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 Hollywood
Chimney sweep service in Hollywood, CA typically costs $189 – $329 for a standard cleaning with a Level 1 inspection, and most jobs in the 90028 zip code are completed in a single visit. Hickory Chimney Sweep serves the flats, the hillside streets above Hollywood Boulevard, and the courtyard apartments south of Franklin Avenue with technicians who know exactly what this housing stock throws at them. If you’re seeing smoke spill into the room, hearing animals in the flue, or you simply can’t remember the last time the chimney was touched, call us at (855) 554-2841.
We’re not a seasonal crew that disappears after the first cold snap. We run camera inspections, brush out creosote and soot, repair what the camera finds, and cap flues properly for Hollywood’s raccoon and Santa Ana problem. One call covers the chimney and the dryer vent, which means both leading sources of appliance fires in your home get addressed by the same trained person in the same trip.
Why Hickory Chimney Sweep Is Hollywood’s Preferred Chimney Sweep Company
Most of our Hollywood jobs start the same way: a homeowner in a 1920s Spanish Revival bungalow off Cahuenga or Wilcox calls because smoke backed into the living room, or because a raccoon has been using the flue as a den. What they get from us is a straight answer and a camera they can watch, not a sales pitch. Ruben Acosta has built this company around the belief that nobody should be told they need a $3,000 liner without seeing the evidence with their own eyes.
Our response time to Hollywood neighborhoods is same-week in most cases, and we keep our trucks stocked with the parts these older chimneys need: arrestor screens, damper hardware, smoke chamber brushes, and liner components from HeatShield and DuraFlex. That matters in a neighborhood where the clay tile flues and unlined brick stacks mean a routine cleaning frequently turns into a repair decision on the spot.
What sets us apart with Hollywood customers is that we don’t treat a hillside draft complaint as a simple sweep request. We ask where the house sits relative to the canyons, what the cap looks like, when the chimney last drafted well. Then we run the camera and show you what’s actually going on. If a sweep is all you need, we say so. If the flue was never safe to vent a fire at all, we show you that too, and we explain what a code-compliant fix looks like.
Styles & brands we work with
Fireplace Cleaning in Hollywood
Fireplace Cleaning in Hollywood usually means more than brushing out a season’s worth of ash. The pre-war bungalows and Spanish Revival courtyards between Sunset and Franklin were built when fireplaces were decorative centerpieces first and heat sources second. We regularly find smoke chambers with rough, jagged corbelling that catches every bit of soot, dampers that never seated properly, and clay tile flue sections cracked from decades of seismic settling. A proper cleaning here means brushing the full flue from cap to firebox, vacuuming the smoke shelf and smoke chamber, and checking the damper operation before we call the job done. Typical fireplace cleaning in Hollywood runs $189 – $279 depending on the flue height and condition.
Creosote and Soot Removal
Hollywood’s dry winters mean homeowners burn a few weeks a year, then let the fireplace sit cold for months. That interrupted use cycle is exactly what creates first-degree creosote layers that harden into second-degree glaze faster than people expect. We run a rotary brush or hand loop down the flue, pull the creosote and soot out through the firebox, and make sure the smoke chamber isn’t holding a season’s worth of buildup behind the damper.
Annual Sweeps and Inspections
Even if you only light fires between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, an annual sweep with a Level 1 inspection catches the things that get worse while the chimney sits unused. Rust on the damper, a cracked flue tile, a spark arrestor screen clogged with windblown debris from the canyons. In Hollywood, skipping the annual check means letting those problems bake through another dry season until the Santa Anas push an ember right where it shouldn’t go.
Chimney Services in Hollywood
Chimney Services in Hollywood covers a wider range of work than most homeowners expect when they first call. Beyond the sweep itself, we do Level 1 and Level 2 inspections, smoke and draft diagnostics, damper replacement, flue resurfacing with HeatShield, and full relining with DuraFlex flexible liner systems. The older the chimney, the more likely a simple cleaning reveals something that needs a repair decision, and we’re equipped to make that repair without referring you to a contractor you’ve never met. Basic repair work on these older Hollywood chimneys falls between $250 and $800; full camera inspection with a written report is typically $149 – $299 if it stands alone.
Draft Diagnosis and Cap Work
We get more calls about smoke spilling into rooms and fires that won’t draw in Hollywood than anywhere else we serve. The canyon downdrafts above the Boulevard, the dense tree cover in the hills, the tightly-sealed windows on renovated bungalows: all of it fights a chimney’s natural draw. We diagnose the actual cause, then fix it, whether that’s a taller flue pipe, a vacuum-relief damper, or a correctly sized cap with a proper raccoon guard.
Chimney Repair
Repair work in Hollywood tends to follow a pattern. We run the camera, we find cracked clay tiles or spalled mortar joints in an exterior stack, and we propose either spot repair or a liner, depending on what the footage supports. We stock DuraFlex and HeatShield system components locally, so the fix doesn’t stall while parts ship from across the country. Ruben’s standard is simple: no repair gets recommended that you can’t see justified on screen.
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.
