If your home has a fireplace and a chimney, you want to inspect these structures. It's a good idea to hire a professional for this assessment. Here are several things they can do.

Analyze the Chimney Cap

Every chimney should have a cap at the top. It's designed to keep dirt, debris, and even animals out of the chimney. When you hire a professional to inspect your chimney, they can assess the chimney cap in a thorough manner. They'll get up on your roof and inspect this cap up close, seeing if there are any structural issues that need to be repaired like cracks and chips.

If your cap is in perfect condition, then you don't have to worry about this component at all. Whereas if the chimney inspector finds issues that need to be repaired, you can respond quickly before something bad happens to your chimney and fireplace. 

Make Sure the Flashing Is in Good Condition 

Another important part of your chimney is the flashing that surrounds it. It's designed to keep water out. You want to make sure this flashing is in great condition and this won't be hard if you hire a chimney inspector.

They can look at the flashing around your chimney quickly, seeing if there are any red flags that you need to know about. These include warping and missing pieces. You need to know about these problems if they're present so that you can prevent severe water damage from happening.

Verify Chimney Has Proper Ventilation

In terms of the performance and safety of your chimney, one of the most important things you could check is its ventilation. You don't have to second-guess this aspect if you hire a chimney inspector to analyze it.

They'll turn your fireplace on and then monitor the chimney's performance, making sure the smoke properly moves outside of your home. If it doesn't, they can figure out why and then let you know in a detailed inspection report. Then you can respond before you put yourself and your family at risk when starting a fire in the fireplace.

Having a fireplace with a chimney is amazing, but in order to use these things effectively over the years, you need to inspect the chimney. You can have a professional do this and subsequently enjoy many helpful assessments. Then if there are issues, you can do something about them before long. 

For more information on chimney inspections, contact a professional near you.