Chimney sweep and flue cleaning in Oakland

Rods and brushes sized to your flue

A brush that is too small spins through the middle of a flue and leaves the corners coated. One that is too large jams or strains the lining. Before any cleaning, our technicians measure the flue opening and choose a brush head that matches its size and shape, whether round, square or rectangular.

The rods connect in sections, so the length grows with the chimney. Flexible rods follow a flue that offsets. Stiffer rods give more push in a straight run with heavy deposits. Several brush heads may be used in one flue as the work moves from loose soot to more stubborn buildup.

Every sweep we do starts with that match, because the right brush does more of the work than extra force does.

• Flue size and shape measured before brushing
• Brush head matched to the lining
• Rod length set to the full height of the flue
• Extra passes where deposits are heaviest

Ladders and roof work handled by our crew

Top-down cleaning and checks at the chimney top mean roof work. Our crew in Oakland brings its own ladders and fall protection, sets the ladder on firm, level ground and ties it off before climbing. You never need to go up or hold a ladder for us.

Roof access depends on conditions on the day. A wet or slick surface, high wind or a very steep pitch can make the roof unsafe, and then the sweep is done from inside where possible and the roof part is rescheduled at a time that suits you.

Our technicians watch their footing on every roof, and gutters and plants below the ladder are protected too. Anything they notice near the chimney, such as a cracked tile or lifted flashing, goes on the record for you to decide about.

A masonry chimney that now vents a gas appliance

Some masonry chimneys that once served wood fires now vent a gas fireplace or another gas appliance. The fuel has changed, but the flue can still collect debris, nests, fallen mortar or old wood-burning deposits that were never removed.

If you smell gas, do not light the appliance. Get everyone out of the home and call 911 or the gas company from outside.

Cleaning and servicing the gas appliance itself is gas fireplace work, handled under our gas fireplace service. What a sweep can do is clear the chimney above the appliance, remove a blockage and check the cap. On a converted fireplace in Oakland, the estimate keeps the two apart, with the flue work priced under the sweep and the appliance referred to the gas fireplace service as its own job.

Where a stove pipe enters a masonry chimney

When a wood stove vents into a masonry chimney through a wall, the stove pipe enters the flue through a round opening called a thimble. Debris brushed down the flue collects at the bottom of the chimney and in that opening, and the joint around the pipe can loosen with time.

When the setup allows, our technicians pull the pipe from the thimble, brush the flue, clean out the base and the opening, then reset the pipe snugly so it does not sag or leak smoke at the joint. Pipe that has rusted thin, or a thimble with cracked mortar around it, is quoted as its own item.

Clearances around that wall pass-through matter for safety, and they belong to a formal inspection or a repair, not a sweep. If anything about the pass-through looks wrong while the pipe is out, our crew points it out and writes it down.