fireplace Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Baileys Chimney Cleaning Service Santa Fe NM & Taos New Mexico

[av_image src='https://baileyschimney.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/4.30.19.jpg' attachment='1331' attachment_size='full' align='center' styling='' hover='' link='' target='' caption='' font_size='' appearance='' overlay_opacity='0.4' overlay_color='#000000' overlay_text_color='#ffffff' copyright='' animation='no-animation' av_uid='av-k977mmuw' id='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg=''][/av_image]

[av_textblock size='' font_color='' color='' av-desktop-hide='' av-medium-hide='' av-small-hide='' av-mini-hide='' av-medium-font-size='' av-small-font-size='' av-mini-font-size='' av_uid='']
We've been in business for 16 years but this is was our newer location established in October of 2017 -- we had many visitors to our show room for free hot dogs, a chance to win door prizes (win a beautiful hearth rug, a fireplace tool kit, or a bag of fat wood kindling) and all who enter the raffle get 10 percent off a wood stove, fireplace insert, or fireplace! 1470 Paseo Del Pueblo Norte, El Prado NM.
[/av_textblock]

[av_image src='https://baileyschimney.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/10.6.17.jpg' attachment='1316' attachment_size='full' align='center' styling='' hover='' link='' target='' caption='' font_size='' appearance='' overlay_opacity='0.4' overlay_color='#000000' overlay_text_color='#ffffff' copyright='' animation='no-animation' av_uid='av-k8vvh91k' id='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg=''][/av_image]

[av_image src='https://baileyschimney.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/11.15.17.jpg' attachment='1303' attachment_size='full' align='center' styling='' hover='' link='' target='' caption='' font_size='' appearance='' overlay_opacity='0.4' overlay_color='#000000' overlay_text_color='#ffffff' copyright='' animation='no-animation' av_uid='av-k8vuwec8' id='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg=''][/av_image]

[av_textblock size='' font_color='' color='' av-medium-font-size='' av-small-font-size='' av-mini-font-size='' av_uid='av-k68bzfij' id='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg='']
Which of these fireplaces is the coziest? https://abcn.ws/2At0av9
[/av_textblock]

[av_image src='https://baileyschimney.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/WV-Starire-HDX35-angle-livingroom.jpg' attachment='1048' attachment_size='full' align='center' styling='' hover='' link='' target='' caption='' font_size='' appearance='' overlay_opacity='0.4' overlay_color='#000000' overlay_text_color='#ffffff' copyright='' animation='no-animation' av_uid='av-k68c2aqu' id='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg=''][/av_image]

[av_textblock size='' font_color='' color='' av-medium-font-size='' av-small-font-size='' av-mini-font-size='' av_uid='av-k68807jk' id='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg='']
The RSF Opel high efficiency fireplace display model went live today in our show room in Taos!
[/av_textblock]

[av_one_half first min_height='' vertical_alignment='' space='' custom_margin='' margin='0px' row_boxshadow='' row_boxshadow_color='' row_boxshadow_width='10' link='' linktarget='' link_hover='' title_attr='' alt_attr='' padding='0px' highlight='' highlight_size='' border='' border_color='' radius='0px' column_boxshadow='' column_boxshadow_color='' column_boxshadow_width='10' background='bg_color' background_color='' background_gradient_color1='' background_gradient_color2='' background_gradient_direction='vertical' src='' background_position='top left' background_repeat='no-repeat' animation='' mobile_breaking='' mobile_display='' av_uid='']

[av_image src='https://baileyschimney.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/4.30.19-1.jpg' attachment='1230' attachment_size='full' align='center' styling='' hover='' link='' target='' caption='' font_size='' appearance='' overlay_opacity='0.4' overlay_color='#000000' overlay_text_color='#ffffff' copyright='' animation='no-animation' av_uid='av-k6881jim' id='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg=''][/av_image]

