Chimney repair, cleaning and fireplace service in Piedmont

Sweeping a factory-built fireplace is not the same job as sweeping a brick chimney. Piedmont is an Orange County community near Lockhart, and if the fireplace in your Piedmont home has a metal firebox and a metal chimney pipe inside a chase, it needs a sweep done with the right tools and a careful eye for the parts its maker lists.

Factory-built chimneys are made of metal pipe, and the wrong brush can scratch or damage the inner liner. Our technicians use brushes suited to metal flues and sized to the pipe. The refractory panels inside the firebox are also more fragile than firebrick, and they are cleaned gently and inspected for cracks. We check the damper, the joints between pipe sections as far as they can be seen, the chase top and the cap, and we look for rust or water marks that suggest the chase is letting rain in.

The rating plate on the fireplace tells us the maker and model. The owner's manual for most factory-built wood fireplaces calls for regular inspection and cleaning, and it lists the parts approved for that model. If a panel is cracked, a cap is damaged or a pipe section has shifted, the replacement must come from that list.

We tell you what is available and how long it takes to get. Between sweeps, burn only dry, seasoned wood and keep fires to the size the manual allows. Overfiring a factory-built fireplace, with fires too large or too hot, can warp its metal and crack its panels. Do not burn trash, cardboard or treated wood.

If the fireplace is no longer serviceable, we say so and explain the options, including a replacement unit or a conversion. Piedmont homeowners get a free inspection from our locally owned company, and the sweep and any parts are priced upfront. Book within 72 hours after the inspection and get 10% off, and our pros back their work with a workmanship warranty.