Our Company Blog
Protection from Water with Chases and Shrouds
Water can be the most damaging thing to your masonry, whether inside or outside. It can lower efficiency of your fireplace, causing your fire to be more difficult to light and to burn more wood than necessary. It can stain your masonry, rust your mechanical parts, and even deteriorate the masonry itself–breaking apart the brick and mortar until it gaps and crumbles. When you’re planning and designing your outdoor fireplaces and chimneys, make sure you’re also considering water protection. Protect your investments and your home. Add value to your home with IBD Outdoor Rooms, and protect that value with a chase and shroud.
Chase Covers
When you order your unit, make sure you purchase all the parts necessary to bring it together properly. When you order your chase cover and shroud with the rest of your unit, it will all arrive together. When your IBD Outdoor Rooms delivery arrives, it is ready to assemble. All you have to do is get the order right, and we can help! You can choose stainless steel or stainless steel with a copper dress out skirt. Many homeowners prefer the second option because from the ground it looks like the entire thing is copper.
Chase Covers with Hole – If the unit you’ve chosen has a flue pipe, you need a chase cover with a hole. This will protect the stone from water damage while also allowing the smoke to escape.
Chase Covers without Hole – This chase cover is for units that are “pipeless” or vent-free. They don’t need to vent, but the chase cover adds a complimentary look to your fireplace.
Shrouds
The shroud fits together with a chase cover. Where the chase cover protects the chimney from water, the shroud protects the flue opening itself, AND completes the look you may be looking for. Chase shrouds come in stainless steel or copper, with an optional powder coating of stainless steel and many different styles, including Roman, Grecian, Artisan, and Gothic. Make sure you check them out before making your choice.
Gothic Chase Shroud Extension – This model is used to give a chimney more height and massive appearance. The base can be Roman or Grecian style to compliment your style.
Care and Installation
When your delivery arrives, it will be ready to install, but we do not recommend doing the work yourself. Once your order is completed, and BEFORE your unit arrives, make sure you contact a professional in your area that can install the unit. Only a licensed contractor who is NFI-certified should install fire units, fireplaces, and chimneys. This will ensure any warranties are honored and that the work and the unit adheres to municipal and federal safety codes.
Ready to get started? Start with us by calling 704-960-4530 and we’ll turn fantasy into reality.
Tips For Keeping Pesky Bugs Away From Your Outdoor Kitchen Gathering
Depending on where you live, bugs may be a big problem. No matter where you live, though, bugs can become a big problem if measures aren’t taken to prevent it!
Clean Up After Yourself
Bugs like roaches and ants are not just a nuisance indoors. These bugs will become a problem outside if your outdoor kitchen isn’t kept clean. After cooking, eating, and entertaining, the area should be cleaned of crumbs and trash. Grills, stove-tops, counters, and sinks should be wiped down, and refrigerators, coolers, and cupboards should be closed securely. This prevents the bug buffet that can lead to repeat visits through the year. Invest in a good cleaner for surfaces, as well as accessories like trays or wheeled carts to take dishes and leftovers indoors.
Protect Against Water
You can prevent a lot of mosquito problems by preventing water from collecting in your outdoor space. Keep your yard trimmed nicely. Treat cushions, furniture, and curtains with a waterproofing solution. This helps water to run off. Covering fire pits, sinks, and cup holders will prevent standing water–a necessity for mosquito eggs to mature and hatch.
Repel, Repel, Repel
There are many options for repellents to use while you’re cooking or entertaining in your outdoor kitchen. Sprays, candles, and torches are favorites, although not especially effective.
Landscape to Your Advantage
A lesser-known option is using your landscaping to your advantage. While you’re planning your outdoor space, you can line the area with natural repellents like catnip (repels roaches and mosquitoes). Planting an herb garden can also repel bugs–basil, lavender, lemon grass, lemon thyme, mint, and rosemary are natural bug deterrents that you can also use as ingredients! Ornamental flowers do the same thing, and can beautify the surrounding area. Aliums, mums, marigolds, petunias, and geraniums are natural insecticides and repellents.
D-I-Y Traps and Solutions
Not everyone wants to bother with planting or maintaining a flower bed or herb garden, putting bug spray on ourselves or our children, or listening to a bug zapper all night long. A good option would be to build bug traps or invite animals into the area that can deal with them. Building a bat house not only helps the bats, but means the bugs get eaten before they can bother you! While you’re cooking, you can also catch flies by hanging a bag of water nearby. There are also instructions online for making wasp traps or to remove wasp and bee nests safely. It’s important to preserve bees, so if you have a nest, you can call a professional bee keeper who will be happy to take them off your hands.
The last thing you want is for bugs to ruin the last few weeks of summer. If you were frequently annoyed by bugs this summer, it’s never too late to deal with them and plan for next year while you’re at it. Browse IBD Outdoor Rooms for information about liners and removable components – as well as finishes and extras that can help you keep bugs at bay!