[/av_one_half][av_one_half min_height='' vertical_alignment='' space='' custom_margin='' margin='0px' row_boxshadow='' row_boxshadow_color='' row_boxshadow_width='10' link='' linktarget='' link_hover='' title_attr='' alt_attr='' padding='0px' highlight='' highlight_size='' border='' border_color='' radius='0px' column_boxshadow='' column_boxshadow_color='' column_boxshadow_width='10' background='bg_color' background_color='' background_gradient_color1='' background_gradient_color2='' background_gradient_direction='vertical' src='' background_position='top left' background_repeat='no-repeat' animation='' mobile_breaking='' mobile_display='' av_uid='']

[av_image src='https://baileyschimney.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/4.30.19.jpg' attachment='1229' attachment_size='full' align='center' styling='' hover='' link='' target='' caption='' font_size='' appearance='' overlay_opacity='0.4' overlay_color='#000000' overlay_text_color='#ffffff' copyright='' animation='no-animation' av_uid='av-k68813kh' id='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg=''][/av_image]

[/av_one_half]

[av_textblock size='' font_color='' color='' av-medium-font-size='' av-small-font-size='' av-mini-font-size='' av_uid='av-k687cgt0' id='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg='']
Another fireplace restoration completed. New chimney liner, damper, smoke chamber, and firebox liner.
[/av_textblock]

[av_image src='https://baileyschimney.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/9.19.19-3.jpg' attachment='1209' attachment_size='full' align='center' styling='' hover='' link='' target='' caption='' font_size='' appearance='' overlay_opacity='0.4' overlay_color='#000000' overlay_text_color='#ffffff' copyright='' animation='no-animation' av_uid='av-k687dhvc' id='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg=''][/av_image]

[av_image src='https://baileyschimney.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/9.19.19-2.jpg' attachment='1210' attachment_size='full' align='center' styling='' hover='' link='' target='' caption='' font_size='' appearance='' overlay_opacity='0.4' overlay_color='#000000' overlay_text_color='#ffffff' copyright='' animation='no-animation' av_uid='av-k687e0xd' id='' custom_class='' admin_preview_bg=''][/av_image]

[/av_one_half]

[av_section min_height='' min_height_px='500px' padding='small' shadow='no-border-styling' bottom_border='no-border-styling' bottom_border_diagonal_color='#333333' bottom_border_diagonal_direction='' bottom_border_style='' custom_margin='0px' custom_margin_sync='true' custom_arrow_bg='' id='' color='main_color' background='bg_color' custom_bg='#000000' background_gradient_color1='' background_gradient_color2='' background_gradient_direction='vertical' src='' attachment='' attachment_size='' attach='scroll' position='top left' repeat='no-repeat' video='' video_ratio='16:9' overlay_opacity='0.5' overlay_color='' overlay_pattern='' overlay_custom_pattern='' av_element_hidden_in_editor='0' av_uid='av-jyrikmpo']
[av_heading heading='Rebuilding a Dangerous Kiva Fireplace' tag='h1' link_apply='' link='manually,http://' link_target='' style='blockquote modern-quote modern-centered' size='' subheading_active='' subheading_size='15' margin='' margin_sync='true' padding='10' color='custom-color-heading' custom_font='#ffffff' av-medium-font-size-title='' av-small-font-size-title='' av-mini-font-size-title='' av-medium-font-size='' av-small-font-size='' av-mini-font-size='' av_uid='av-jyrivyws' admin_preview_bg=''][/av_heading]

[av_textblock size='' font_color='custom' color='#ffffff' av-medium-font-size='' av-small-font-size='' av-mini-font-size='' av_uid='av-jypyykeh' admin_preview_bg='']
In the 1950's a developer named Mr. Stam built hundreds of houses in Santa Fe, NM. There are at least two large neighborhoods full of Stam Houses in Santa Fe. Most of them have kiva fireplaces. They are well-built houses with hardwood floors, plaster ceilings, and large back yards. Though small, they are desirable homes that in today's (2019) real estate market are valued in the $400,000.00 range if they are in good condition. (Blog continued below images)
[/av_textblock]
[/av_section]

