Your chimney is telling you something.
Cleaning, video inspection, and structural repair across Connecticut. We find what’s wrong before it costs you a chimney — and we’ll tell you when you don’t need us yet.
- CSIA certified technicians
- CT HIC Reg. HIC.0654321
- Fully insured
- Written photo reports
- Priced per flue
Diagnostic
Start with what you’re seeing
Nobody calls us asking for a Level 2 inspection. They call because smoke came back into the room, or a stain showed up on the ceiling, or something is moving around inside the flue. Find it below.
| What you’re seeing | What’s behind it | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
| Smoke pushing back into the room STOP USE | CAUSE: Blocked flue, a damper not opening fully, weak draft, or the house pulling negative against the chimney. | NEXT: Stop using it. Chimney cleaning & inspection |
| A smoky smell with nothing burning | CAUSE: Deposits holding odor, moisture reacting with creosote, or air running down the flue instead of up. | NEXT: Chimney cleaning |
| Damp staining on the ceiling beside the chimney | CAUSE: Water entering at the crown, the cap, or the flashing. Usually not the roof. | NEXT: Chimney repair: flashing & crown |
| White chalky residue on the outside brick | CAUSE: Moisture moving through the masonry and carrying salts out to the surface. | NEXT: Chimney repair: masonry & waterproofing |
| Scratching or fluttering inside the chimney STOP USE | CAUSE: An animal got in through a missing or failed cap. | NEXT: Don’t light it. Cap installation |
| Rust on the damper, firebox, or metal parts | CAUSE: Water is reaching components that should stay dry — usually a cap or crown problem above it. | NEXT: Inspection |
| Heavy buildup returning fast after a cleaning | CAUSE: Wood that isn’t seasoned, an appliance running cool, or a flue oversized for what it vents. | NEXT: Cleaning & flue assessment |
| A furnace or boiler flue nobody has looked at | CAUSE: Heating-only flues get skipped because there’s no fireplace to remind you. They corrode and they block. | NEXT: Inspection |
| After a chimney fire, a bad storm, or roof work STOP USE | CAUSE: The flue can be damaged in ways you cannot see from either end. | NEXT: Don’t relight. Level 2 video inspection |
| Buying or selling a house with a fireplace | CAUSE: Buyers and agents want documented chimney condition before closing. | NEXT: Inspection & written report |
Smoke in the room or a CO alarm going off: stop using the appliance and call us first.
Services
What we do
Every service below is available across Connecticut. Cleaning and inspection are the front door — most of what actually needs fixing gets found there.
Keeping a working chimney working
- Chimney cleaning — Full flue, smoke chamber and firebox, with containment from the door to the hearth.
- Chimney inspection — Levels 1, 2 and 3, with a written photo report you can take anywhere.
- Gas fireplace & wood stove service — Venting, burner and pilot assembly on gas. Flue cleaning and sizing checks on stoves and inserts.
- Homeowner instruction — What dry wood actually is, how to work a damper, how to read a change in draft, and when the change you’re seeing needs a technician. Part of every visit.
Fixing what has failed
- Chimney repair — Crowns, caps, flashing, dampers, fireboxes and mortar joints. One part at a time when that’s all it needs.
- Relining — Stainless liner sized to the appliance, not to the old flue.
- Restoration — Tuckpointing, spalled brick replacement, rebuilding above the roofline. Bringing an old stack back to sound without tearing it out.
Building and replacing
- Chimney construction — New chimneys and full rebuilds, from the footing or the roofline up, built to current code rather than matched to whatever was there.
- Installation — Caps, crowns, liners, dampers, stoves and inserts, and appliance venting. Sized and connected to the appliance it is actually serving.
Inspection
What each level actually covers
Three levels. They’re not a menu of upsells. They’re depths of investigation, and the right one depends on what’s changed and what’s known.
Level 1 — annual baseline: nothing has changed
For a chimney in ordinary use. We check the accessible parts of the chimney and appliance, confirm the flue is clear, work the damper, and verify the system is sound and correctly connected. Most chimneys, most years, need this and nothing more.
Level 2 — something changed: camera down the flue
Everything in a Level 1, plus a camera run the full length of the flue and inspection of areas a basic check doesn’t reach — attic, crawl space, the roof interface. The right call when you’re changing fuel or appliances, after a chimney fire or severe storm, or when a Level 1 raises a question it can’t answer. Commonly requested during a sale, though whether it’s required comes down to the lender, the inspector, and the contract.
Level 3 — hidden hazard: opening it up
For cases where reaching a suspected defect means removing building material. Not routine. Nobody should propose one without telling you exactly what evidence points to it.
How to tell which one you’re being sold: ask why that level, and what specific information it will produce. The answer tells you most of what you need to know about who you’ve hired.
Process
What happens during a cleaning
Cleaning removes what’s combustible. It doesn’t fix what’s broken. That’s why the cleaning and the inspection go together — we’d rather find a cracked liner on a routine visit than after a fire.
