Safety of those using the building.
Chimney flue problems advice.
A cold flue may have to be preheated.
Periodic inspections will uncover minor problems before they turn into major ones.
This can be accomplished by priming the flue with a rolled up newspaper.
A chimney sweep should be called out for cleaning and inspection.
Integrity of the building fabric.
Such issues mean that a chimney generally needs to be rebuilt every 100 years or so.
Ask your heating service tech to check the chimney itself and order a cleaning if needed.
Oil gas fired heating appliance chimneys also need to be inspected and cleaned.
The smell is from creosote in the chimney a natural byproduct of the combustion process.
At minimum you should inspect your chimney flue at the beginning and end of fireplace season.
High humidity and a situation called negative pressure can worsen this.
The air starvation problem or lack of room ventilation 3.
Part of normal oil fired appliance heating service includes disassembly and cleaning of the flue vent connector.
The volume and speed of the smoke passing up the flue is insufficient to clear the large volume of fumes building up in the oversize fireplace opening below.
Non functional or stuck dampers can be the cause of smoking problems.
The fireplace opening is too large for size of flue i e.
Badly sited chimney terminal.
Let it burn down aways and drop it on the logs to finish burning.
2 come prepared for a thorough inspection.
Cleaning out creosote build up or repairing a crack is easier than rebuilding the chimney after it collapses or catches fire.