[av_masonry_gallery ids='875,876,877,878,879,880,881,882,883,884,885,886,887,888,889,890,891,892,893,894,895,896,897,898,899,900,901,902,903,904,905,906,907,908,910' items='35' columns='4' paginate='pagination' size='flex' orientation='' gap='large' overlay_fx='bluronhover' animation='active' container_links='active' id='' caption_elements='excerpt' caption_styling='' caption_display='on-hover' color='' custom_bg='' av-medium-columns='' av-small-columns='' av-mini-columns='' av_uid='av-jypz06os']

[av_textblock size='' font_color='custom' color='#ffffff' av-medium-font-size='' av-small-font-size='' av-mini-font-size='' av_uid='av-jypyykeh' admin_preview_bg='']
Many of the kiva fireplaces in Stam houses, though built to the standards of the 1950's, have fallen into disrepair. The masonry work, including fireplace thickness, hearth thickness, and hearth extension measure, is not up to current codes. The rears of the fireplaces are only two inches from the combustible walls. Oftentimes, when we clean and inspect them we can pull firebricks out of the fireplaces with our bare hands, because the fireplaces are falling apart. When we put our inspection cameras inside these chimneys we see there are gaps between the terra cotta clay chimney liners, and usually we find that the clay liners are cracked.

We recently had the opportunity to remove a kiva fireplace from a Stam house and rebuild it to current standards. The masonry construction project was informative and satisfying. Demolition provided useful information on how dangerous these fireplaces really are. Once we removed the fireplace, we saw the paper on the original fiberglass insulation in the wall behind the fireplace had already been on fire, and in a couple spots had turned to ash. We don't know why the house did not burn down. We also found two char marks on the 2x4 studs behind the fireplace. We show photos of the bricks, after demolition, that were behind the fire chamber and around the flue liner that are coated in creosote deposits. These highly combustible deposits are left over from the smoke that was escaping the flue passageway for all those years. Also we show creosote deposits on the outside of the flue liner, showing the consequences of breached chimney liners. The creosote in the masonry is extraordinarily dangerous because if it were to catch fire, the only way for the fire department to put out the fire is to demolish the entire chimney. Using a jackhammer-like demo hammer, it took three of our men an entire day to demo this chimney and fireplace.

If you own a Stam house with a kiva fireplace in Santa Fe, this post is important for you to look at. If you want to have a safe, working, site-built kiva fireplace in your Stam house, this photo essay will show you how its done. If you are wondering on how to build a kiva fireplace from scratch, this will be useful information for you. One of the challenges we encountered here was the limited space in the corner due to the doorway from the living room into the foyer. That's why we kept the fireplace narrow and used extra ceramic insulation between the fire chamber and the rear wall of the fireplace so we could tuck the fireplace as far back into the corner as possible. We also installed a noncombustible heat shield, with air space on both sides, between the rear of the fireplace and the combustible walls.

Following is a slide show that shows the process we undertook, using photos we took during the project. The photos are captioned to explain the steps of the project. To demo and rebuild the kiva fireplace took 9 work days, not including the final coat of plaster and the flagstone hearthstone the client will have another contractor install. The price for this project after the flagstone and final plaster is installed, including tax, is less than $15,000.

We believe that's well worth it, for a several reasons:
Performance: though not designed to be a primary source of heat for the house, the craftsmanship, knowledge and superior materials that went into the construction of the fireplace guarantees optimal performance of the fireplace. The fireplace will warm up the room without any smoke spillage.Value: In a house with a real estate value of $400,000, the new fireplace cost around 3 percent of the home's worth. That's only about half the real estate broker's commission if the owner ever decides to sell the house. Having a safe, working fireplace, according to some studies, can add approximately twelve percent to the value of a home. Twelve percent of $400,000 is $48,000. Spending $15,000 to get $48,000 of real estate value is a return on investment that's hard to beat. Focal point: The fireplace is the focal point of the home. The hearth is the "heart" of the home. Building a fire in the fireplace warms up the room. It also warms one's body, spirit and soul. It will be featured prominently in any and all marketing materials if the home is listed for sale. Chimney Warranty: The new chimney has a "Forever Warranty," meaning the warranty lasts forever as long as the owner has the chimney serviced annually and keeps records of the service. There is no way the new chimney liner can crack or come separated. Durability: The fireplace will provide a lifetime of enjoyment if it is maintained with annual cleanings and inspections by a CSIA certified chimney sweep. Craftsmanship: The masonry work is meticulous, with all joints between the fire chamber and smoke chamber firebricks tight and completely sealed with the highest quality fireplace mortar. Custom: during masonry construction the homeowner was able to decide for herself on the shape of the fireplace and mantle. Safety: Safety, safety, safety!
[/av_textblock]

