Our Process
Inside a top sealing damper job in Taintsville
Throat damper repair or a top damper
The throat damper sits just above the firebox, and heat, rust and age can warp its plate or seize its hinge. Some can be freed, adjusted or fitted with new parts. Others have rusted too far, or their frame has broken loose from the masonry, and repairing them means difficult work inside the smoke chamber.
When the throat damper in your Taintsville fireplace can be repaired sensibly, our team says so and prices that repair. When it cannot, a top sealing damper is the usual alternative, and we explain what happens to the old throat damper. You see both options on the estimate.
Bonding the damper to the flue
In the Lock-Top installation instructions, the installer spreads a 1/4 inch bead of the furnished adhesive around the top of the chimney opening, centers the damper, presses the frame down firmly and fills any gaps with adhesive for a proper seal. The instructions allow the adhesive 24 hours to set before the damper is used.
Our installers follow the maker's instructions for the damper chosen for your Taintsville chimney, including its adhesive and its set time. We tell you when the fireplace can be used again, and the damper is not operated until the adhesive has set.
Keeping insects and debris out of the flue
A closed top damper shuts the flue at the top, and the Lyemance listing names insects among what its gasketed seal keeps out. That helps between fires, when an open flue can collect nests, leaves and whatever the wind drops into it.
When the damper is open for a fire, the flue is open too unless a screened cap covers it. Our team clears debris from the top of your Taintsville chimney before the damper goes on and recommends a screened cap where the damper design leaves the flue uncovered.
Damper findings on a home inspection
A rusted, stuck or missing damper may show up in a home inspection report, but the note seldom says whether the throat damper can be repaired or whether a top damper is the better route.
Share the report with us. Our local specialists will look at the fireplace in your Taintsville home at no charge, explain the finding and give you a written price for the repair or the top damper, which you can use in the sale.
