Chimney Sweep for Ross, IN and Its 1950s Flues
Ross has the oldest housing of any place we serve. A chimney built in the Eisenhower years is still doing a daily job, usually for a furnace it was never sized for.
By Mark Jason, owner of NWI Chimney Sweep · 34 years inspecting and relining flues
Is Ross a town, and who runs it?
Ross is not an incorporated town: it has no town hall or council, and despite the name it lies in Calumet Township, not Ross Township. Lake County is the governing body, and its departments are listed on Lake County government’s own site.
The community is named for pioneer settler William Ross and had its own post office from 1857 to 1914. The Census Bureau first defined Ross as a census-designated place in the 2023 American Community Survey, with an estimated 6,740 residents. Unincorporated Calumet Township is served by the Lake Ridge school district, whose high school is Calumet New Tech High School; confirm your own address with the district.
What does a 1958 chimney need today?
A chimney from the late 1950s needs its liner verified first, because the appliances it serves have almost certainly been replaced since. Homes of that period typically have one masonry chimney with clay tile, built when furnaces were larger and less efficient. Fit a newer, smaller-output appliance and the old flue is too wide for it: exhaust rises slowly, cools, and leaves moisture on tile that is already six decades old.
Sizing is arithmetic, not opinion. The venting tables in the National Fuel Gas Code (NFPA 54) give the allowable liner diameter from the burner input, the height of the chimney and the length of the connector pipe. Relining a furnace or water heater flue means lowering a continuous stainless or aluminium liner of that diameter from the top, connecting it at the thimble and sealing it with a top plate and rain cap.
Fireplaces of the same age have their own pattern. Some mid-century fireplaces were built around a steel firebox form with air passages behind it; the steel rusts through at the back wall and the seams open. Any fireplace gets a sweep of the firebox and flue and then an inspection to the NFPA 211 standard before we call it usable.
CO alarm sounding?
If a carbon monoxide alarm sounds, get everyone outdoors and call 911 or your gas utility from outside. Ring us afterwards, once the house has been declared safe, to find out why the flue failed.
What happens to the outside of a chimney after sixty-five winters?
After sixty-five winters the mortar joints and the crown are normally the worn parts, while the brick itself is often still sound. Joints erode fastest on the side facing the weather and just below the crown, where water runs off. Catching it at the pointing stage keeps chimney masonry repair small. Many chimneys of this period were also built with no cap at all, so fitting a cap over each flue is frequently the first improvement.
If nobody has looked up your flue in a decade, start with an inspection. Starting figures are on our pricing page. Our Lake County crew also works in Highland, another town of mid-century chimneys, and Hobart; see the full service area.
Ross chimney owners ask
Is Ross, Indiana part of Ross Township?
No. Ross, Indiana is in Calumet Township, Lake County, even though a Ross Township exists elsewhere in the county. Ross is unincorporated, which means it has no town government of its own and Lake County is the governing body. For a chimney owner the practical point is that questions about permits for a Ross address go to county offices, not to a town hall.
How long do clay flue tiles last in a 1950s Ross chimney?
Clay flue tiles in a 1950s Ross chimney have no fixed lifespan. Kept dry and spared overheating, tile from that decade can still be serviceable; exposed to rain through an uncapped top or to condensate from a mismatched furnace, it can be flaking badly. The condition seen on camera is, which is why inspection comes first.
What size liner does a water heater need in a Ross chimney?
The liner size for a water heater in a Ross chimney comes from the venting tables in the National Fuel Gas Code, NFPA 54. The inputs are the burner rating on the appliance plate, the total chimney height and the connector length. A water heater venting alone needs a much smaller liner than the original tile flue.
Can I keep using my Ross fireplace while the furnace flue is being relined?
You can generally keep using a Ross fireplace while the furnace flue is relined, provided the fireplace flue has passed its own inspection. The two flues are separate passages inside one chimney, divided by a brick or tile partition. We check that partition during the job, because a gap between flues lets furnace exhaust cross into the fireplace side.
Why are bits of tile and sand collecting at the bottom of my Ross chimney?
Bits of tile and sand at the bottom of a Ross chimney are the liner and its mortar joints coming apart. Thin curved flakes are the tile face spalling; sandy grit is mortar. A handful in the cleanout over many years is ordinary. A pile that returns after being cleared means active deterioration.
Should a 1950s chimney in Ross have a cap?
A 1950s chimney in Ross should have a cap, even though many were built without one. An open flue takes in every rain and snowfall, and that water is the main cause of tile and mortar decay. A stainless cap with mesh sides also keeps out birds and squirrels.
What is a steel firebox and how does it fail in older Ross homes?
A steel firebox, found in some older Ross homes, is a factory-made metal form that masons built the fireplace around, often with grilles above or beside the opening to circulate warm air. Its weak point is rust. Water coming down the flue eats through the back wall and seams, leaving holes into the air chamber. Once the steel is perforated, the fireplace should not be used.
Does relining a Ross chimney change how it looks from the street?
Relining a Ross chimney changes almost nothing visible from the street. The liner runs inside the existing flue, so the brickwork is untouched. The only new parts on show are a flat metal top plate where the liner meets the old tile and a rain cap above it, both low-profile.
Old flue, newer furnace? Call about your Ross chimney
Seven days a week, 7am to 9pm, and a sweep with 34 years behind him on the other end.
Call (219) 203-9797