Columbus, OH & surrounding areas
Chimney Sweeping & Cleaning
Creosote, soot, and blockages cleared out of your flue.
- Level 1 inspection with every sweep
- Soot contained at the fireplace, not spread through the room
- Photos of what we found and a clear next step
- 4.4 on Google
- Free in-home estimates
- Fully insured
- Warranty up to 1 year
- Free drone inspection
Get a call back
Tell us what's going on. We'll call you back to set a time.
Wood smoke cools on its way up the flue and leaves creosote behind — first a dust, then a hard crust, then a shiny glaze. Sweeping removes that buildup so the flue can be inspected for visible damage and obstructions.
Signs you'd notice
- Smoke pushing back into the room when you light a fire
- A sharp, tarry smell from the fireplace, worst in humid weather
- Black, flaky, or shiny buildup visible inside the flue
- Fires that are hard to start or won't stay going
- More than a year, or a full burning season, since the last sweep
What happens on the visit
- 1
Prepare the work area
The fireplace opening and surrounding room need protection before soot and brushes are moved through the flue.
- 2
Sweep the full length of the flue
Rods and brushes sized to your flue, worked from the firebox and the top as needed, until the walls are back to bare masonry or bare liner.
- 3
Clear the smoke chamber and shelf
The area just above the damper collects the heaviest deposits and gets skipped by anyone working fast. It's usually where the real buildup is. If the smoke chamber's parging has broken down and left rough, open masonry, we'll tell you — that surface is why it keeps loading up.
- 4
Run the Level 1 inspection while we're in there
Since the flue is now clean, we can see it. We check the liner, damper, firebox, crown, and cap and tell you what we found.
- 5
Review the findings
The inspection identifies visible concerns in the liner, damper, firebox, crown, and cap.
Why it matters
Creosote burns. That's the whole reason this job exists. A flue with enough buildup in it can turn an ordinary fire in your firebox into a fire inside your chimney — and a chimney fire cracks liners and damages masonry even when nobody notices it happening. A blocked flue is the other half of it: whatever can't go up goes back into the room, and that includes carbon monoxide.
Recent work
What the work looks like
Our own photos, from real Columbus-area jobs. Tap a project to see every photo.
Questions
Chimney Sweeping: what people ask us
How often does a chimney need to be swept?
Get it inspected once a year, every year, whether or not you burned much. Whether it needs sweeping depends on what the inspection finds — the industry trigger is about an eighth of an inch of creosote built up in the flue. If you burn most weekends through the winter, expect to sweep annually. If you light three fires a year, you may go longer between sweeps but you still want the yearly look.
What is creosote, and why does everyone worry about it?
Creosote is the tar-like residue that wood smoke leaves behind as it cools on the way up your flue. It starts as a light dust, then hardens into a crust, and eventually into a shiny glaze. It matters because creosote burns. Enough of it in a hot flue is what turns a normal fire in your firebox into a fire inside your chimney.
What does a chimney sweep cost?
It depends on the chimney: how tall it is, how easy the roof is to reach, what appliance it serves, and how much buildup is in there. A teaser number without those details would be misleading. Call with the details to request a quote for your chimney.
How long does the visit take, and will you make a mess?
Visit length depends on the chimney, roof access, inspection level, and amount of buildup. The office can confirm the expected scope once those details are known. Chimney sweeping should contain soot at the fireplace opening rather than spread it through the room.
Related
While we're up there
Chimney Inspections
A documented look at the whole system, firebox to crown.
Chimney & Masonry Repair
Tuckpointing, brick replacement, and rebuilds — above and below the roofline.
Caps, Crowns & Chase Covers
The lid on your chimney. Keeps rain, leaves, and animals out.
Chimney Liners & Relining
A cracked or missing flue liner is a safety problem, not maintenance.
Get a free estimate on your chimney
Pick a day and a time window online, or call and talk to a person. The estimate is free, and the drone inspection is included.