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 Los Angeles
If you live in Los Angeles and you haven’t looked at your chimney in a few years, the problem you have probably isn’t the one you think it is. Most LA chimneys aren’t caked in creosote from heavy burning. They’re cracking, leaning, and taking on water because they’ve been sitting unused since the gas-log conversion, and nobody has checked them since. We’re Hickory Chimney Sweep, and we’ve spent years working on exactly these chimneys across the city. When we come out to your place in Koreatown, Echo Park, Silver Lake, or anywhere near East LA, we show you what’s actually going on with camera footage you can see for yourself. Call (855) 554-2841 and we’ll get you scheduled.
Why Hickory Chimney Sweep Is Los Angeles’s Preferred Chimney Sweep Company
Most Los Angeles chimney companies make their money selling relines, not doing honest inspections. Our crew, led by Ruben Acosta, works the opposite way. We sweep first, camera the flue, and only recommend work we can show you on screen. No “trust me, it needs a new liner” without footage. That’s why homeowners across Los Angeles keep calling us back year after year, and why our reputation in neighborhoods from 90030 to 90033 is built on evidence, not estimates that balloon after the first visit.
We know the housing stock here. The 1920s bungalows and Spanish Colonial Revival homes in 90004 and 90008 have hollow-clay-tile flues that crack at the roofline after decades of minor seismic settling. Mid-century stucco houses in the flatlands have chimneys added onto wood-frame walls without modern seismic bracing. When we pull up to a Los Angeles address, we already know what we’re likely to find before we open the damper. That local familiarity saves you time, and it means we don’t misdiagnose a weather problem as a structural emergency.
Our Chimney Sweep team handles the full scope: cleaning, camera inspection, repointing, crown repair, liner work, and dryer vent cleaning. One call covers both fire hazards in your home. You don’t have to coordinate two separate companies. We do the fireplace and the dryer vent in the same visit if you want both.
Styles & brands we work with
Chimney Services in Los Angeles
Chimney Services in Los Angeles start with an inspection that reflects how our city’s chimneys actually fail. Ruben Acosta and our technicians are trained to look for seismic step-cracks at the roofline, crowns cracked open by winter rain, and abandoned flues packed with Santa Ana debris, bird nests, and pest carcasses. A standard sweep-and-inspection in Los Angeles runs $180 to $290 depending on the chimney’s height, roof access, and whether we’re also clearing the smoke chamber or the ash dump.
Sweep and Camera Inspection
We run a camera down the flue after every sweep and show you the footage on the spot. You see the mortar joints, the clay tile condition, any cracks or gaps. If the liner is fine, you’ll know it. If it’s not, you’ll see exactly what we see.
Crown and Cap Repairs
Cracked crowns are the most common failure we find in Los Angeles, especially on chimneys that haven’t been used in years. When winter rain soaks the masonry, the freeze-thaw cycle here is mild but the water still does damage. We repoint and reseal crowns and install caps from brands like Gelco and Copperfield that hold up to direct sun and Santa Ana wind.
What happens when you call
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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.
Chimney Sweep Certified in Los Angeles
Chimney Sweep Certified means something specific to us in Los Angeles: we’re trained to inspect chimneys the way this city’s housing requires, not just to run a brush and call it done. A certified sweep in Los Angeles costs $220 to $340 for most single-story bungalows and two-story Spanish Colonials, and includes creosote removal, soot removal, flue brushing, and a visual inspection of the firebox, damper, and exterior masonry.
Gas-Log and Sealed Fireplace Sweeps
Plenty of sweeps won’t touch a fireplace that’s been converted to gas logs, because they assume there’s nothing to clean. We see it differently. Those sealed flues are where we find nests, debris, cracked crowns, water stains running down the smoke chamber, and rusted dampers. A sweep clears what’s there and the camera inspection confirms whether the stack is still safe to use, even if all you burn is a gas flame.
Heavy Creosote and Soot Removal
If you do burn wood in Los Angeles, even occasionally, creosote builds on the flue walls. Most LA fireplaces see light use, but when a family burns every cool evening in November and December, glazed creosote can form quickly in an unlined flue. We remove it with rotary tools where needed, and we’ll tell you honestly if the load is light enough that a standard brush is fine. We won’t sell you a chemical treatment you don’t need.
Trusted Brands We Service in Los Angeles
We install and service materials from a curated list of professional-trade brands, not hardware-store generics. That means Gelco chimney caps, Olympia Chimney liners, Famco termination products, and Copperfield caps and dampers. These are the same brands certified chimney contractors specify, and we keep parts stocked so Los Angeles customers aren’t waiting three weeks for a cap to ship from Ohio. When a chimney needs real work, we use DuraFlex flexible liner systems for relining and HeatShield resurfacing for damaged flue liners. These are repair techniques most sweep-only companies don’t offer. We do the work under one roof, with one team, and we show you the evidence before we touch the masonry.