[/av_section]

Justin Bailey recently built this masonry heater in Tesuque, NM. Bailey is one of the only contractors in The Southwest that offers design/build services for this type of fireplace, sometimes called a masonry stove.

Bailey, owner of Baileys Chimney, LLC, is New Mexico’s only member of the Masonry Heater Association, an international organization. He attends the MHA annual meeting every year in Wildacres, A retreat center on top of a mountain near the Blue Ridge Parkway. The annual meeting is a festive, educational event that lasts for one week. 120 Masonry Heater builders, designers and enthusiasts from a dozen countries gather to build heaters, share knowledge and expertise, and test new Heater designs.

Masonry heaters channel the flue gasses through passageways in the core of the heater so the mass absorbs the heat. One fire a day In this heater, and the house will stay warm 24/7. When the flue gasses leave the fire chamber they are over 1500 degrees, and when they leave the heater they are only 300 degrees F. All that heat remains trapped in the heater, which provides radiant heat to the room over time.

The radiation waves from a masonry surface are longer than radiation waves from a metal surface. The long radiation waves heat up all the mass in the room, rather than heating the air.

The warmth from a masonry heater tends to put people into a meditative, peaceful state. People say it “warms your bones.”

Masonry heaters are the most efficient way to heat with wood, if you measure the percentage of the energy in the fuel that gets converted to warmth in the room.

If you are interested in a custom masonry heater for your home, give Bailey a call.

As the winter season heads our way we are ready to get the fires burning again. Here are some great steps to take and things to remember:
Starting That First Fire Of The Season? Is Smoke In Your Face?

Baileys Chimney, LLC. is a certified Chimney Sweep company. Call us today Santa Fe 505-988-2771 / Taos 575-770-7769

Masonry Heater Association, Annual Meeting

Masonry Heater Camp at Wildacres!

By Justin Bailey

The Masonry Heater Association of North America (MHA) had its annual meeting at a retreat center called Wildacres in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina from April 11-17th. The word ‘meeting’ doesn’t adequately describe the week-long festival. I’ve started to think of the experience as “Masonry Heater Camp.”

Accommodations are simple, but comfortable. Everyone shares a simple room with a roommate, and there are enough beds for about 120 attendees.

I first heard about MHA and Masonry Heater Camp when I took a CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep Review course from Rich Rua 2014, in Columbus, OH. Rua mentioned that he’d been to the MHA annual meeting as a part of his overall education in the chimney trade. I asked him about it later, and I put it on my bucket list.

But I never had the opportunity to get seriously involved with masonry heaters until last year, when I got a call to look at a gigantic masonry heater, an Austrian “Tile Oven,” built from scratch in the 1990’s. The heater sits in a ski lodge called the Bavarian, at Taos Ski Valley, 10,200 ft altitude. In 2013, a billionaire bought the ski resort, and the masonry heater came with it.

I looked at the heater, asked lots of questions, scanned the flue, and it became clear that I needed more information and knowledge. 8 or 9 years ago, I learned, they burnt some green firewood in the heater, and it hadn’t worked ever since. Nobody could figure out how to fix it. They’d hired a local mason, who just made it worse.

I knew where the firebox was, and where the chimney was, but what lay between them was a mystery. There were no readily accessible soot doors, like Tulikivi heaters have. The heater was massive. I needed a plan. I needed information.

Thanks to the NCSG and the course I’d taken with Mr. Rua, I knew there was somebody out there I could call for help. A google search led me to the MHA, and I got executive director Dick Smith on the phone. He suggested I join the organization. The cost of a full voting membership was $300.00 per year. That’s how much I charged the billionaire for the initial service call/inspection, and I became a full voting member of the MHA. It turned out to be a pretty good investment.

