactly when creosote builds fastest. It starts as dry soot, turns crunchy, and if it keeps cooking it becomes a hard, shiny glaze that a brush skates right over.

The national fire numbers back up why this matters. US fire departments see about 34,200 home heating fires a year, and 77% of them are confined to the chimney, flue or fuel burner. Most of those start with creosote. A clean flue doesn't have the fuel for one.

Wood That's Ready to Burn

The single best thing a Kirkwood woodburner can do is burn dry wood. Split it, stack it off the ground with the top covered and give it at least six months, a year for oak. Dry wood reads 20% moisture or less on a cheap meter. Wet wood steams, smolders and coats the chimney.

Old Stove or New Stove

A lot of Kirkwood homes still run a stove from the 1970s or 80s, the big airtight boxes that were sold by the thousand during the oil crunch. They heat fine, but they were built to be choked down, and choked-down fires are what make glazed creosote. Stoves certified to the EPA's 2020 limit burn much cleaner, with secondary air that burns the smoke itself. In our experience a newer stove on dry wood often goes a full season with a light coat of soot, while an old one on green wood can coat its chimney in a couple of months.

Signs of a Chimney Fire

A chimney fire can sound like a freight train or a jet in the walls, with dense smoke and sometimes sparks shooting from the top. Some burn quietly and nobody notices. Afterward you may see puffy, honeycomb-like creosote, warped metal or cracked tiles. If you think you've had one, call the fire department first, and don't use the chimney again until it's been inspected.

The River Side of Town

The Susquehanna forms Kirkwood's western edge, and it has not been gentle. The floods of June 2006 and September 2011 damaged hundreds of homes in the town. Water in a basement doesn't just ruin the furnace. It fills the bottom of the chimney through the cleanout, leaves silt behind and soaks the base of the brick.

If your home took water, have the chimney base and cleanout checked even if everything upstairs looks fine. We've found buckets of dried river mud in the bottom of furnace flues years after a flood, partly blocking the furnace connection the whole time.

Types of Chimney Service We Offer in Kirkwood

Wood Stove Chimney Cleaning

We sweep the stovepipe, the chimney and the stove's baffle area, then inspect it. Our standard sweep is $250 for the first flue.

Creosote Removal

Hard, glazed creosote needs rotary tools or a treatment that softens it. It costs extra, and we price it on site before starting.

Wood Stove Chimney Installation

For homes without a usable chimney, we install insulated metal chimney pipe listed for wood stoves, with the right clearances and a proper roof flashing. See wood stove chimney installation.

Caps and Liners

A cap keeps rain and animals out. A stainless liner fixes a cracked clay flue under a stove or insert.

Brick and Crown Repair

Repointing worn joints and rebuilding cracked crowns before the next round of freezing.

Kirkwood Price Guide

Kirkwood carries no trip charge. The same $250 we charge in Binghamton applies from Five Mile Point all the way to Riverside.

Right across the Conklin-Kirkwood Bridge, the town of Conklin has the same river history and a lot of the same stoves. Our page on chimney sweep service in Conklin covers it.