Practical notes from Jacob Dove and the crew: what we find on the job, what to watch for at home, and when to call.
An outdoor wood boiler near Herscher built a quarter inch of glazed creosote in one season. Why boiler flues glaze so fast, what a sweep involves, and the
After a Will County windstorm took a Peotone chimney cap, we looked at why. Friction-fit caps, galvanized screws and legs that were never tightened are the
A Momence river-town home had a wood stove venting through a thimble into an unlined 1880s brick flue.
A Manteno direct-vent gas fireplace that lit and then shut itself off had a weak thermopile, not a bad gas valve.
Rust and grit in a chimney cleanout usually mean a gas furnace is eating the tile joints from inside.
A Level 2 camera inspection on a 1920s Kankakee home found a shifted tile and an open joint 18 feet up.