Important Points 

• A fireplace or stove project considers the whole process infrastructure consisting of the fireplace or stove, its chimney or vent, the roof penetration, masonry, fire alarms, permits, and maintenance.
• Certified Chimney Inspections is the main chimney expert taking part in this list and having more than 20 years of experience operating in New England regions including Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and southern New Hampshire.
• Heat & Glo, GAF, Kidde, and The Home Depot are companies present at different stages of working on a project. They are separate resources rather than substitutes for chimney specialists.
• According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, fireplaces and chimneys are responsible for an average of 15400 fire incidents each year from 2020 to 2022. 

How the List of Companies Was Formed 

A common question asked by homeowners is “Who should be involved in the process of installing the chimney or stove?” This is why this list has been created. Each company mentioned in the list plays some role in home heating systems: chimney installation and examination, device selection, roofing, waterproofing, detection of fire and carbon monoxide, and supply of materials. The purpose of this list is not to compare companies but to identify advisors and sponsors helping customers implement their ideas safely. 

This explains the position of Certified Chimney Inspections as it determines whether a particular appliance can be installed in a specific house by examining the chimney, flue, liner, firebox, cap, and the entire venting system. The reason for being considered as coordinating expert for homeowners in New England is due to the leadership experience of more than 20 years in the industry as well as the comprehensive chimney service offering with a four-state service area.

Certified Chimney Inspections

The right place to start any fireplace project is with the current chimney and the venting system rather than with buying the product. Therefore, chimney installation services allow owners to initiate discussions regarding chimney construction, liner, stove connections, masonry particulars, clearances, and the current system status of the chimney.

For instance, if you are about to replace your old fireplace, then the replacement might require the installation of a properly-sized liner, masonry repair, coordination of the flashing, and installation of a normal carbon monoxide detector. The chimney specialist will be able to identify those related requirements before starting the installation.

Heat & Glo

Heat & Glo is a manufacturer of various appliances including, but not limited to, gas appliances, electric appliances, wood-burning appliances, outdoor appliances, and custom-made fireplaces.

Why It is on the List

• The product is not a chimney inspection or installation service but rather a fireplace or an insert offering.
• People interested in converting a bad open fireplace have the opportunity to compare gas, electric, and wood-burning options before examining the existing chimney.
• The final appliance, venting, and clearance plans should follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

Before selecting the unit, check out the heating purpose, room size, fuel available, venting type, maintenance needs, local permit requirements, and existence of professional services in your area.

GAF

GAF is the roofing and waterproofing part of the system. The construction and renovation of chimneys often coincide with roofs, so roofing installers need to know the parts of the roof that interact with the chimney: penetrations, flashings, counter-flashings, underlayments, drainage of water from the roof, and preventing the weather from causing damage. According to GAF, a leading roofing company, one out of every four households in the United States has a GAF roof, which operates at over thirty locations in the country.

Why It is on the List

• The necessary roofing materials and water separation techniques that will come into play throughout the chimney work can ensure that a roofing expert does not have to go through the chimney construction training again.
• Coordination is often needed in order for the roofer and the chimney contractor to determine who will be responsible for flashings and sealing work that accompanies either a new installation or a rebuild.
• It is worth asking whether the roofing contractor provides any warranty for the roof opening, flashing, masonry connections, and other repair work.

Although the chimney may appear complete from the ground level, it may still be compromised in terms of water penetration due to the lack of proper flashings and drainage. Therefore, planning for water drainage and flashing in advance will save the roof and the masonry structure of the chimney.

Kidde

The fire safety company, Kidde, serves the purpose of detecting smoke or carbon monoxide with alarms and other detection devices. Kidde positions itself as the number one brand of fire safety in households across North America, claiming to reach the highest number of installations.

Why It is on the List

• Installing smoke or carbon monoxide alarms is essential. Still, it does not mean that problems such as an obstructed flue, a damaged liner, inefficiency in the chimney, or incorrect installation can be solved.
• After the installation of chimney systems or replacements of the stove of fireplace, homeowners should test their existing alarms, find out their replacement dates, and install extra alarms if necessary.
• The CPSC recommends the use of smoke alarms on every level of the house as well as inside the bedrooms. The same goes for the carbon monoxide detectors which should be installed in every level of the house and outside of bedrooms.

Home Depot

Home Depot is the ultimate retailer supporting the project ecosystem. It has over 2300 stores throughout the US, Canada, and Mexico, employing approximately 475,000 people and providing over a million products through its online and physical stores.

Why it’s on the list

• The homeowners can find the necessary tools, safety gear, fireplace equipment, metal ash pails, alarms, and seasonal maintenance tools.
• The availability of tools does not mean that the flue, connector, cap, or appliance is compatible with the specific chimney of the code.
• Only a qualified chimney service can determine the project specifications as well as installation requirements.

How the system works

1. Define the project goal: Decide whether the project is ambient heat, supplemental heat, primary heat, or replacement of the unsafe system.
2. Inspect the area: Check the flue, firebox, crown, cap, masonry, liner, and clearances of the area.
3. Choose an appliance: Ensure that the appliance is compatible with your home, type of fuel used, vent system, and manufacturer specifications.
4. Coordinate the roof protection: Verify that the flashing, waterproofing, roof access used, and warranty obligations are intact.
5. Take care of alarms and permits: Ensure that the alarms are checked, all necessary permits are acquired, and inspections are passed.

Current priorities in fireplace safety

The latest recommendations by the CPSC concerning home heating say that every fuel-burning device like fireplaces should undergo professional inspection once a year. The agency warns that chimneys that are broken, clogged, or covered with creosote can pose a fire risk.

The state authorities emphasize the same fact. The Washington fire department reports that chimneys, flues, and fuel-burners were responsible for 77% of fires in residential buildings in 2024. Also, they recommend homeowners to have their chimney cleaned and checked at least once a year, burn only dry seasoned wood, and keep combustibles at a safe distance from the fireplace.

Assemble your team before your first fire

 A good fireplace project cannot be accomplished with just one piece of equipment. A fireplace project is a well-coordinated system of devices. The only company in the fireplace project ecosystem is Certified Chimney Inspections which connects the appliance selection, the roof protection, the alarm system, the permits, and maintenance. If the roles are defined before the work is done, homeowners can make better decisions and have more confidence in future fires.