Chimney and Wood Stove Sweeping in Cedar Lake, IN
Around the water, summer cottages turned year-round homes often heat with a wood stove on a flue never planned for it. That is the Cedar Lake job we know best.
By Mark Jason, owner of NWI Chimney Sweep · sweeping wood stoves and fireplaces for 34 years
Cedar Lake did not incorporate until 1967. Municipal information is published on the Town of Cedar Lake website.
What makes a converted lake cottage chimney different?
A cottage built for summer use was rarely designed to be heated through an Indiana winter, and its chimney usually shows it. In converted seasonal buildings generally, we find small flues added after the fact, wood stoves connected to whatever chimney was nearest, and stovepipe running closer to walls than it should. That is trade experience with this kind of building, not a count of Cedar Lake houses.
Two NFPA 211 rules do most of the work here. Single-wall stovepipe needs 18 inches of clearance from anything combustible unless an approved shield is fitted. And the flue a stove vents into may be no more than three times the cross-sectional area of the stove’s outlet collar, or twice the area when the chimney runs up an outside wall. An oversized flue lets smoke slow down and cool, and cool smoke deposits creosote.
Creosote comes in three stages. Stage one is loose, dusty soot that brushes away. Stage two is hard black flakes that take stiffer tools. Stage three is a glossy, tar-like glaze that a brush slides over; it forms when a stove is damped down to smoulder on unseasoned wood, and it is the fuel of chimney fires.
How does a wood stove sweep go?
A wood stove sweep covers the appliance, the connector pipe and the chimney, since a blockage in any one of the three stops the other two working.
Check the installation
We measure clearances and look at the floor protection. Pipe joints should have three screws each, with the crimped end pointing down toward the stove so liquid creosote stays inside the pipe.
Sweep pipe and flue
The connector comes apart and is brushed outdoors. The flue gets a wood stove and chimney sweep with rods sized to its liner.
Open up the stove
Baffle plates, firebrick and the door gasket are inspected.
Tell you what we found
You get the creosote stage, the liner condition and a plain recommendation, including whether an insulated liner sized to the stove would cure a chronic problem.
What do Cedar Lake’s newer homes need?
Houses in the newer subdivisions mostly have factory-built or gas fireplaces, so their upkeep is about caps, covers and vents more than brushing. A listed cap with intact mesh keeps rain and animals out; see chimney cap and chase cover replacement. Long laundry exhaust runs get professional dryer vent cleaning while the ladder is out.
Which Cedar Lake landmarks are near our regular routes?
The resort era survives at the Museum at Lassen’s Resort, the Cedar Lake Historical Association’s lakefront museum in the former Lassen Hotel. Our regular stops are in the neighbourhoods near Potawatomi Park, Kiwanis Park, Bartlett Wahlberg Park, Sue Landske Memorial Park and Monon Park, whose name recalls the railroad. Most of the town is served by Hanover Central High School; the Center Township side belongs to the Crown Point school district.
Buying a lake property? Arrange a chimney inspection before closing. Starting figures sit on the price page, and nearby we also work in St. John, where newer fireplaces dominate, and in Crown Point, old square and new subdivisions alike. The complete list is on the NWI Chimney Sweep service area page.
Cedar Lake stove and chimney questions
How often should a wood stove in a Cedar Lake home be swept?
A wood stove in a Cedar Lake home should be inspected yearly, as NFPA 211 calls for, and swept whenever creosote reaches about one-eighth of an inch. A stove that heats the house daily from November to March normally needs sweeping every year and benefits from a mid-winter look at the connector pipe.
Can I vent a wood stove into the old chimney of my Cedar Lake cottage?
A wood stove may be vented into the old chimney of a Cedar Lake cottage only after that chimney has been inspected and found sound, lined and correctly sized. Older flues are often too big or unlined, and a stainless liner the diameter of the collar solves both.
What is glazed creosote and can it be removed from a Cedar Lake chimney?
Glazed creosote, also called stage three, is a hard, shiny, tar-like layer that forms in a Cedar Lake chimney when smoke condenses on a cool flue wall. Removal takes a chemical treatment that changes the glaze into a brittle crust, followed by rotary cleaning.
What firewood burns cleanest in a Cedar Lake wood stove?
The cleanest firewood for a Cedar Lake wood stove is any hardwood that has been split and dried to below 20 percent moisture. Dryness matters more than species. Stack split wood off the ground with the top covered and the sides open, and give it a full summer at least.
My Cedar Lake house is used mainly at weekends. Does the chimney still need a yearly check?
A chimney on a Cedar Lake house used mainly at weekends still needs its yearly check. Light use means less creosote, but an idle flue is where birds, squirrels and raccoons move in, and a cold, unheated chimney holds dampness that rusts dampers and stove parts.
Why does my Cedar Lake cottage smell of smoke when the weather turns humid?
A Cedar Lake cottage smells of smoke in humid weather because damp air reactivates the odour of creosote and soot inside the flue, and warm outdoor air sinking down a cool chimney carries it indoors. Sweeping takes away most of the source.
Is a chimney cap necessary on a Cedar Lake home?
A chimney cap is necessary on a Cedar Lake home for three reasons. It stops rain running straight down the flue, where water rusts metal parts and soaks masonry. Its mesh keeps out the animals that favour quiet chimneys. And on a wood-burning flue, the mesh catches embers before they land on the roof or on dry leaves.
How far from the wall should a wood stove sit in a Cedar Lake home?
How far a wood stove should sit from the wall in a Cedar Lake home depends on its label. A listed stove carries a plate giving the tested clearances for that model, and those figures govern. For an unlisted stove with no plate, NFPA 211 calls for 36 inches from combustible walls unless approved protection is installed.
Stove smoking or flue overdue? Call from Cedar Lake
Lines are open seven days, 7am to 9pm, and you will reach someone who sweeps for a living.
Call (219) 203-9797