Is what you call a chimney actually called a “chase”? Many homeowners have called us over the years with a request for help with a wooden chimney, or a vinyl sided chimney. Did you know that this is actually not a chimney, but rather a chase? If the homeowner doesn’t know what they actually have,…
Is what you call a chimney actually called a “chase”? Many homeowners have called us over the years with a request for help with a wooden chimney, or a vinyl sided chimney. Did you know that this is actually not a chimney, but rather a chase? If the homeowner doesn’t know what they actually have, this detail left unknown to the technician can make the cost of doing business higher, and can be a waste of time for the homeowner when the service tech comes out to make a correction that cannot be made without proper tools and equipment on the service vehicle.
Notable differences between traditional chimneys and modern chimney chases:
It would seem by many counts that the first chimneys were built in approximately the 12th. century in Northern Europe, and interestingly many early chimneys contained wood, and in some cases were almost completely constructed of wood. In early American history, wooden chimneys were sometimes constructed due to early settlers not having masonry construction materials available. As time progressed, less chimneys were constructed with wood. It seems that as late as 1789, President Washington began considering the value of brick chimneys.
As builders looked for cheaper and less labor intensive alternatives to constructing chimneys the first factory built triple-wall chimney was invented in 1949 by Robert Thulman and in 1952 it was adapted to the Thulman fireplace, which is recognized as the first of the woodburning factory-built fireplaces which were mostly metal construction with very little to no masonry components, but often surrounded by wood framed and sheathed vertical enclosures which became known as “chases”. Such chases were typically covered at the top with a section of sheet metal cladding. As time progressed vinyl siding, and brick cladding became popular for the sides, and other cladding such as stucco, or even metal siding were installed. Safety testing standards in north America played a role in keeping wood framing from catching fire and at a safe distance from combustible wood portions of the chase through the installation of sheet metal built components which became known as fireblocks.
