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 El Segundo
A chimney sweep in El Segundo typically costs between $189 and $320 for a standard fireplace cleaning and inspection, with most jobs completed in under two hours. We work El Segundo’s 90245 zip code weekly. The real question for this city is not whether the flue needs brushing, it’s whether the original clay tile behind that 1950s firebox is still intact after decades of salt air.
We’re Hickory Chimney Sweep, led by Ruben Acosta, and we know the difference between a routine sweep and what El Segundo’s older bungalows actually need. Because the marine layer off Santa Monica Bay keeps chimney exteriors damp most mornings, the masonry often fails before the firebox ever gets dirty. Our Chimney Sweep team runs a camera before recommending anything, so you see exactly what we see. Call (855) 554-2841 for a free estimate in El Segundo.
Why Hickory Chimney Sweep Is El Segundo’s Preferred Chimney Sweep Company
El Segundo homeowners tend to stay put. The 1940s and 1950s bungalows east of Main Street and the ranch homes off Sepulveda are often owned by the same families who bought them during the aerospace boom. That means the fireplaces were built for wood burning, then maybe converted to gas, then maybe sealed off, then reopened. Each of those transitions left something behind, and most El Segundo chimneys have never been camera-inspected through that history.
Our reputation in El Segundo is built on showing homeowners their flue on screen before quoting a dollar of repair. The customer on Grand Ave whose clay tile joints had shifted under a cracked crown didn’t take our word for it, they watched the camera footage joint by joint. That’s the standard. We cover the entire 90245 zip code, from the west side near the beach up to the industrial edge off El Segundo Boulevard, same week in most cases. Ruben Acosta’s team carries the parts El Segundo chimneys actually need, Gelco caps, dampers sized for original fireboxes, and relining materials, so jobs finish in one trip more often than not.
Styles & brands we work with
Fireplace Cleaning in El Segundo
Fireplace Cleaning in El Segundo is not just about ash and soot, it’s the first real look most homeowners get at what fifty years of ocean air has done to the firebox and flue. A standard cleaning here runs $189 to $260, including firebox vacuuming, soot removal from the smoke chamber, and a visual check of the damper and cap. For bungalows near the beach or along Standard Street where salt corrosion is heavier, we recommend adding a camera pass.
Creosote and Soot Removal
El Segundo winters are mild, so creosote buildup tends to be light but old. It hardens and sits for years. We remove it with rotary brushes sized to the flue, not wire-only hand brushes that skip the corners of clay tile. Soot removal from the smoke chamber and damper housing is included in every sweep.
Annual Fireplace Cleaning
For a gas fireplace that gets used a few nights a season, an annual sweep is overkill. For a wood-burning fireplace in an El Segundo bungalow, once a year is the NFPA 211 recommendation, and it is the cheapest insurance against a chimney fire you will ever buy. We schedule El Segundo annual cleanings in late summer and early fall, before the fireplace season starts, and we carry replacement damper parts on the truck to save a second trip.
Chimney Services in El Segundo
Chimney Services in El Segundo span everything from a simple Level 1 inspection to full HeatShield relining of a deteriorated clay-tile flue. A Level 1 inspection runs $129 to $189, and a Level 2 inspection with a camera, which is what we recommend for any El Segundo home where the fireplace was converted to gas or has not been swept in years, runs $250 to $400. Repair costs depend on what the camera shows, but a full chimney service on a typical 1950s bungalow, cleaning plus a crown repair or damper replacement, usually lands between $500 and $1,200.
Level 1 and Level 2 Inspections
A Level 1 inspection covers the accessible parts, firebox, damper, cap, the things you can see from the hearth. A Level 2 inspection adds a camera run up the flue. In El Segundo, where so many chimneys have original clay tile that has shifted under salt-damp crowns, we push for the Level 2 on any first visit. It is the only way to see the joints behind the brick.
