Chimney service in North Hunterdon/Warren area? (house, inspector)

[Badfish740]

So I noticed the strong odor of fuel oil in the house just now and went downstairs to find a haze hanging in the basement. The oil company came out and the tech determined that its a chimney problem. Anyone have a good experience with a chimney company they'd recommend in my area?

[wileynj]

Originally Posted by Badfish740

So I noticed the strong odor of fuel oil in the house just now and went downstairs to find a haze hanging in the basement. The oil company came out and the tech determined that its a chimney problem. Anyone have a good experience with a chimney company they'd recommend in my area?

So far..Hearth and Home in Ledgewood seems to be giving my clients the best prices. Do not call the one on 57 in Mansfiled..call the one on rt. 46 in ledgewood!

[tommyc_37]

WF Ryan and Son Chimney. Family Buisness. Was formerly President of the National Chimney Sweep Guild. 973-398-3978. Bill and Jenn Ryan.

[HelgaB]

Originally Posted by tommyc_37

WF Ryan and Son Chimney. Family Buisness. Was formerly President of the National Chimney Sweep Guild. 973-398-3978. Bill and Jenn Ryan.

I would also recommend William F.Ryan and Son Chimney company.

[Badfish740]

Thanks for all the responses-luckily I didn't actually need them. As it turns out my roof fans aren't getting enough air flow through attic so they were pulling air from the house itself, causing a downdraft in the chimney. The short term solution is simply disabling the fans but long term I need to create more ventilation by way of soffit vents. For some reason when the PO had the vinyl siding installed they did solid soffits all around. Anyway, at least I have good people to refer to if I ever do need chimney service. At the very least I think I'll get it swept soon.

[CuCullin]

Originally Posted by Badfish740

Thanks for all the responses-luckily I didn't actually need them. As it turns out my roof fans aren't getting enough air flow through attic so they were pulling air from the house itself, causing a downdraft in the chimney. The short term solution is simply disabling the fans but long term I need to create more ventilation by way of soffit vents. For some reason when the PO had the vinyl siding installed they did solid soffits all around. Anyway, at least I have good people to refer to if I ever do need chimney service. At the very least I think I'll get it swept soon.

Did they clean the boiler? When the oil is burned, soot and residue builds up at the top of the boiler, impeding air flow, which minimizes the amount of smoke that can get out, which in turn, minimizes the amount of air that needs to get sucked in from inside the house. If your boiler is on and pumping away, the vent flap should be just about at a full open. The attic fans could just be adding to the problem instead of being the problem.

[Badfish740]

Originally Posted by CuCullin

Did they clean the boiler? When the oil is burned, soot and residue builds up at the top of the boiler, impeding air flow, which minimizes the amount of smoke that can get out, which in turn, minimizes the amount of air that needs to get sucked in from inside the house. If your boiler is on and pumping away, the vent flap should be just about at a full open. The attic fans could just be adding to the problem instead of being the problem.

I did schedule a service and cleaning, but the lion's share of the problem was the fans. I tested this using a simple method I got from the folks at Hearth.com - Information on Gas Fireplaces, Wood Stoves, Gas Logs, Pellet Stoves, Fireplaces, Chimneys and Hearth Products Basically, I went around with a strip of toilet paper to each window in the house and cracked it 1". With the fans on the paper would be blown nearly parallel to the floor via the air being sucked into the house from outside. This was the case with every window and door as well as the chimney itself. When I disabled the fans and repeated the test the paper hung completely still at each opening. The fans were creating a huge pressure differential between the house and the outside air. With the fans off, I started the furnace and held the toilet paper near the now open vent flap-the updraft nearly sucked the paper into the chimney. For right now I've left the fans off as it's not going to be hot or overly humid anytime soon, but eventually I'll install soffit vents about every four feet around the perimeter of the house to see if that provides enough airflow.

[CuCullin]

Are the fans temp controlled? MasterFlow temp-controlled fans from good ol HD might help make the problem more manageable in the mean time.

[Badfish740]

Originally Posted by CuCullin

Are the fans temp controlled? MasterFlow temp-controlled fans from good ol HD might help make the problem more manageable in the mean time.

Temperature and humidity as per my (and your ) home inspector's recommendation. Since the gable vents were woefully undersized and the soffits were completely unvented the attic was like a sauna in even moderately warm/humid weather. The PO had agreed to kill/remove the mold, encapsulate what was left, and put on a new roof with fans equipped with thermostats as well as humidistats. The attic is now cool and dry, but of course the fans themselves coupled with the lack of passive ventilation has created a new issue. In any event, the settings on the controls are easy to manipulate for temperature and humidity percentage setpoints, but I just disabled both of them via the cutoff switch that the electrician had wired in. I'm going to leave them off completely until I get the ventilation in the soffit worked out.