Sweep & inspection
Caps & crowns
Flue relining
Masonry repair
Gas fireplace serviceLevel 1 sweep and inspection to the NFPA 211 annual standard - flue, crown, cap, and flashing checked and photographed
Chimney sweep logs do not sweep chimneys. They loosen some creosote - which then falls where a brush and vacuum still have to collect it.
Fast, Reliable Chimney Sweep Across Westwood
Most chimney sweeps in Westwood run between $189 and $329 for a standard open-flue fireplace, and we’ll have a written price in your hand before any brush touches brick. That number covers a full mechanical brushing, creosote and soot removal, a same-visit Level 1 inspection, and a tidy firebox when we leave. We answer the phone around the clock, and our Westwood crews know the hillside streets and older masonry work here better than anyone driving in from the Valley. Call (213) 652-7061 for a free estimate, and we’ll tell you straight what your chimney needs.
Ashby Chimney Los Angeles has been sweeping chimneys since 2002, and we work with the kind of written pricing and written guarantees that homeowners on the Westside tell us they’ve been missing. Nathan Corliss runs a team that shows up in uniform, checks ID at the door, and treats a 1920s Westwood living room like it’s our own. If you’ve been burned by a no-show or a price that doubled after the flue was open, this is the company that puts the number on paper before we start.
Why Ashby Chimney Los Angeles Is Westwood’s Preferred Chimney Sweep Company
Westwood is dense, older, and built into hills, and the chimney work here reflects that. We sweep Spanish Colonials in Westwood Hills, 1950s traditional homes near UCLA, and pre-war masonry stacks in Little Holmby, and the patterns repeat: cracked crowns, spalling brick, and creosote that bakes hard during Santa Ana season. Our crews carry brushes, rods, and camera gear into tight driveways and up steep streets in Westwood on a regular basis, and we schedule with realistic arrival windows that account for Wilshire and Sunset congestion.
Our Chimney Sweep team handles everything from a straightforward annual cleaning to full Level 2 camera inspections after seismic settling, and the reviews from Westwood customers point to the same things: we show up when we say we will, the invoice matches the quote, and the guarantee is in writing. Since 2002, the Kingswell Guarantee has covered every repair with a free second visit if the work fails inside the guarantee period. That’s the 365-Day Done Right Promise, and we don’t make exceptions for Westwood jobs.
Styles & brands we work with
Chimney Maintenance in Westwood
Chimney Maintenance in Westwood means keeping an older, wood-burning masonry chimney safe through wet winters, dry summers, and the occasional Santa Ana wind that pushes smoke and embers in directions nobody planned for. A maintenance visit is a full sweep plus a careful look at the crown, the cap, the flashing, and the first few feet of flue tile. In a 1940s home off a canyon slope, a maintenance call often catches a crack that would have gone six more months unnoticed. For a typical Westwood chimney, maintenance runs between $189 and $329, and includes the sweep, the inspection, and a written summary of anything we find.
Annual Sweep With Inspection
An annual sweep in Westwood isn’t a formality, it’s the difference between a fireplace that drafts clean and a flue that silently builds glaze. We brush the full length of the liner, vacuum the smoke shelf, remove the damper when needed, and check the firebox for heat damage. Westwood’s older masonry homes with original clay liners should be swept every year, especially if you burn wood more than twice a week from November through February.
Creosote and Soot Removal for Hillside Homes
Hillside homes in Westwood and Westwood Hills trap more airborne creosote than flatland houses, because canyon air tends to settle smoke and slow down a chimney’s draft at night. We remove first, second, and third-degree creosote mechanically, then document the liner condition so you can see exactly what came out and what’s left. If the flue shows glaze, we do a follow-up with chemical treatment and schedule a stage-two brushing.
Chimney Sweep Services in Westwood
Chimney Sweep Services in Westwood cover the full sweep, a Level 1 or Level 2 inspection, and repair work on masonry, liners, caps, and dampers, all with real material brands and a written guarantee. For Westwood homeowners, the difference between a simple sweep and a sweep plus repair often comes down to what the camera sees. A standard sweep in Westwood runs $189 to $329, while a Level 2 camera inspection typically adds $150 to $250 and is the right call after any seismic event or before buying a home.
Level 1 and Level 2 Inspections
A Level 1 inspection comes with every sweep and checks the readily accessible parts of the chimney and flue. In Westwood, where chimneys sit on shared walls and hillside setbacks, a Level 2 camera scan is the more thorough look we recommend when a neighbor remodels, a new appliance vents into a shared stack, or a home hasn’t been inspected in years. We bring the camera, show you the images on the spot, and put the findings in writing.
Fireplace Cleaning and Damper Service
A Westwood fireplace that hasn’t been cleaned properly will smell when the marine layer rolls in and the pressure drops. We clean the firebox, remove ashy debris, and inspect the damper assembly for warping and rust. If the damper is stuck or the handle wobbles, we repair or replace it on the same visit, and we put the repair under the same written guarantee as the sweep.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Westwood
When a Westwood flue needs more than a brushing, we work with materials from HeatShield, Olympia Chimney, and Famco, because these are the products a chimney repair should be built on. A HeatShield patch can seal a cracked clay liner without tearing out the original masonry, and an Olympia or Famco cap fits the odd-sized crowns we see on 1930s Westwood stacks. We stock the common sizes for Westwood jobs, which means a repair that would otherwise wait on a shipped part often finishes the same week. If your chimney has a copper cap, a steel cap, or an original mortar crown on its last legs, we can talk through the options and give you a written price before any work starts.
