Chimney sweep and soot removal for University 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
Line items on a sweep estimate in University
- Room covered and fireplace opening sealed
- Debris bagged and carried out of the house
- Repair findings listed on separate estimate lines
- Glass doors and frame cleaned after brushing
How a chimney gets cleaned properly
Cleaning the damper and testing its movement
Soot and creosote build up on the damper plate, its frame and the pivot it swings on. A coated damper sticks, closes unevenly or leaves a gap. The Florida Building Code requires a masonry fireplace to have a ferrous metal damper that can be operated from the room containing the fireplace, and that only works if it moves freely.
Our technicians scrape and brush the plate and frame, clear the pivot points and then work the control from the room, open and closed, several times. They check that it opens fully and closes without binding, then test it once more at the very end, after the firebox is cleaned.
A warped plate, a broken handle or rust that has eaten through the metal is noted in writing and priced separately. You leave the visit knowing whether the damper works instead of guessing.
Top-sealing dampers, cables and gaskets during a sweep
A top-sealing damper closes the flue at the top instead of above the firebox. A spring holds its lid open, and a cable runs down the flue to a handle inside the fireplace that pulls it shut. A gasket on the lid seals against the top of the flue when it closes.
Sweeping a flue with one of these takes care. The cable hangs inside the flue, so brushes have to work around it without kinking or snagging it. Soot on the gasket keeps it from sealing, and creosote on the spring can slow the lid.
With the lid open, our crew brushes around the cable, wipes the gasket clean and tests the lid from the handle before leaving. A torn gasket, a frayed cable or a weak spring is written up as a separate repair on your estimate.
Two fireplaces sharing one chimney stack
Two fireplaces on different floors or on opposite sides of a wall often share one chimney stack, each with its own flue. They are two cleaning jobs. Each has its own firebox, damper, smoke chamber and smoke shelf, and the deposits in one tell you nothing about the other.
Each room is protected in turn. Our crew cleans each fireplace from its own firebox up and brushes each flue from the roof, keeping the debris from one out of the other.
The estimate lists each fireplace separately. If one sees regular fires and the other is almost never lit, the busy one usually carries heavier deposits, and the written record shows that difference for your University home. You can also choose to clean only the one you use and leave the other for later.
Brushing a flue that bends or offsets
Not every flue runs straight. Masonry chimneys sometimes shift sideways to clear a roofline or a second fireplace, and factory-built chimneys use elbow sections to route around framing. The Florida Building Code limits how far a clay flue lining may slope from vertical, so masonry bends are gentle, but they are still bends.
A stiff rod and brush can skip across the outside of a bend and miss the inside corner. Our technicians use flexible rods for offsets and work the brush through the bend from both ends when both can be reached.
Offsets also hide things. Debris can lodge in the bend, and the visual check can see only so far past it. For a flue with an offset, the written record notes what could be seen and what could not.
Other work in University
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Learn more about chimney sweep and chimney cleaningUniversity services
Related chimney sweep work
Before you set up a sweep in University
What if the flue has a hard, shiny coating the brushes cannot remove?
That is glazed creosote, and it calls for a separate removal treatment applied per the product label. We quote it as its own line, and the treated material is swept out on a second visit once it dries.
Do I need to be home for the chimney cleaning?
Someone needs to let our crew in and approve the written estimate, and we go over the record with you at the end. For rentals and seasonal homes we can work with a caretaker or property manager and send the record afterward.
Request your free estimate
Share the job details and arrange a free inspection with our local team.
- Free inspection
- No hidden fees
- Family owned and operated
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