Long Beach chimneys and the draft question
Brick chimneys that fell in the 1933 earthquake were often rebuilt in a hurry, and some of those repairs left a smoke chamber that is rough, stepped or too small for the opening. Owners describe a fire that starts well, then spills smoke across the mantel once the logs settle. Close-set houses on narrow lots also let a taller neighbor's roof steal the draft. Whatever the stack looks like, the first job is the same: watch which way the smoke goes at the damper, then work out why.