Common Chimney Sweep Problems We See in Westwood Homes
- Shared and adjacent flues in attached properties. Many Westwood homes, especially older Spanish Colonials and converted duplexes, share a chimney stack or have flues running side by side through the same masonry. When a neighbor’s gas appliance vents into a shared flue, acidic condensate can eat the mortar and accelerate creosote glazing on your side, which is why we always check the crown and the flue path before assuming a basic sweep will fix the draft.
- Seismic settling and cracked crowns. Little Holmby and Westwood Hills see more cracked crowns and spalled brick than the flatlands of Century City, because the ground moves in a way flat lots don’t. Santa Ana rain then drives into the smoke chamber, turning creosote into a paste that eats mortar joints and drips into the firebox.
- Tight street access and steep driveways. On streets in Westwood Hills, there often isn’t a place to park a work truck close to the house, which means our crew sometimes carries rods and brushes a hundred yards. That extra labor is why some companies skip the camera work after seismic movement; we don’t skip it, because the Level 2 scan is exactly what catches a crack before it lets flue gases into a wall void.
- Original 1920s – 1950s clay flue liners. Many Westwood homes still vent through the original clay liner, and decades of heat, moisture, and settling leave it cracked or spalled. A clay liner that’s compromised can spill carbon monoxide into a shared wall cavity, so we treat any liner with visible gaps as a repair item, not a sweep-and-go.
See the difference
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AfterPricing for Chimney Sweep in Westwood, CA
A standard chimney sweep in Westwood runs $189 to $329 for a single fireplace with an open flue and accessible roof. If the chimney has a steep or difficult roof line, a second story, or years of heavy creosote, the price can reach $400 to $550, and we’ll tell you the exact number before any work starts. A Level 2 camera inspection adds $150 to $250, and a HeatShield liner repair typically runs $85 to $120 per foot, depending on the flue size and access. We never switch the price at the door, and every job gets a written quote and a written guarantee. Call (213) 652-7061 for a free estimate, and we’ll give you a clean number for your specific Westwood chimney.
We Also Serve Cities Near Westwood
Our crews cover Westwood and the surrounding Westside and Valley neighborhoods, including Westwood, Brentwood, Sun Valley, Sherman Oaks, and North Hollywood. If you live in a hillside section of Brentwood or a canyon street above Sherman Oaks, we bring the same written pricing and the same camera-equipped sweep to your door. Call our Los Angeles dispatch line at (213) 652-7061 and we’ll schedule a visit for your area.
Serving Westwood, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Westwood area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About Chimney Sweep in Westwood
In Westwood Hills, the ground settles differently than on flat lots, so we check the crown, cap, and upper flue tile more carefully for cracks and spalling from seismic movement. A hillside chimney also faces direct Santa Ana exposure, which can drive wind-driven rain into any crown crack and turn creosote into a corrosive sludge. We recommend a Level 2 camera inspection on hillside chimneys every three years, rather than only after an earthquake. Call (213) 652-7061 to schedule one with a written quote.
Yes, if your neighbor’s gas appliance vents into a shared flue, the acidic condensate can push through the masonry and damage your side of the liner, often before you notice any smell. We see this in Westwood attached properties and duplexes, and the fix is usually a HeatShield patch or a properly sized cap on the shared crown to separate the flue paths. The first step is a camera scan to see what’s actually happening inside your side of the stack. Call (213) 652-7061 and we’ll bring the camera.
Westwood’s wet winters and dry summers produce a lot of evening moisture that settles into flues, and when you combine that with Santa Ana winds that change draft direction, creosote builds faster than it would inland. Third-degree glazed creosote is common in Westwood chimneys that haven’t been swept in two or more years, and it’s a fire hazard that a basic brushing won’t fully remove without chemical treatment. We give a clear written note after every sweep telling you what degree of creosote we found and whether another visit is needed.
Every year, with a full sweep and a Level 1 inspection at minimum, and a Level 2 camera scan every three years or after any seismic movement you felt in the house. A 1920s clay liner in Westwood has already gone through nearly a century of heat and several earthquake cycles, and the cracks we find are almost always in the upper third of the flue, where the crown has settled. If the camera shows gaps bigger than a pencil line, we discuss repair options before the end of the visit.
Yes, and in Westwood we usually treat a routine sweep as the moment to catch spalling brick before a full rebuild is needed. Spalled brick means the face is flaking off, and on a hillside chimney that’s often from water getting into the masonry through a cracked crown. We repair crown cracks, repoint the loose mortar, and sometimes apply a waterproofing treatment rated for the SoCal climate, all with a written guarantee. If the damage is extensive, we’ll tell you straight and give you a price for the masonry work. Call (213) 652-7061 for free advice on your hillside chimney.
Contact Ashby Chimney Los Angeles for a Chimney Sweep in Westwood
If your Westwood chimney needs a sweep, an inspection, or a straight answer about a repair you’ve been putting off, call (213) 652-7061 today. Nathan Corliss and the Ashby Chimney Los Angeles team will give you a written price before any work starts, arrive in the window we set, and back every repair with the Kingswell Guarantee and the 365-Day Done Right Promise. In Westwood, where shared flues and hillside settling make a chimney a structural question, you want a sweep that actually looks at the whole chimney. Call us, and we’ll show you what we see.
Written by Nathan Corliss, Owner at Ashby Chimney Los Angeles, serving Westwood since 2002 under the Kingswell Guarantee.