Category Archives: Blog

What to Look Out for When Price Shopping for Chimney Cleaning

Before you ask for the price of a chimney, it’s important to take a look at the cost of NOT getting the chimney cleaned. A chimney cleaning helps to prevent chimney fires. It can be $3000-$10,000, depending on the damage

How Do We Clean Your Chimney? A Step-by-Step Look at Our Real Process

How Do We Clean Your Chimney? A Step-by-Step Chimney Cleaning Process If you’ve ever asked yourself what really goes on during a chimney cleaning process, you’re not alone. Most homeowners just know they should have it cleaned — typically before

How Chimney Cleaning Prevents Pollution

Keeping your chimney clean is essential for maintaining a safe and efficient home, but did you know it also plays a significant role in reducing pollution? A dirty chimney contributes to indoor and outdoor air pollution, affecting both your household

Why Stainless Steel Liner Is the Best for Your Chimney

Choosing the right liner for a chimney or ventilation system is important for safety and efficiency. Among the available options, stainless steel liners stand out as the most reliable choice. They offer durability, resistance to extreme temperatures, and long-term value.

Do You Need to Clean Your Chimney If You Have a Gas Insert?

If you’ve upgraded your fireplace with a gas insert, you might be wondering, “Do I still need to have my chimney cleaned?” It’s a fair question. Gas inserts are known for being low-maintenance and cleaner than wood-burning fireplaces, but they’re

Smoking back

There are many fireplaces that seem to smoke back into the house no matter what is done. In our experience, the most common cause is that the fireplace simply needs to be cleaned. This is especially likely if the fireplace has gotten worse over time, that is, the smoking back is worse now than it used to be.

Several other possible causes of smoking back are problems with the damper, chimney cap, grate, firewood, or structural problems with the chimney itself. At Chimney Clean Company, we do a full inspection with every cleaning, or we can also do just the inspection if the chimney doesn’t need to be cleaned. This inspection is designed to reveal any causes of smoking back.

Broken chimneys

In the Bay Area, many chimneys were broken in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Usually, these chimneys are broken at or near the roof line, although sometimes they can be broken further down, even at the ground level.

We are fully licensed masonry contractors. We rebuild broken chimneys. If they are broken at the roof line, this usually entails taking the chimney part of the way down brick by brick, installing steel reinforcing bars, getting an inspection from a city inspector, then rebuilding the chimney back up around the steel rebar.

Missing mortar or damaged bricks

Over time, many chimneys develop places that are missing mortar between bricks, or damaged bricks, either inside the firebox or on the outside of the chimney. These areas can usually be repaired, either by replacing the missing mortar or replacing the bricks themselves. Items such as these can be dangerous because they can allow flames, sparks or hot gases to enter the structure of the house.

Water entry

Sometimes the metal that seals the chimney at the roof, called “flashing”, will come loose or develop leaks. In this case, water sometimes comes into the ceiling of the room and causes water spots and stains on the sheet rock. This flashing should be repaired before the water causes more damage.

What to Look Out for When Price Shopping for Chimney Cleaning

We clean your chimney before it becomes a danger to your home

Smoking back

Broken chimneys

Missing mortar or damaged bricks

Water entry