Chippewa County
Chimney Work in Chippewa County
Chippewa County occupies the eastern Upper Peninsula, with Sault Ste. Marie as the county seat at the St. Marys River and the Soo Locks. It is among the coldest inhabited parts of the state, with a heating season that starts early and finishes late.
That length of season is the defining fact for chimneys here. A flue in Sault Ste. Marie may run four to five months longer per year than one in Monroe County, and everything that happens to a chimney – creosote accumulation, thermal cycling, moisture loading – happens proportionally more.
Extreme Cold and Flue Condensation
Very cold outside air cools the top of a flue faster than the fire can keep it warm, and a cold flue top means combustion gases condense before they exit. That condensate is acidic and it attacks mortar joints and unlined masonry from the inside.
An insulated liner solves it properly. Exterior chimneys running up an outside wall are the most affected, because they have cold on three sides and no help from the building’s heat – which is exactly the configuration most common on the additions and enclosed porches found throughout this county.