Sweep & inspection
Caps & crowns
Flue relining
Masonry repair
Gas fireplace serviceLevel 1 sweep and inspection to the NFPA 211 annual standard - flue, crown, cap, and flashing checked and photographed
Chimney sweep logs do not sweep chimneys. They loosen some creosote - which then falls where a brush and vacuum still have to collect it.
Fast, Reliable Chimney Sweep Across Westwood
A chimney sweep in Westwood runs $189 – $289 for a standard cleaning on a wood stove or fireplace flue, and most jobs are done in under two hours. At 5,000+ feet in the Sierra Nevada, Westwood homes burn cordwood as primary heat for six to seven months a year, which means creosote loads build far faster than in valley towns. Our Chimney Sweep team drives up from East LA regularly to service Westwood, and we know what a February flue failure means up here: no heat, a cold house, and real risk. Call (855) 554-2841 to book a sweep before the first deep snow.
Why Hickory Chimney Sweep Is Westwood’s Preferred Chimney Sweep Company
Westwood isn’t a town where people burn for ambiance. It’s a mountain community where the wood stove is the furnace, and when it stops drawing, the house gets cold fast. We treat every Westwood call that way. Ruben Acosta runs our crew with a simple rule: if we find a problem, we fix it on the spot or we tell you plainly whether it can wait. No vague warnings, no pressure.
Much of Westwood’s housing stock dates to the early and mid 20th century, the lumber-mill era. Freestanding stoves, aging stovepipe joints, unlined masonry flues, and factory-built chimneys that never got updated. That’s exactly the kind of system where creosote goes from powder to tar glaze in a single burn season. Our techs know these houses because we work on them every fall. We carry DuraFlex liner sections, HeatShield resurfacing material, and replacement caps from Olympia Chimney and Copperfield, so a cracked flue or missing spark screen doesn’t mean a second trip.
We’re the only crew serving Westwood that handles chimney cleaning, chimney repair, and dryer vent cleaning under one roof. That matters up here. You’re already managing firewood, snow load, and a long heating season. One call covers the wood stove and the dryer vent, the two leading sources of residential appliance fires in Lassen County.
Styles & brands we work with
Chimney Sweep Services in Westwood
Chimney Sweep Services in Westwood start with a full visual inspection of the firebox, damper, flue, and exterior termination, followed by mechanical brushing and a creosote-level assessment. Most Westwood homes need this twice per burn season, not once, because wood is the primary heat source and the fire never really stops from October through April. A standard sweep here runs $189 – $289 depending on flue height, creosote stage, and whether the stovepipe needs removal.
Wood Stove Flue Sweeping
Freestanding wood stoves dominate Westwood heating, and their flues load with creosote faster than open fireplaces. We pull the stovepipe where needed, brush the full run, and check every joint for leaks and rust. If we find a cracked pipe section, we replace it rather than leaving you with a carbon monoxide pathway into the living space.
Creosote Stage Assessment
After every sweep, we tell you what stage of creosote we found and what it means for your burn habits. First-degree is sooty powder, easily brushed. Third-degree is a hard tar glaze that a brush cannot remove and that requires chemical treatment or mechanical removal. Westwood stoves hit third-degree faster than almost anywhere in California because of long, low-temperature burns through cold nights.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees — you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Chimney Cleaning in Westwood
Chimney Cleaning in Westwood is the core of what we do, and it’s not a cosmetic service here. A clean flue is the difference between a stove that drafts hard through a January cold snap and one that backs smoke into the house. We charge $189 – $289 for a standard chimney cleaning, which includes brushing the full flue, removing soot and creosote from the firebox and smoke shelf, and cleaning the damper assembly.
Annual and Seasonal Sweeps
Most Westwood homeowners book two cleanings each season: one in early fall before the burn season starts, and one around midwinter if creosote is building fast. We schedule fall sweeps from September through November, which is the busiest window in Lassen County. If you’re burning pine or fir cordwood, which most people up here do, expect heavier creosote and plan accordingly.
Creosote and Soot Removal
We remove both creosote and soot as part of every cleaning, but they’re different problems. Soot is loose carbon, easy to brush. Creosote is the tar-like residue that condenses when wood smoke cools too fast in a cold flue. Westwood’s high-elevation cold makes this condensation worse, and stage-two or stage-three creosote needs more than a basic sweep. We’ll show you what we pulled out and explain what it means.