After making some calls and talking with a couple of masonry heater builders from the association, I felt like I could at least write an estimate to fix the thing. I stated clearly in the proposal that there was no way for me to know how long it would take me to fix the heater, or how much it would end up costing. I found space in the estimate to mention that there was exactly one member of the MHA in New Mexico.

I got the gig, and soon enough, I was on the phone with one of the founding fathers of the MHA, Jerry Frisch. Jerry spent over an hour on the phone with me, that first time we talked. He asked me about the heater, and had me take photos of it and email them to him. He said that it sounded like there was a blockage in the flowpath. He told me how to find the masonry cleanouts, and how make the penetrations through the masonry material to access the passageways. When I offered him money for his consulting help, he refused.

“I just want to pass down the knowledge,” he said. “I’m only going to be doing this for another 20 years. My wife and I talked about it, and we agreed that we’ll do this for 20 more years and then we’ll talk about it again.”

“That’s very generous of you,” I said.

“I recently got remarried,” he said. “My first wife passed away. I just turned 80.”

With phone help from Jerry, I was able to get the heater working, test it out, clean the glaze from the flowpath and chimney, and install cleanout doors. I was fascinated and excited with the project. I felt grateful to have the job and the opportunity, and to have the help of the guys from the MHA. The first time we fired up the heater, with glass taped over all the cleanout openings so we could watch the smoke pass through the passageways in the heater, the manager of the Bavarian was happy to see how it all worked.

When I called Jerry Frisch to thank him for his help, he invited me to the World of Concrete (WOC) Trade Expo in Las Vegas, NV. “We’re going to build a masonry heater in the parking lot,” he said.

“Count me in!” I said.

Las Vegas and WOC were a blast, and got to see a masonry heater built by an expert from the ground up. I also helped build a wood fired pizza oven.

Fast forward a few months, I found myself at Wildacres for a week of Masonry Heater Camp. There were masons from the US, France, Russia, Canada, Germany, Finland, and Japan, all of them building heaters on site, answering any question you could think of. Of the 120 attendees, 7 of the masons own and/or operate their own testing labs. The CEO of Tulikivi International had flown in from Finland. Founders of other European startups were there. I’d signed up for the HMED course (Heater Mason Education & Development Program) which was developed by Jerry and Jim Frisch. Jim, Jerry’s younger brother, taught the course.

The classes and seminars included a bricklaying workshop, Chris Prior’s class on masonry arches, a course on emissions testing, and several history courses. I wasn’t able to attend many of them, because the HMED took up the majority of my time. Most days, the last class or seminar would let out around 10:00 p.m., and the festivities would already have begun.

And yes, they have an auction too, kind of like the CSIA action the NCSG convention.

By the time Friday rolled around, the newly built heaters were all fired up and running, including the large pizza oven. Pizzas started coming out of the oven in time for dinner - the best pizza I’d ever tasted in my life.

By nightfall, a group of musicians had gathered to play old standards and folk songs, seated on the warmed, L-shaped bench of a rocket mass heater with a cookstove top, where somebody was making crepes. I got to hang out with CSIA’s Darcy Marlett and Ashley Elridge, who were attending. People were dancing and the beer was flowing.

The pizza party was still raging as I headed down the mountain in my rental car at 2 a.m. to catch an early morning flight out of Charlotte.

The next morning, before noon, (according to photos I saw posted on facebook,) all the brand new heaters and ovens had been disassembled and the materials put away in storage. Ashley Elridge pointed out that the masons and students could learn as much or more by taking apart the heaters as they did when they built them.

In all my years in the chimney business, I’d never enjoyed myself more than I did during the week I spent at Masonry Heater Camp at Wildacres. I’ll be back next year, for sure. I hope to build my own masonry heater in my house soon, and I would like to become a certified masonry heater builder. With the HMED under my belt, I’ve taken the first step, but I have a lot more to learn.

If you would like to attend the Masonry Heater Camp next Spring, google the Masonry Heater Association of North America or go to mha-net.org.