Trusted Brands We Service in Hollywood
We don’t install hardware-store generics on a chimney that has to hold up through Santa Ana seasons and canyon raccoons. Our trucks carry liners and caps from HeatShield, Gelco, Olympia Chimney, Famco, Copperfield, and DuraFlex, which are the same lines certified chimney contractors specify for code-compliant work. When a Hollywood homeowner needs a new spark arrestor, a resurfaced smoke chamber, or a full liner, we have the right product on the truck or at the supplier around the corner. That keeps turnaround fast for the bungalows and courtyard apartments that can’t leave a flue exposed for a week.
Common Chimney Sweep Problems We See in Hollywood Homes
- Clay tile flues with seismic-era cracks. The 1910s – 1930s chimneys we sweep in Hollywood have original clay tiles held together with aged mortar. Settling and the occasional earthquake leave hairline cracks that let heat and combustion gases press into the masonry, and those cracks only show up clearly on camera.
- Decorative fireplaces that were never meant to burn. A surprising number of Spanish Revival fireboxes in 90028 were built for looks, with flues too small or unlined entirely. The safe answer is often a liner retrofit, not another sweep, and we show you the footage that proves it before any work is quoted.
- Raccoon pressure in hillside flues. Above Hollywood Boulevard, raccoons treat uncapped or badly capped chimneys as prime den space. They crush spark arrestors, tear up caps, and leave the flue packed with nesting material that turns a small creosote layer into a serious fire hazard.
- Santa Ana downdrafts and smoke spill. When the winds come out of the canyons, hillside chimneys backdraft. Homeowners call assuming the flue is clogged, but the camera often shows a clean flue and a draft problem that needs a mechanical fix: a taller stack, a proper cap, or a damper that actually seats.
See the difference
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AfterPricing for Chimney Sweep in Hollywood, CA
A standard chimney sweep in Hollywood runs $189 – $329, which includes brushing the full flue, removing creosote and soot from the firebox and smoke chamber, and a Level 1 visual inspection. A Level 2 camera inspection, which we recommend for any chimney that has never been inspected or that has a history of drafting problems, adds $149 – $199 when performed as an add-on. Fireplace cleaning alone sits at the lower end; hillside chimneys with hard-to-access caps or dense animal debris land at the higher end because they take longer to do right. Repairs are quoted separately after the camera footage is reviewed, and you approve the number before we start. Call (855) 554-2841 for a free estimate on any sweep or inspection job in Hollywood.
We Also Serve Cities Near Hollywood
Hickory Chimney Sweep covers Hollywood and the surrounding neighborhoods with the same camera-first approach. If you’re in Hollywood, Universal City, West Hollywood, Koreatown, or Echo Park, we’ll bring the full Chimney Sweep rig to your door and treat your chimney like it’s our own. The drive from East LA puts us on most Hollywood streets within the same week you call.
Serving Hollywood, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Hollywood 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 Hollywood
If the flue is dirty, a sweep will often fix it. But many Spanish Revival fireplaces in Hollywood smoke because the flue was undersized from the start or because a modern damper replacement changed the draft dynamics. We run a camera to see whether the smoke spill is coming from creosote restriction, a collapsed clay tile, or a damper that won’t seat. You get the footage, and you get a straight answer before any repair is quoted. Call (855) 554-2841 to schedule the diagnostic.
Because the canyons push wind down over the ridgeline and straight onto your cap, which pressurizes the flue top and fights the draw your fire needs. Add a crushed arrestor or an undersized cap, and the chimney struggles even on calm nights. The fix is usually mechanical, not another sweep: a correctly sized cap, a taller flue, or a draft-relieving damper. We’ll show you which one your chimney actually needs.
Yes, because the long cold season is when animals move in and the dry season is when creosote hardens into a glassier, harder-to-remove layer. A Level 1 inspection during a sweep catches cracked tiles, rusted dampers, and animal intrusion before they become a fire hazard on the first cold night. Annual is the right interval even for light use.
Because we won’t recommend a liner you can’t see justified on camera. The camera goes down the flue, you watch the feed live or on a recorded report, and we explain exactly what the footage shows. If the clay tiles are intact and the mortar joints are sound, we’ll say so and tell you a sweep is all you need. If a liner is genuinely required, you’ll see the cracks, the gaps, and the failed joints on screen before anyone quotes a dollar figure.
First-degree creosote is a soft, sooty coating that brushes off fairly easily during a routine sweep. Third-degree creosote is a hardened, tar-like glaze that stuck to the flue walls after repeated low-temperature fires and can’t be removed with standard brushes. Third-degree buildup is a serious fire hazard, and removing it safely in an older Hollywood clay tile flue often requires chemical treatment or careful mechanical removal followed by a liner decision. Call (855) 554-2841 and we’ll tell you which one you’re dealing with after the camera runs.
Schedule Your Hollywood Chimney Sweep
If you live in 90028 and your chimney hasn’t been looked at in years, don’t wait until the first cold night to find out what’s been nesting in it. Call Hickory Chimney Sweep at (855) 554-2841 for a free estimate. We’ll come out, run the camera, and give you a straight answer about what your chimney needs, whether that’s a simple sweep or a repair you can see justified on screen. Clean it. Repair it. Protect it. We handle all three so you never have to chase a separate contractor for a liner or a cap again.
Written by Ruben Acosta, Owner at Hickory Chimney Sweep, serving Hollywood since day one with a camera-first standard and a no-evidence-no-repair guarantee.