Chimney Dampers Advice

A chimney damper is generally sited  at the foot of the chimney above the hearth. They are essential to retain heat and stop it from heading up the chimney and out of your home . In addition, they will stop rain water  and icy breezes, from coming in through your chimney.  Chimney dampers are in use in  wood burning and gas hearths and stoves.

As you probably know, hot air rises in a open fireplace and finds its way out of your home. This hot air will pull other air out of you chimney , often called the chimney effect and leave you needing to coninually heat the room. Experts have found that in severe cases upto 50% of your heat can be lost in your home in this way. Applying a chimney damper will without doubt  improve the performance of your fireplace as the hot air is held back inside the room when the hearth is not being used.

Several older hearths might not have a damper fitted so this  must  be addressed even  if the fireplace isn't used anymore. This is primarily to make sure the colder air can't enter your house.
 Fitting a chimney damper is comparatively simple and does not demand any expert equipment. If you are at all unsure then you shoud seek the advice of a professional as you need to ensure you don't interupt the flue in any way.

Virtually all chimney dampers are located very close th the source of the heat but are still exposed to wet and damp weather  from outdoors through the chimney. Dampers are typically constructed to hold up well in intense temperatures differences but inevitably in time  can become distorted and unsound which results the damper not be sealing the chimney correctly. When this happens heat will find a way of drifting  up  the chimney through even the tiniest breaks in the damper and these increased heat losses means that you will have to have your heating on for longer and at higher temperatures to compensate.  This will unavoidably cost alot more money in one year than actually getting the chimney damper installed or replaced. Work out your heating bill and then price a new chimney damper and see for yourself.