Chimney and fireplace service in the North Metro
The north metro is the coldest part of the Twin Cities, and its gas vents and chimneys feel it. The inspection is free and you get a written price before any work.
NOAA's 1991–2020 normals for the Andover station show about 172 nights a year at or below freezing and about 39 nights at or below zero, compared with about 147 and 22 at MSP airport. Snow stays on the ground about 106 days a year there, and the heating load, measured in heating degree days, is 8,283 against 7,399 at the airport. By our count from those normals, that comes to roughly 90 freeze-thaw days a year in the north metro.
Most of the housing is young. Blaine's median home was built in 1996 and Maple Grove's in 1991, with 43 and 35 percent of their homes built in 2000 or later, and gas heats 88 percent of homes in Blaine, the highest share in the metro data we use. Brooklyn Park's median is 1980. Anoka is the older town of the group, with about 11 percent of its homes from before 1940 and a median of 1973.
Deep cold and gas vents
Cold is hard on a gas vent. When a flue runs colder than the exhaust inside it, water condenses on the walls, and in a masonry chimney that water ends up in the brick and mortar. That is the reason Minnesota's fuel gas code, Minn. R. 1346.5501, calls for a metal liner in a masonry chimney that vents gas appliances, and why a chimney left with only a water heater after a furnace change has to be resized.
Direct-vent gas fireplaces and high-efficiency furnaces have their own weak spot here: the termination on the outside wall. With snow on the ground more than a hundred days a year, drifts can cover it. Keep it clear, and keep a working carbon monoxide alarm within 10 feet of every bedroom, as Minn. Stat. 299F.51 requires.
Permits in Brooklyn Park and the other cities
Brooklyn Park's homeowner mechanical permit list names chimneys and chimney liners, gas fireplaces, wood stoves and vent connectors as work that needs a permit. Other north metro cities publish their requirements differently, so we check what your city requires before we schedule a liner, an insert or a stove.
Anoka's older homes and the newer subdivisions
Anoka's older neighborhoods still have brick chimneys that have taken many decades of north metro winters, and the work there is the familiar list: crowns, tuckpointing and liners for the furnace and water heater. In Blaine, Maple Grove, Coon Rapids, Andover and Champlin, the calls are more often about rusted chase covers, factory-built fireboxes and gas fireplaces that will not stay lit.
- Tuckpointing: $500 – $2,500
- Chase cover replacement: $300 – $700
- Gas fireplace parts: $90 – $350 per part
- Gas insert, installed: $2,000 – $5,000
FAQ
North Metro questions
Does Brooklyn Park require a permit for a chimney liner?
Yes. The city's homeowner mechanical permit list includes chimneys and chimney liners, along with gas fireplaces and wood stoves. We check the current requirements with the city before the work is scheduled.
Why does the north metro see more chimney damage?
More nights below freezing and more freeze-thaw cycles. NOAA normals put Andover at about 172 freezing nights a year against about 147 at MSP, and every cycle works water a little deeper into cracks in the crown and joints.
Our Blaine home has a gas fireplace and no brick chimney. Does it need an inspection?
Yes. NFPA 211 covers vents as well as chimneys and calls for a yearly inspection. We check the vent, the termination outside, the glass seal and the pilot, and the inspection is free.
What should I do if I smell gas near the fireplace?
Leave the house right away, then call 911 and your gas utility from outside. Do not flip switches or try to find the leak yourself.
Book online
Choose a day. We'll bring the ladder.
Free inspection in a 3-hour arrival window: 8 to 11, 11 to 2, or 2 to 5, Sunday through Friday. We phone to confirm before we come.