Lake Station Chimney Sweep: Fireplace, Furnace and Water Heater Flues
In many Lake Station homes the chimney works hardest for the furnace and the water heater, not a fireplace. We sweep, inspect and correctly size those flues as well.
By Mark Jason, owner of NWI Chimney Sweep · 34 years in the chimney trade
Why does a furnace flue need attention in Lake Station?
A masonry flue built for a 1960s furnace is usually too large for the appliances venting into it today, and an oversized flue condenses. Homes of that period typically have one brick chimney that was sized for an old, hot-running furnace plus a water heater. When that furnace is later replaced with a high-efficiency model vented through a plastic pipe in the wall, the water heater is left alone in a flue several times bigger than it needs. Its exhaust cools before reaching the top, and the water vapor in it condenses on the tile as a mildly acidic film. Over years that film flakes the clay and washes sand out of the joints.
The remedy is a flue liner sized to the appliance, selected from the venting tables in the National Fuel Gas Code (NFPA 54), not guessed. A chimney and vent inspection tells you whether your stack has reached that point.
What do the warning signs look like?
The usual signs of a failing appliance flue are debris at the cleanout, damp plaster beside the chimney and rust on the water heater’s draft hood.
| What you notice | Likely cause | What we do |
|---|---|---|
| Tile flakes or sand behind the cleanout door | Condensate breaking down the clay liner | Camera the flue, measure for a liner |
| Damp patch or peeling paint on the wall by the chimney | Flue condensation, or a crown or flashing leak | Trace the moisture from the top down |
| Rust streaks on the water heater draft hood | Exhaust spilling instead of rising | Draft test and blockage check |
| Sooty smell from a fireplace nobody uses | Old deposits plus humid summer air drawn down the flue | Sweep, then fit a top-sealing damper |
How well do we know Lake Station?
We work throughout the city, from the blocks around Riverview Park to the homes near Columbus Park and Four Winds Park. Lake Station got its name in 1851 as the western terminus of the Michigan Central Railroad and the first train station in Lake County, was renamed East Gary in 1908, and later took the old name back. Riverview Park, described on the city parks page, is the largest park in the city at 43 acres, and city hall business runs through the City of Lake Station official site. Most of the city is served by Thomas A. Edison Jr.-Sr. High School; roughly the west third belongs to the River Forest school district instead.
Does being close to Lake Michigan matter?
Yes: Lake Station sits in the northern tier of Lake County, where lake-effect snow and repeated thaws keep chimney tops wet for long stretches. That is hard on mortar crowns, so we pair flue work with crown and cap repair and, where joints have opened, repointing of the brickwork. A fireplace sweep is still the starting point if you burn wood. See what each service starts at, our Portage chimney service page, or the full list of towns we cover.
Lake Station flue and fireplace questions
Does a Lake Station chimney with no fireplace still need inspecting?
Yes. A Lake Station chimney that serves only a furnace or water heater is still a working vent, and NFPA 211 calls for vents to be inspected yearly just like fireplace chimneys. Gas appliances make little soot, but a flue blocked by fallen tile, a nest or a collapsed crown sends exhaust, including carbon monoxide, back into the house.
I replaced the furnace in my Lake Station home. Do I need a chimney liner now?
Possibly. If the new furnace in your Lake Station home vents through the side wall, the water heater is now alone in the old masonry flue, which is likely too big for it. The National Fuel Gas Code sets maximum flue sizes for a given appliance input; when the flue exceeds that, a correctly sized metal liner is the fix.
What is the small metal door at the base of my Lake Station chimney?
That door is the cleanout. On a Lake Station chimney it sits at the bottom of the furnace flue, in the basement or outside, and gives access to whatever falls down the flue. A handful of fine grit is normal over time. Curved shards of orange clay or piles of sandy mortar mean the liner above is breaking up.
Why does the fireplace in my Lake Station house smell in summer?
A summer fireplace smell in a Lake Station house comes from creosote and soot absorbing humid air, then being pulled into the room when air conditioning or exhaust fans lower the indoor pressure. Sweeping removes most of the source. A top-sealing damper, which closes the flue at the crown with a gasket, stops the downward airflow.
Can the cracked crown on my Lake Station chimney be sealed, or must it be rebuilt?
It depends on the crown. Hairline cracks in an otherwise solid Lake Station chimney crown can be bridged with a flexible crown coating. A crown that is thin, crumbling, flat enough to pond water or bonded tight to the flue tile is rebuilt in concrete with a slope, an overhang and a drip edge so water falls clear of the brick.
Do you work on both the Edison side and the River Forest side of Lake Station?
Yes. NWI Chimney Sweep serves all of Lake Station, whether your address falls in Lake Station Community Schools, home of Thomas A. Edison Jr.-Sr. High School, or in the western part of the city assigned to River Forest. School boundaries make no difference to scheduling.
Is carbon monoxide a real risk from an old furnace flue in Lake Station?
It can be. When an aging furnace flue in a Lake Station home is blocked or badly deteriorated, exhaust that should rise spills from the draft hood into the basement. Keep working carbon monoxide alarms on every level. If one sounds, leave the house and call 911 or the gas utility; have the flue inspected before the appliance runs again.
How does lake-effect snow damage a Lake Station chimney top?
Lake-effect snow sits on a Lake Station chimney crown, melts into every hairline crack and refreezes overnight. Each freeze widens the crack a little more. Once water gets under the crown it runs down between the flue tile and the brick, which is why the first visible sign is often loose mortar a few courses below the top.
Get your Lake Station flues checked
Call any day between 7am and 9pm and tell us what vents into your chimney.
Call (219) 203-9797