Trusted Brands We Service in Westwood
We install and service DuraFlex flexible liner systems for full relines, and we’re certified to apply HeatShield resurfacing for flues that are cracked but not collapsed. We stock Olympia Chimney caps and spark arrestors, which matter more in Westwood than in the city because wildfire season is a real thing here and a missing or broken cap is a fire-starting hazard. When a Westwood home needs a replacement part, we typically have it on the truck. No waiting on a hardware-store generic that doesn’t fit or meet code.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterCommon Chimney Sweep Problems We See in Westwood Homes
- Glaze-stage creosote from extended burns. In a Westwood winter, stoves run for days without fully cooling, and creosote bakes into a hard, shiny glaze that brushes cannot remove. Left untreated, it becomes the fuel for a chimney fire.
- Leaking stovepipe joints on old lumber-era homes. Many Westwood houses have stovepipe runs that date back decades, with joints that have loosened or rusted. Smoke can leak into the wall cavity, and that’s a carbon monoxide problem, not just a draft problem.
- Missing or damaged chimney caps after snow and wind. Heavy Sierra snowfall and spring wind shear rip caps clean off flues. Birds and squirrels move in, nest material blocks the flue, and the stove starts smoking back into the room come fall.
- Unlined or cracked masonry flues on pre-1960 chimneys. Westwood’s older chimneys were often built without clay liners, or the liners have cracked from decades of freeze-thaw cycling. Heat can reach combustible framing, and that’s how chimney fires spread into structure fires.
Pricing for Chimney Sweep in Westwood, CA
A standard chimney sweep in Westwood runs $189 – $289. That includes the full flue brushing, firebox and damper cleaning, and a visual inspection. If you have a two-story chimney or a steep roof requiring special ladder work, expect to be at the higher end. A Level 2 inspection, which uses camera equipment to check the flue interior and is what we recommend if you’ve had a chimney fire or are buying a home, runs $299 – $450. Liner work and HeatShield resurfacing are quoted per job after we see the flue condition, and we’ll show you the camera footage before any repair is recommended. Call (855) 554-2841 for a free estimate. Nobody in Westwood should pay a premium just because the town is remote, and we price our work the same as we do in the LA basin.
Written by Ruben Acosta, Owner at Hickory Chimney Sweep, serving Westwood and Lassen County.
We Also Serve Cities Near Westwood
Our route covers Westwood proper and the surrounding mountain communities, plus we make regular runs from our East LA base to Tujunga, La Crescenta-Montrose, North Hollywood, and Sherman Oaks. If you’re in the 96137 zip code or anywhere nearby in Lassen County, we’ll fit you into the next Westwood route.
Serving Westwood, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Westwood area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage — if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About Chimney Sweep in Westwood
Twice per burn season, typically once in early fall before firing up and again around January or February if you’re burning softwoods like pine and fir as primary heat. Most Westwood stoves need this second sweep because the fire runs constantly through the cold months and creosote builds into stage-two or stage-three glaze far faster than in lower-elevation towns. Call (855) 554-2841 and we’ll set you on a schedule that matches how you actually burn.
First-degree creosote is a loose, sooty powder that brushes off easily. The glaze we find in Westwood flues is third-degree creosote: a hard, tar-like coating that forms when wood smoke condenses in a cold flue and then bakes into a shiny, crusty layer under repeated hot burns. This glaze cannot be removed with standard brushing and is the primary fuel for chimney fires. If we find it, we’ll show you and explain the removal options.
Watch for cracked or spalling brick, missing mortar joints, and smoke smells in the house when the stove isn’t burning. Many of Westwood’s pre-1960 chimneys were built without a clay liner, which means heat is transferring directly to framing. That’s a fire hazard. We recommend a camera inspection on any older masonry chimney in Westwood before the burn season starts, and if the flue is compromised, HeatShield resurfacing or a DuraFlex reline brings it back to safe condition.
Yes. We install and service DuraFlex flexible liners for relining jobs, and we stock Olympia Chimney caps and arrestors on the truck for Westwood runs. Factory-built chimneys are common in Westwood’s mid-century homes, and they fail differently from masonry: warped sections, failed joints, and rust-through. We carry the correct replacement sections and install them to manufacturer spec.
Burn seasoned hardwood when you can, and when you do burn pine or fir, run the stove hot enough to keep the flue above 250°F, especially in the first 20 minutes of a burn. Cold starts and smoldering overnight fires are what create the worst creosote in Westwood flues. A stovepipe thermometer helps. But even the best burn habits won’t eliminate buildup in this climate, so book twice-yearly sweeps. Call (855) 554-2841 and we’ll get you on the fall schedule before it fills up.