Cleveland chimney sweep and repair: Ohio Chimney Co. for area code 216

Chimneys and homes in the 216 area

The 216 territory covers Cleveland and its inner suburbs, from downtown Cleveland and Lakewood to Euclid, Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights and Beachwood. It is an old housing stock: of about 483,000 homes and apartments, roughly 87% were built before 1980 and 34% before 1940, and the median home dates from the 1950s. About 56% are single-family detached houses.

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, located along the southern shore of Lake Erie. It is across the lake from the Canadian province of Ontario, and is approximately 60 miles west of the Ohio–Pennsylvania state line.

Winters are long and cold. NOAA's 1991–2020 normals for Cleveland, OH show about 5,516 heating degree days a year, a January average of 29.1°F, and about 63.8 inches of snow. Repeated freezing and thawing is hard on brick, mortar and chimney crowns, which is why crown repair, repointing and chimney caps come up so often on older homes.

Census figures put utility gas as the main heating fuel in about 80% of occupied homes and electricity in about 16%. Wood is the main heat in fewer than 2 in 100 homes, so most fireplaces here are for cool evenings, and gas fireplaces and inserts are common. The area falls in IECC climate zone 5A. Whatever the fuel, NFPA 211, the national standard for chimneys, fireplaces and vents, calls for a yearly inspection.

Sources: Census ACS 2018–2022 (B25034, B25040, B25024); NOAA Climate Normals 1991–2020, Cleveland, OH (USW00014820); IECC 2021 climate zones by county (PNNL-33270); NFPA 211; Wikipedia: Cleveland.