Fireplace and Chimney Care for St. John, IN Homes
Most St. John fireplaces are factory-built or gas. They need different care from a brick chimney, and they do still need it.
By Mark Jason, owner of NWI Chimney Sweep · 34 years in the chimney trade
How did St. John come to have such new housing?
St. John is an old settlement with young houses: German immigrant John Hack founded it in 1837, and his church was the first in Lake County, yet the median home was built in 2002. The growth shows in the park map. The Town of St. John government site lists 27 parks, several named for the subdivisions around them, such as Gates of St. John Park; Lake Hills Park, Heron Lake Park, Founders Park and Veterans Civic Park are on the same list.
Two more St. John landmarks: The Shrine of Christ’s Passion prayer trail, and the Lake Central High School campus on Wicker Avenue, which stands inside the town limits.
What fails first on a factory-built chimney?
On a factory-built chimney the sheet-metal and sealant parts at the top fail first, usually long before the pipe itself.
Chase cover
The lid of the framed chase. Flat galvanized steel ponds water and rusts; we measure for a sloped stainless replacement.
Storm collar
The cone around the pipe above the cover. Its bead of sealant dries out and cracks, and water follows the pipe down into the firebox.
Termination cap
It has to be the cap listed for that chimney brand. Wind-damaged or substituted caps let rain and downdrafts in.
Refractory panels
The cast panels lining the firebox. Wide cracks or crumbling expose the steel behind them to direct flame.
Replacement covers and caps are detailed on our page about chimney caps, chase covers and crowns.
What does a direct-vent gas fireplace need each year?
A direct-vent gas fireplace needs its burner, pilot assembly, safety sensors, glass seal and vent checked once a year, even though it produces no soot to sweep. The unit is sealed: it draws combustion air through the outer wall of a co-axial pipe and exhausts through the inner one.
The usual complaint is a pilot that will not stay lit. A thermocouple is a small probe that turns pilot heat into roughly 30 millivolts, enough to hold the gas valve open; a thermopile is a bundle of them that produces several hundred millivolts to run the main burner. We measure the output with a meter before replacing anything. A gas fireplace tune-up also covers the glass gasket, the log placement and the outside termination.
Do newer St. John homes need dryer vent cleaning?
Newer St. John homes often do. Second-floor laundry rooms, common in the two-storey houses built here since 2000, mean long dryer exhaust runs with several elbows, and lint collects wherever the airflow slows. A dryer vent cleaned from the appliance to the exterior hood restores the airflow the dryer was designed for and cuts both the fire risk and the drying time.
Does St. John have any masonry chimneys?
It does: the older houses in town have conventional brick chimneys, and they get the same NFPA 211 chimney inspection we would give one anywhere. Our Lake County crew also looks after mixed masonry and prefab fireplaces in Schererville and wood stoves and chimneys in Cedar Lake. Every community we travel to is listed under towns covered by NWI Chimney Sweep.
St. John fireplace owners want to know
My St. John home was built after 2000. Does the fireplace really need an inspection?
Yes, a fireplace in a St. John home built after 2000 still needs a yearly inspection, which is the interval NFPA 211 sets for every chimney and vent regardless of age. On newer systems the findings are different, not absent: rusting chase covers, dried-out sealant at the storm collar and bird nests in termination caps.
What replaces a rusted chase cover on a St. John chimney?
A rusted chase cover on a St. John chimney is replaced with a stainless steel cover made to the measured size of the chase. The new one is cross-broken, meaning creased from corner to corner so the centre sits high and water runs off. It has a turned-down drip edge on all four sides.
Why does the pilot light on my St. John gas fireplace keep going out?
The pilot light on a St. John gas fireplace keeps going out for one of a few reasons: a thermocouple too weak to hold the safety valve open, a pilot orifice partly blocked by dust or spider webs so the flame misses the sensor, or a draft from a failed glass seal.
Is the white haze on my St. John gas fireplace glass a problem?
The white haze on St. John gas fireplace glass is a mineral film left by combustion moisture, and it becomes a problem only if ignored. Cleaned off yearly with a cleaner made for fireplace ceramic glass, it wipes away. Left for several seasons it can etch the surface permanently.
Can I add gas logs to a wood-burning prefab fireplace in St. John?
Gas logs can be added to a wood-burning prefab fireplace in St. John only if the fireplace manufacturer lists that model for a gas log set. The data plate inside the firebox says so. Vented logs also need the damper fixed permanently open with a clamp so exhaust cannot be trapped.
Does a newer St. John fireplace still build up creosote?
A newer St. John fireplace still builds creosote whenever it burns wood, usually less than an older one if the flue is a tight, correctly sized liner. Many newer St. John homes have prefabricated or gas fireplaces; a gas unit leaves almost none, but any wood burning leaves deposits that an annual sweep removes before they harden into glaze.
How do I know if the dryer vent in my two-storey St. John house is too long?
To judge whether the dryer vent in a two-storey St. John house is too long, add up the straight duct and count the elbows. The International Residential Code allows 35 feet, less 5 feet for each 90-degree bend and 2.5 feet for each 45-degree bend, unless the dryer manufacturer permits more.
Does NWI Chimney Sweep work on gas fireplaces that vent through a side wall in St. John?
NWI Chimney Sweep does service side-wall direct-vent gas fireplaces in St. John. The termination on the outside wall is part of the appliance: it must stay clear of shrubs, mulch, snow and stored items, and its screen must be free of nests.
St. John fireplace not behaving? Pick up the phone
We answer from 7am to 9pm every day and can usually tell you by phone what kind of visit is needed.
Call (219) 203-9797