If you’ve lived with a fireplace in your home, you are familiar with the damper. You keep it shut when the fireplace isn’t in use so that no extra heat from your home escapes up the chimney, and you open it when you light a fire so the exhaust fumes from the fire don’t flow into your home but instead vent safely to the outside.
However, you may not have heard of a “top sealing damper” or know if your fireplace even has one installed. We’ll take a look at this important component of fireplace venting in this post. When you need fireplace repair in Minneapolis, MN for a chimney damper or anything else, call the CSIA-certified technicians at 2nd Generation Chimneys, Inc.
The Top Sealing Damper
As the name indicates, a top sealing damper is installed at the top of a chimney, as opposed to the standard damper that is in reach from the fireplace hearth. Pull-cables operate top sealing dampers, and when shut the dampers can completely close off the chimney top. This increases your protection against heat loss through the flue than with a standard damper alone. Top sealing dampers are 90% more efficient than standard throat dampers if they use a silicone rubber gasket for their seal.
An added benefit of a top sealing damper is that, with a screened cap, they provide protection from animals and debris such as branches and leaves from entering and blocking the chimney.
We highly recommend top sealing dampers for wood-burning fireplaces, so if your chimney does not have one, you should consider scheduling installation.
If you already have a top sealing damper, please make sure that you do not attempt to repair it yourself should it become stuck, loose, or develop leaking along its edges. Repairs require going up on the roof, and this is discouraged for all but professionals. Chimney sweeps have experience with these sorts of repairs, so call up a licensed professional service that does fireplace repair in Minneapolis, MN—before you try to find a tall ladder!
We Can Help You with Your Chimney and Fireplace
2nd Generation Chimneys, Inc. has many years of work on chimneys of all kinds, from sweeping to repairing masonry. We are members of the National Chimney Sweep Guild and have properly certified-technicians with the Chimney Safety Institute of America. Call us for top sealing damper repairs and installation.