Chimney sweep and soot removal for Pine Hills homes
We brush out soot and flaky creosote and quote any glazed section separately, so nothing hides in the price.
- Licensed & insured
- Locally run
- Family owned and operated
- Same-day service available
What your Pine Hills chimney sweep includes
- Damper tested open and closed from the room
- Debris bagged and carried out of the house
- Insert liner cleaned from the top down
- Glass doors and frame cleaned after brushing
The cleaning behind a clear-drawing flue
Clearing what falls onto the smoke shelf
Behind the damper, many masonry fireplaces have a flat or curved ledge called the smoke shelf. Anything that falls down the flue can land there, from soot and creosote flakes to leaves, nesting material and broken pieces of tile.
Because it sits out of sight, the smoke shelf can hold a surprising load. Debris left there can smell, can hold moisture and can partly block the path smoke takes into the flue.
The shelf is cleared after the flue is brushed, so it catches the brushing debris too. Our crew reaches over the damper, scoops the shelf clean and vacuums what is left. Whatever came off it is looked at before it is bagged, because a chunk of tile or a rusted piece of metal points to a problem higher up that deserves its own look.
Using the cleanout door at the base of the flue
Many masonry chimneys have a small metal door near the bottom of the flue, outside the house or in a closet or garage. The Florida Building Code calls for a cleanout opening near the base of each masonry chimney flue, with a noncombustible cover, and makes an exception for fireplace flues that can be cleaned through the fireplace opening.
When a chimney has a cleanout, debris from the sweep collects at the bottom of the flue, and our crew empties it through that door. A cleanout that has been painted shut, rusted or hidden behind plants gets opened carefully.
The cover needs to close fully after cleaning. A missing or rusted-through door is noted for repair on your Pine Hills estimate, since an open cleanout lets air and animals into the base of the flue.
Cleaning a wood insert from the top down
A wood-burning insert sits inside a masonry fireplace and vents through a liner that runs up the old flue. The insert blocks the path a brush would take from the room, so the liner is usually cleaned from the roof, top down, with the debris collected at the bottom.
At the bottom, the soot lands on the insert's baffle or in its connection to the liner, and it has to be cleared from there. Depending on the model, that means opening the insert and lifting out the baffle, or disconnecting the liner, following the insert maker's instructions.
Our crew sizes the brush to the liner rather than the old masonry flue, and uses bristles that will not scratch stainless steel. For inserts in Pine Hills, we confirm the model ahead of the visit so the right steps are known, and a damaged liner section is quoted apart from the cleaning.
Smoldering fires and a half-open damper
A slow, smoky fire feels economical, but it is hard on the flue. EPA guidance calls a smoldering fire unsafe and wasteful in most appliances, and it names starved air as one of the conditions that builds creosote.
Air gets restricted in a few familiar ways. The damper is only partly open, glass doors are shut on an open fireplace, the fire is buried under too much wood, or a stove's air control is turned all the way down for a long burn. Each one slows the smoke and lets it cool.
Hot, bright fires with the damper fully open move smoke up the chimney quickly, so less of it condenses on the way. When our crew sees heavy buildup, they point to the habit that likely caused it so the next sweep finds less.
Other work in Pine Hills
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Learn more about chimney sweep and chimney cleaningPine Hills services
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Before you set up a sweep in Pine Hills
What happens if you find damage during the sweep?
We stop, show you what we found and explain what it means for using the fireplace. Each repair goes on the written estimate as its own line, and nothing is fixed or charged without your approval.
Can I use the fireplace the same day it is swept?
Usually, yes, once our crew has finished and the damper has been tested. The exceptions are a glazed treatment that is still drying and a repair finding that should be settled first, and we tell you about either before we leave.
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- Family owned and operated
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