Chimney Repair
When the camera shows a cracked flue tile or a deteriorated mortar joint, we fix it on the spot or schedule the relining for the same week. We reline with DuraFlex flexible liner systems when the flue is structurally sound but leaking gas, and we use HeatShield resurfacing when the original tile is cracked but still in place. Both are professional-grade materials specified by certified chimney contractors, not hardware-store generics. The goal is a flue that holds up, not a patch that gets you through one season.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees — you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in El Segundo
We stock and install materials from DuraFlex, HeatShield, and Gelco because those are the brands that hold up in El Segundo’s salt air. A cheap galvanized cap from a big-box store rusts through in three years this close to the Pacific. A Gelco stainless or copper cap lasts decades. When we quote a relining or a crown rebuild in El Segundo, the materials we name are ones we keep on hand or can have on the truck within a day. Olympia Chimney products round out the list for replacement dampers and flue components on older fireboxes. You’ll see the brand name on the quote, and you’ll see the parts before they go in.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterCommon Chimney Sweep Problems We See in El Segundo Homes
- Shifted clay-tile flues hidden behind clean-looking fireboxes: Brush-only operators clean the soot and leave the displaced tile. We run a camera after every sweep so nothing structural gets missed.
- Salt-corroded dampers and caps on west-side bungalows: Onshore wind off Santa Monica Bay eats metal fast. We show you the corrosion on camera before recommending whether to rebuild or replace.
- Sealed-off gas conversions with no proper venting: Fireplaces converted to gas but never re-vented correctly leave an appliance exhausting into a stack built for wood smoke. This is common in 1950s El Segundo homes, and it is a carbon monoxide risk.
- Cracked crowns letting water into the smoke chamber: The marine layer keeps stacks damp every morning. Water tracks down through a cracked crown, degrades the tile joints, and turns a small crown repair into a full relining if left alone.
Pricing for Chimney Sweep in El Segundo, CA
We Also Serve Cities Near El Segundo
If you’re just outside the 90245 line, we cover Lennox, Del Aire, Hawthorne, and Marina del Rey with the same camera-first standard. Each of those cities has its own housing stock, but the coastal salt air and postwar masonry problems are similar. Read more about our full coverage on the El Segundo service area page.
Serving El Segundo, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the El Segundo 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 El Segundo
We start with a Level 2 camera inspection, not a brush. On a 1950s bungalow with original clay tile, we need to see the joints and the smoke chamber before any sweeping happens. Sweeping a flue that has hidden shifted tile or a cracked crown can dislodge loose material and make the problem worse. The camera run takes about 45 minutes, and you watch the screen with the tech. Call (855) 554-2841 to schedule a first visit in El Segundo.
Yes, and it does it from the outside in. The daily marine layer off Santa Monica Bay keeps chimney crowns, mortar joints, and caps damp for hours every morning. Over decades, that water finds its way into hairline cracks, expands slightly with temperature swings, and erodes the masonry. Chimneys on the west side of El Segundo, closer to the beach, corrode faster than those near Sepulveda. We check for crown cracking on every visit, even when the customer called for a simple sweep.
Yes. This is one of the most common issues we correct in El Segundo’s 1940s and 1950s homes. The original clay flue was sized for wood smoke, not for a gas appliance exhausting continuously. We run a camera to see the actual flue condition, then either reline with a properly sized DuraFlex liner or resurface with HeatShield if the original tile is still sound. The fix includes verifying the termination cap and ensuring the damper is locked open or removed properly for gas use. Call (855) 554-2841 for an inspection quote.
NFPA 211 says chimneys, fireplaces, and vents should be inspected at least once a year, and cleaned when there’s an eighth-inch or more of creosote buildup or when the inspection finds a problem. For El Segundo’s mild burning season, an annual inspection is enough for most homes, and we time our cleaning schedule around what the camera actually shows rather than a rigid once-a-year brush. Call (855) 554-2841 and we’ll help you figure out the right interval for your fireplace.
No. If we recommend a repair, you will see the evidence on camera before you approve anything. That’s the whole reason we run a Level 2 camera on first visits in El Segundo. A homeowner on Grand Ave watched the pipe joints shift apart on screen, joint by joint, before approving a HeatShield relining. No camera evidence, no recommendation, no exception. If the flue can safely wait, we’ll say that plainly. Call (855) 554-2841 for a straight answer on your chimney.
Written by Ruben Acosta, Owner at Hickory Chimney Sweep, serving El Segundo since day one with a camera-first standard.