CSIA certified chimney inspection for North Main Street corridor homes — craftsman bungalows and foursquare homes built from the 1910s through the 1930s. Many properties in this neighborhood have two separate chimney stacks: one for the living room fireplace, and a second shorter stack that originally served a kitchen range or coal stove now long removed. Both stacks are inspected and documented on every North Main visit.
The craftsman and foursquare homes that define North Main were designed in an era when every home required multiple heat sources. The primary fireplace chimney typically rises through the living room or parlor wall. A second, often narrower chimney — typically at the rear of the house — served the kitchen coal or wood range that was the primary cooking appliance. When ranges became electric or gas in the mid-20th century, the second chimney was rendered inactive. Identifying what that second flue's status is today — open, capped, or completely sealed — is part of every North Main inspection.
North Main's chimney liners are among the oldest in Greenville. Tile sections from the 1910s and 1920s show horizontal stress cracks from decades of thermal cycling and acid attack from combustion gases dissolving mortar joint material.
Many North Main rear kitchen stacks are open at the top with no cap and open at the base with no cover. This creates a cold air draft path through the kitchen wall and provides nesting access for starlings and chimney swifts.
North Main bungalows with dual stacks share a single masonry crown covering both flue openings. A cracked or crumbled crown allows water entry into both flues simultaneously. Crown condition affects both stacks and is assessed on every visit.
North Main living room fireplaces commonly have gas log sets installed without liner assessment. The original flue cross-section and 90+ year old tile condition must be evaluated for suitability before continued gas appliance use.