- Containment first — Drop cloths from the door to the hearth. A HEPA vacuum running at the firebox for the whole job.
- Access — The damper comes out or opens fully so the smoke shelf and smoke chamber can actually be reached. The areas most often skipped.
- Brushing — Rods and a brush sized to your flue. Oversized skims. Undersized leaves the corners.
- Smoke chamber & firebox — These hold more than people expect and are where a lot of the buildup actually sits.
- Assessment as we go — Liner, mortar joints, damper wear, signs of water. Anything we find, you get a photo — not a verbal warning.
- Debris leaves with us — Nothing gets tipped into your bin or left in the firebox.
On frequency: the standard advice is “clean it once a year.” What’s actually true is that it should be inspected once a year. Some homes need two cleanings a season. Some need one every three years. We’ll tell you which you are instead of selling you a schedule.
How we price
Per flue. Not per chimney.
Per flue
Not per chimney, and not per visit.
Quoted before we start
A firm number, not a range that moves.
Diagnosis stays separate
The report is yours either way.
Nothing added without a call
If the scope changes you hear about it first.
Every chimney is different — flue type, stack height, roof access, and what we actually find inside. We’d rather quote yours than publish a number that turns out to be wrong on your house.
See typical costs →
When cleaning isn’t the answer
Some visits don’t end with a clean flue
A cleaning tells you what’s in the chimney. An inspection tells you what condition it’s in. When the structure itself has failed, cleaning it again next year doesn’t fix anything — and a company that only cleans has no reason to tell you that.
- Cracked or gapped clay tile
Original liners in older Connecticut homes are often at the end of their service life. Once tiles crack, combustion gases and heat can reach the masonry and the framing behind it. Relining →
- Crown failure
The concrete slab at the top is the chimney’s roof. When it cracks, water goes straight down inside the stack and works outward through the winter. Chimney repair: crowns →
- Spalling and open joints
Freeze-thaw is the main structural enemy of masonry in this state. Face brick lifting off, mortar gone soft, gaps you can put a key into. Chimney repair: restoration & rebuilds →
- A flue that was never right
Undersized, oversized, or unlined for what’s connected to it. Common when a stove or insert was added to a chimney built for an open fireplace. Chimney relining →
Built higher, built better starts with knowing which one you’re actually dealing with.
Questions
Common questions
How often does a chimney need inspecting?
Once a year for anything in active use. That includes furnace and boiler flues with no fireplace attached. Whether it needs cleaning at the same visit is a separate question, answered by what we find.
Does an unused chimney still need attention?
Yes, and this is the one people get wrong most. Not using a chimney doesn’t stop water getting in, animals nesting, mortar going, or metal corroding. An abandoned flue with an open top is often in worse shape than one in daily use.
Is cleaning the same as an inspection?
No. Cleaning removes deposits. Inspection evaluates condition. A chimney can be spotless and still be unsafe.
Does a gas fireplace need servicing?
Yes. Gas makes far less creosote than wood, but the venting still has to be clear, the burner and pilot assembly still need attention, and gas flues are a common place to find animal nests precisely because nobody thinks to check them.
Can I put a new stove or insert into my existing chimney?
Sometimes. It depends on the condition of the flue, whether it’s sized correctly for the appliance, clearances, and local code. An oversized flue on a modern efficient appliance is a common and expensive mismatch — the gases cool on the way up and condense. Get it assessed before you buy the appliance, not after.
Why does my fireplace smoke into the room?
Blocked flue, damper not fully open, a flue sized wrong for the opening, wind at the chimney top, or the house pulled negative by exhaust fans, a dryer, or tight insulation. Recurring smoke is a fault, not a quirk. Stop using it until it’s diagnosed.
How long does a chimney last?
No fixed number, but in Connecticut the limiting factor is water, not fire. Freeze-thaw cycling through porous masonry does more damage over twenty years than the fires do. Chimneys that are capped, crowned and kept dry last dramatically longer than ones that aren’t.
Can I do any of this myself?
Some of it. Burn dry seasoned wood, keep the hearth clear, notice when the draft changes. Not the parts involving a roof, a flue interior, or anything structural. Connecticut requires Home Improvement Contractor registration for chimney repair work, which tells you something about the risk level.
Booking
Get it looked at before the season starts
Spring and summer are the quiet months. Same work, shorter wait, and you’re not finding out about a cracked liner on the first cold night of the year.
Service area
Across Connecticut
- Fairfield County
Greenwich, Stamford, Norwalk, Westport, Fairfield, Danbury, Newtown - Hartford County
Hartford, West Hartford, Glastonbury, Farmington, Simsbury, Bristol, Manchester - New Haven County
New Haven, Cheshire, Hamden, Wallingford, Branford, Milford, Waterbury - Litchfield County
Torrington, Litchfield, New Milford, Kent, Woodbury, Winsted - Middlesex County
Middletown, Cromwell, Durham, Chester, Killingworth, Old Saybrook