Common Chimney Sweep Problems We See in Los Angeles Homes
- Seismic step-cracks at the roofline. Decade after decade of minor earthquake settling cracks mortar joints and steps masonry at the roofline, especially on chimneys built before seismic bracing was code. The homeowner never notices because the fireplace hasn’t been used in years.
- Cracked crowns and missing caps on converted fireplaces. A gas-log conversion from the 1980s or 1990s often sealed the chimney with no plan for water protection. Winter rain enters through the crown, soaks the masonry, and quietly deteriorates the stack for years.
- Abandoned flues packed with debris. Santa Ana winds drive leaves, twigs, and bird nesting material into open flues. In dense neighborhoods like 90004 and 90008, we routinely pull out nests, dead birds, and years of accumulated debris from flues that haven’t been opened since the conversion.
- Unlined 1920s flues that get flagged for expensive relines. The classic Los Angeles upsell is telling a homeowner with a 1920s clay-tile flue that the entire liner needs replacing. Sometimes it does. But often the flue is serviceable, or it needs spot repair with HeatShield rather than a full DuraFlex reline. We show the camera footage either way.
See the difference
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AfterPricing for Chimney Sweep in Los Angeles, CA
A standard chimney sweep in Los Angeles runs $180 to $290 for one fireplace, including the flue cleaning and a basic visual inspection. Adding a Level 1 or Level 2 inspection with camera work typically brings the total to $280 to $420. Crown repair and cap installation run another $180 to $450 depending on the size of the crown and the cap brand you choose. If you need a full reline with DuraFlex, expect $2,800 to $6,000 depending on the flue height and complexity. We give you a flat quote before any work begins, and every repair recommendation comes with camera footage you can review. Call (855) 554-2841 for a free estimate. We serve all of Los Angeles from East LA to Koreatown, Echo Park, Silver Lake, and Hollywood.
We Also Serve Cities Near Los Angeles
Our team covers Los Angeles and the neighborhoods around it. That includes Koreatown, Echo Park, Silver Lake, and Hollywood. If you’re in one of these areas and you’ve been putting off an inspection because you never burn wood anymore, this is the year to change that and get a good look at what’s actually happening in that flue. We’re the Chimney Sweep in Los Angeles homeowners call when they want straight answers. Call (855) 554-2841.
Serving Los Angeles, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles
Yes, and the reason has nothing to do with creosote. Gas-log-converted fireplaces in Los Angeles are often the most neglected flues in the city. They’ve been sealed behind inserts since the 1980s or 1990s, and the real problems are structural: cracked crowns from winter rain, step-cracks at the roofline from seismic settling, and debris from Santa Ana winds. A sweep clears what’s in there and a camera inspection tells you whether the stack is sound. Call (855) 554-2841 and we’ll take a look.
You know because we show you the camera footage before recommending any repair, and we’re the company Los Angeles homeowners call to get a second opinion on a questionable reline quote. A full reline costs thousands, and sometimes it’s genuinely necessary if the clay tiles are cracked and spalling. But often the flue just needs spot repair with HeatShield or a crown and cap replacement. If a company won’t show you footage of the liner’s condition, walk away and call us instead.
A Level 2 inspection includes the camera run through the entire flue, the smoke chamber, and the exterior stack, which a basic sweep doesn’t cover. In a 1920s bungalow in Los Angeles, that camera footage is where we find hidden step-cracks, deteriorating mortar joints, voided clay tiles, and nests packed into the smoke chamber. It’s the difference between thinking your chimney is fine because you don’t burn wood and knowing the masonry is slowly failing at the roofline.
Because those chimneys were built with clay tile and mortar that was never designed for a century of seismic movement and direct sun exposure. Los Angeles rarely freezes, but the crowns crack from ground settling and minor earthquakes. When a cap goes missing or a crown cracks open, winter rain soaks the masonry. The damage compounds for years because the fireplace isn’t being used, so no one notices. That’s exactly why we recommend an inspection-and-cap visit more often than a sweep for older LA homes.
Most Los Angeles homeowners with light wood burning or gas-log use need a sweep and inspection every two to three years. The creosote load won’t be heavy unless you burn regularly through November and December. What matters more in this city is that you’re checking the masonry, the crown, and the cap far more often than you think. A two-year cadence keeps small cracks from becoming structural problems. If it’s been longer than that, call (855) 554-2841 for a free estimate and we’ll come take a look.
Call Hickory Chimney Sweep for Your Los Angeles Inspection
If you live in Los Angeles and your chimney hasn’t been inspected in the last few years, the smart play is a sweep-and-camera visit that shows you exactly what’s happening inside that flue. We cover all of Los Angeles, from the bungalow blocks of 90004 and 90008 to the busy streets of Koreatown, Echo Park, Silver Lake, and Hollywood. Ruben Acosta and our team work with the same professional-trade brands, do the repairs in-house, and won’t recommend a dime of work we can’t show you on camera.
Clean it. Repair it. Protect it. Call (855) 554-2841 for a free estimate, and let’s get your chimney squared away before the next Santa Ana season.
Written by Ruben Acosta, Owner at Hickory Chimney Sweep, serving Los Angeles and the surrounding areas.