Chimney Sweep in Pasadena, CA

Frequently Asked Questions

My house is a 1910s Craftsman with the original brick chimney. Is it still safe to use?

Maybe, but it needs looking at before you light anything. A lot of Pasadena's Craftsman and bungalow chimneys were built unlined, with clinker brick or river rock laid up in soft lime mortar, and after a century that mortar gives up long before the brick does. The wide, shallow fireboxes typical of that era also draft differently than a modern insert. We inspect the firebox, the smoke chamber and the flue interior, then tell you plainly whether it's usable as-is, usable with repairs, or should stay cold until it's lined. We don't condemn a chimney to sell a liner, and we don't sign off on one that's open to the framing.

We just had a bad Santa Ana night. Should I have the chimney checked?

Yes, especially if you heard banging on the roof or found debris in the yard. The northeast downslope winds coming off the San Gabriels have a long history here of peeling caps off, cracking crowns and lifting flashing at the roof line. The damage is usually at the top of the stack where you can't see it from the ground, and the first sign most people get is a water stain on the ceiling near the chimney chase after the next rain. A post-windstorm check is quick, and catching loose flashing before winter rain is a lot cheaper than chasing a leak through plaster.

What actually goes wrong on Pasadena chimneys most often?

Less creosote than you'd think, and more masonry. The burning season here runs roughly late November into March, so most homes aren't putting enough cords through the firebox to build heavy glazed creosote. What we find instead is deteriorated mortar joints needing tuckpointing, cracked or missing crown wash, failed or absent flue liners in pre-1930 stacks, and wind damage at the cap. In the larger Arroyo-area houses with two- and three-flue stacks, we also see smoke crossing between flues where the interior divider walls have broken down. That one shows up as smoke from one fireplace appearing in another room.

How fast can you get out here, and do you ever do same-day?

Same-day happens, usually earlier in the fall before the season gets busy, or when something is an actual safety issue like a chimney fire, a smoke smell with no fire lit, or storm damage with rain in the forecast. Those we try to work in the same day or the next. Routine sweeps and inspections book out further once the first cold foothill nights hit in late November, since that's when everyone remembers the fireplace exists. If you're planning on using it this winter, call in early fall and you'll get your pick of dates.