Chimney Sweep FAQ — Palos Hills, IL
Common questions from homeowners in Palos Hills and the surrounding area. If your question isn't here, call us and we'll give you a straight answer.
How often does a chimney in Palos Hills actually need sweeping?
It depends on what you burn and how much. A wood-burning fireplace used most weekends through our heating season, roughly mid-October to mid-April, usually needs a sweep every year. Gas log sets and gas inserts build almost no creosote, but they still need a yearly look at the vent, the burner and the firebox. If you only light a fire three or four times a winter, we may open it up, check it, and tell you it can wait another season.
Call (708) 607-9680 for a same-day estimate.
What happens from the moment the crew walks in to the moment they leave?
We lay down drop cloths, set the vacuum at the hearth, and seal the opening before any brush goes up. Then the flue gets swept top to bottom and the firebox, smoke shelf and damper get cleaned out. After that we inspect what we can reach and see: liner condition, mortar joints in the smoke chamber, the damper seal, the cap and the crown. You get told what we found in plain words, with photos if the problem is somewhere you cannot stand and look at.
Call (708) 607-9680 for a same-day estimate.
When would I need something deeper than the standard yearly check?
Two situations. One is a real estate closing, where a buyer or an attorney wants documentation that the flue is sound. The other is after a change or an event: a chimney fire, a lightning strike, a new insert going in, or switching a wood firebox over to gas. In those cases we go further than a visual pass, usually with a camera run down the full liner, because what matters is the condition of surfaces nobody can see from the hearth or the roof.
Call (708) 607-9680 for a same-day estimate.
How much of my day does this take, and what shape is the room in afterward?
A straight sweep and inspection on one flue runs about an hour to an hour and a half. Two flues, a heavy creosote load, or a chimney with difficult roof access can push it longer. The containment goes up first, the HEPA vacuum runs the whole time, and the brush never touches the flue until the opening is sealed. We pull the drop cloths at the end and the hearth should look the way it did when we arrived.
Call (708) 607-9680 for a same-day estimate.
Which warning signs mean I should not wait until fall?
Smoke rolling back into the room instead of going up. A fire that will not draw and keeps dying down. A sour, smoky smell in July when the humidity is high. Dark staining on the brick above the opening, rust streaks on the damper, a cap that is missing or chewed with rust, or scratching and chirping from inside the chase. Any of those is worth a visit now, not on the first cold night in October.
Call (708) 607-9680 for a same-day estimate.
What is creosote, and why does a busy fireplace make more of it?
Creosote is the tar and unburned wood gas that condenses on cool flue walls as smoke rises. Burn more fires and you send more of that vapor up, so it layers faster. Slow smoldering fires, damp or unseasoned wood, and a flue that runs up a cold exterior wall all speed it up, and plenty of Palos Hills ranches and split-levels have exactly that kind of exterior chimney. It starts as soot you can brush off and hardens into a glazed shell that needs real work to remove.
Call (708) 607-9680 for a same-day estimate.
My neighbor has an open fireplace and I have a sealed gas insert. Do we need the same service?
No. An open masonry fireplace pulls room air, builds creosote, and needs the flue brushed and the firebox cleaned. A sealed insert, like a Heatilator, Heat & Glo, Majestic, Napoleon, Superior or Empire unit, burns behind glass and vents through its own pipe, so the work is gasket condition, glass cleaning, blower, vent integrity and burner service. Both get inspected yearly. They just get inspected for different failures.
Call (708) 607-9680 for a same-day estimate.
What is included when you service a gas fireplace or log set?
We check and adjust the pilot, test the thermocouple or thermopile, and clean the burner ports so the flame pattern is even instead of lazy and yellow. The logs get repositioned, since logs shifted out of place are a common cause of sooting and odd flames. Glass comes off and gets cleaned, gaskets get checked, and the vent run is inspected for blockage, separation or corrosion. With natural gas nearly universal here on Nicor and Peoples, this is most of what we do in a lot of Palos Hills neighborhoods.
Call (708) 607-9680 for a same-day estimate.
Suppose the liner or a flue tile turns out to be cracked. What then?
We stop and show you. Freeze-thaw cycling is the hardest thing on masonry in southwest Cook County, and on the moraine ridges around here water gets into a crown or a joint, freezes, and splits clay tile over a few winters. A cracked tile lets heat and combustion gas reach places they should never touch, so the fix is relining, usually a stainless liner sized to the appliance. We handle liners and flues. If the brickwork or the crown itself needs rebuilding, that is masonry, and you will need a mason for that part.
Call (708) 607-9680 for a same-day estimate.
My damper will not close all the way. Can you fix that, and what drives the price?
Usually yes. Most of the time it is creosote buildup on the plate, a warped frame, rust from years of rain coming down an uncapped flue, or a broken handle, and cleaning, freeing and adjusting it solves it. If the throat damper is too far gone, a top-sealing damper at the crown is the better answer and it cuts the draft you feel in the room all winter. On cost, the things that move it on this job are the number of flues, how hardened the creosote is, whether we are working around a sealed insert that has to come out and go back in, and roof pitch and height on a two-story Georgian versus a ranch. Estimates are free and you approve the number before we touch anything.
Call (708) 607-9680 for a same-day estimate.
Have a question that's not here?
Call us and ask. We'll give you a straight answer and tell you if it's worth coming out.
Call (708) 607-9680Or see our contact page for address and hours.