Fireplace Maintenance

Our fireplace maintenance tips can help you keep your home cost efficient, safe & cozy.

a fireplace in a living room

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How To Get Your Chimney Ready for Use in Winter

Relaxing in front of your fireplace is lovely—when it’s safe. Read this guide to prevent hazards and make sure your chimney is in good working condition this winter.
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How To Make Common Chimney Repairs

Here are the most common issues homeowners experience with their brick chimneys, plus tips on how to repair them.
A cozy home prepared for cool fall weather.

Fall Yard and Home Maintenance Checklist: 12 Simple Items

As fall begins, there are a few maintenance tasks around the house. Here are 12 ways to prepare your yard and home for the cooler season.
cleaning the inside glass of a fireplace in preparation for use

Fireplace Maintenance Tasks To Complete in the Fall and Winter

Read this guide to understand the steps for maintaining your fireplace to keep it functioning safely and properly for years to come.
A house covered in snow with a chimney and chimney flue.

All About Chimney Flues

To maintain the chimney flues that safely channel smoke and fumes from fuel-burning appliances to the outside, they should be inspected and cleaned on a regular basis.
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How to Clean Fireplace Brick

If you’ve got soot stains on your fireplace’s hearth or brick facade, we’ll walk you through how to clean fireplace brick to get rid of unsightly black discoloration and the smell of smoke.
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How To Prep Your Home's Fireplace for New Tile Installation

Fireplaces can make beautiful home additions, but is yours outdated? Here's how you can update your mantel and prepare it for new tiling.
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How to Tile a Fireplace

Learn how to tile a fireplace hearth and surround. This Old House expert Jenn Largesse walks you through the entire process.
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Splitting Firewood by Hand vs. Machine

Learn how to split firewood, both by hand and with a machine, from This Old House's Tom Silva and Jenn Nawada.
A brick chimney on a house.

How & When To Clean Your Chimney

Learn how and when to clean your chimney properly to prevent dangerous creosote buildup and reduce the risk of chimney fires.
Two men sitting by a fire they built in a fireplace.
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How to Build a Fire in a Fireplace

Ask This Old House mason Mark McCullough demonstrates the best way to build a fire in order to prevent smoke from filling up the room.
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How To Restore a Historic Fireplace

Ask This Old House mason Mark McCullough delicately restores a damaged historic fireplace built with custom, nearly irreplaceable bricks.
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17 Fireplace Upgrades

We rounded up 17 ideas to help you update and modernize your fireplace whether you have a tile fireplace or a brick fireplace.