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FreshDuct cleans and inspects the chimneys and flues serving gas log fireplaces across Melbourne. The flue is the safety system on a gas appliance, and it is the part nobody looks at.
Gas fire never serviced? The appliance needs a gasfitter and the flue needs us. Both matter.
Gas log fireplaces are enormously popular in Melbourne, and for good reasons: the heat is controllable, there is no wood to store, no ash to clear and no chimney full of creosote. What gets lost in that convenience is that a flued gas appliance still depends completely on its flue, and that flue is doing something more critical than a wood chimney ever does.
Combustion produces carbon monoxide. On a correctly operating flued appliance, essentially all of it leaves through the flue. If the flue is blocked, deteriorated, poorly sized or breached, those products enter the room instead. Carbon monoxide has no colour, no smell and no taste, and the early symptoms of exposure are easily mistaken for a virus or a headache. The flue is not a performance component on a gas appliance. It is the safety system.
There is also a mismatch problem specific to Melbourne. A very large number of gas log fires here have been installed into original masonry fireplaces built for open wood fires. That chimney was sized for a large, hot, fast-moving plume. A gas fire produces a much smaller volume of much cooler gas, which draws far less strongly up the same wide shaft and gives moisture and combustion products more opportunity to condense on unlined brickwork.
FreshDuct is not a gasfitter and does not work on gas appliances — in Victoria that is a legally restricted trade regulated by Energy Safe Victoria, covering the burner, injector, pilot, flame-failure device, gas control and connection. What we do is the other half: the chimney and the flue, inspected internally, cleared, assessed and photographed, with a written report you can hand to your gasfitter.
The facts that make a gas flue different from a wood one.
The chimney side, which is entirely ours and frequently neglected.
Nesting material, fallen mortar and accumulated debris obstruct old flues, and on a gas appliance that obstruction produces no visible sign whatsoever. We inspect specifically for it, photograph what we find and clear it. This is the single most important thing an inspection catches.
A wide chimney built for an open wood fire may be poorly matched to the much smaller cooler volume a gas fire produces. Weak draught and condensation follow. We assess the flue size and condition against the appliance and advise where lining to a suitable size is the right remedy.
Cooler, moister flue gas is harder on old unlined brickwork than the hot dry plume of an open fire ever was. We inspect the flue internally where access allows and photograph the mortar and brick condition rather than describing an impression of it.
Melbourne terraces and semis commonly share chimney stacks carrying several flues. A breach between flues can carry combustion products into another room or another property entirely. On a gas appliance that is a serious safety finding and it is invisible from outside.
A damaged or missing terminal, a cracked crown or failed flashing all let water into the stack and can interfere with discharge. We inspect from the roof where access is safe and report on the condition of the whole termination.
Burner, injector, pilot, flame-failure device, gas control valve and connection are all licensed gasfitting work under Energy Safe Victoria. FreshDuct does not service, adjust or repair any of it. We recommend an annual appliance service by a licensed gasfitter alongside our flue inspection.
Real FreshDuct chimney photography from Melbourne jobs, documented and photographed.
FreshDuct inspects the flue internally, clears obstruction, assesses masonry condition and flue sizing, checks the crown, flashing and terminal from the roof where safe, and carries out lining, repointing and repair where needed. All photographed, with a written report.
A licensed gasfitter services the appliance: burner, injector, pilot, flame-failure device, gas pressure and connection. Neither trade covers the other, and an installation is only actually safe when both have been done. We will tell you plainly which parts of a problem are ours and which are not, rather than blurring the line to keep a job.
Book a Gas Fire Flue InspectionWe inspect gas fire flues throughout metropolitan Melbourne. The installations that need it most are in the period housing of the inner and middle suburbs — Fitzroy, Carlton, Collingwood, Northcote, Brunswick, Kew, Hawthorn, Malvern, Brighton, Essendon and Williamstown — where a gas fire has gone into an original fireplace.
We also work through the eastern and bayside middle ring and the outer suburbs, where gas fires more often vent through purpose-built flue systems rather than masonry chimneys. Those are generally simpler, but they still need the terminal checked and the run verified, and they are no more self-maintaining than a brick chimney is.
A genuine internal inspection, photographed and written up.
Original masonry chimney, lined flue, or a purpose-built system.
Flue interior examined and photographed as far as access allows.
Nests, debris and fallen mortar located and removed.
Whether the flue suits the appliance now connected to it.
Terminal, crown and flashing inspected from the roof where safe.
Photographed written findings you can hand straight over.
Verified 5-star reviews from across FreshDuct’s chimney, fireplace, duct, heating and insulation services. These are company-wide reviews from our Melbourne customer base — not reviews of any particular appliance brand.
“Allen provided exceptional service — friendly, professional and went above and beyond.”
“Highly impressed with the professionalism and efficiency. On time, and no mess left behind.”
“Exceeded my expectations. Knowledgeable, meticulous and respectful of our home.”
“So glad I chose FreshDuct. Knowledgeable team and the whole process was smooth from start to finish.”
“Quick, efficient and professional — we could immediately feel the difference.”
“The technician arrived on time and was incredibly thorough — the difference at home is obvious.”
What a flued gas appliance depends on.
They need them inspected, and cleared where obstruction is found. A gas fire does not produce creosote the way wood does, so there is rarely soot to sweep. What there frequently is, particularly in old masonry chimneys, is nesting material, fallen mortar and debris, and on a gas appliance that obstruction is dangerous rather than merely inconvenient.
In most cases you would not, and that is the point. Carbon monoxide is colourless, odourless and tasteless, and early symptoms of exposure resemble a virus. Unlike a wood fire, which smokes visibly into the room, a gas appliance venting incorrectly gives you no signal at all. That is why inspection is the only reliable answer.
No. In Victoria, servicing or repairing a gas appliance is legally restricted to licensed gasfitters regulated by Energy Safe Victoria, and FreshDuct is not a gasfitting business. We do the chimney and flue work and provide a written report. We recommend booking a licensed gasfitter for the appliance in the same season.
FreshDuct recommends one in any home with a flued gas heater or fireplace. They are inexpensive and they detect the one hazard you cannot detect yourself. An alarm does not replace having the appliance serviced by a gasfitter and the flue inspected, but it is a sensible additional layer of protection.
Annually, alongside the appliance service a licensed gasfitter should carry out. They are two different trades doing two different jobs, and an installation is only actually verified when both have been done. An annual chimney inspection is inexpensive relative to what it protects against.
Internal flue inspection, obstruction clearing and a photographed report — the half of gas fire safety a gasfitter does not cover.
Tell us how the fire is vented and when it was last checked.
