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 Los Angeles
A chimney sweep in Los Angeles typically costs $189 – $389 for a standard fireplace with a clean flue, and most jobs are done in 60 – 90 minutes. The LA-specific problem most homeowners don’t know about: months of no-burn days leave fireplaces dormant long enough for creosote to harden and animals to nest, which turns a decorative fireplace into a fire hazard when you finally light it. Our crews know the older masonry chimneys in Hancock Park, the hillside flue runs in Mount Washington, and the mid-century prefab units in the Valley. Call (213) 652-7061 for a written quote before any work starts.
Why Ashby Chimney Los Angeles Is Los Angeles’s Preferred Chimney Sweep Company
Ashby carries ash right in the name, which is fitting for the people whose job is to clean it out. Nathan Corliss leads Ashby Chimney Los Angeles, and he runs the crew the same way he’s run the business since 2002: say the price first, show up when you said you would, and put the guarantee in writing before the job starts. Los Angeles homeowners who have been burned by no-shows and price-switching contractors tend to notice that difference quickly.
Every Ashby visit is a written-price visit. The number we quote at the door is the number on the invoice, period. Our technicians are background-checked and uniformed, so you know who is walking into your home. And if a covered repair fails within the guarantee period, we return at no charge. That is the 365-Day Done Right Promise, and it is not sold as an add-on. It is the way we work.
We answer the phone 24/7. A live person, not a voicemail loop. For Los Angeles homeowners scheduling around work and kids, that matters. Call (213) 652-7061 and you will talk to someone who can actually book the appointment.
Styles & brands we work with
Gas Fireplace Cleaning in Los Angeles
Gas fireplace cleaning in Los Angeles is something many homeowners assume they can skip, because gas burns cleaner than wood. That assumption is wrong in two ways that matter here. First, gas fireplaces still produce soot that coats the logs, glass, and burner ports over time. Second, and more importantly for LA specifically, gas appliance flues are often original masonry chimneys that were never designed for the moisture content of gas combustion. That moisture eats at old mortar from the inside, and you won’t know it until a Level 2 camera inspection finds it.
A gas fireplace cleaning in Los Angeles typically runs $149 – $249. We clean the glass, logs, burner, and pilot assembly, and we check the flue for moisture damage and blockages as part of the service. If you have a gas log set in a 1920s fireplace in Angelino Heights or a converted mid-century unit in Studio City, this is the one service you should schedule annually even if you rarely use it.
When to schedule a gas fireplace cleaning
Before winter, even if you think no-burn days will keep you from using it. Squirrels and birds don’t care about South Coast AQMD rules. They build nests in gas flues during the dormant months, and a blocked flue on a gas fireplace is a carbon monoxide risk, not just a cosmetic problem.
What we check on every gas unit
Burner ports, gas pressure at the valve, glass seal integrity, and the condition of the flue liner. If we see moisture staining or spalling mortar, we will show you on camera before we recommend anything. No mystery recommendations, no pressure.
Chimney Maintenance in Los Angeles
Chimney maintenance in Los Angeles is the service that prevents most of the expensive repair work we get called out to fix. The overwhelming pattern in LA’s older housing stock is simple: a chimney sits unused for years, mortar joints degrade in the dry heat, a Santa Ana wind blows the crown loose or sends water into the flue, and by the time someone notices, the repair is structural instead of cosmetic. Regular maintenance stops that cycle while it is still cheap.
Annual chimney maintenance in Los Angeles runs $179 – $279, depending on flue length and whether we are also capping the chimney. That includes a full sweep of accessible flue surfaces, a visual condition check on the crown, flashing, and cap, and a written report with photos of anything we flag. We will tell you plainly if the chimney can safely wait another year, because we would rather keep your trust than sell you a repair you don’t need yet.
The crown and flashing after Santa Ana winds
Santa Ana winds are the single biggest unseen threat to LA chimneys. They don’t just dry out the hillsides, they lift flashing and crack crowns on chimneys all over the city. After a particularly bad wind event, it is worth having us check the crown and flashing even if you haven’t used the fireplace in years. Water that gets in during winter rains will spall bricks through the following dry season.
Annual maintenance for decorative fireplaces
Even a fireplace that never gets lit still has a flue that animals want to live in. Birds, squirrels, and raccoons all use dormant chimneys as nesting sites. Maintenance includes clearing those nests and installing or repairing a cap with proper screening, so you don’t get chirps in the wall and debris falling into the firebox.
Trusted Brands We Service in Los Angeles
We work on all major chimney and fireplace brands, and we stock common replacement parts locally for Los Angeles customers. When a repair calls for a stainless liner, we use materials from Chimney Sweep trade names like DuraFlex and Olympia Chimney, not whatever happens to be in the van. For HeatShield resurfacing and Gelco crown repair, we use the manufacturer-specified products and follow their installation specs. That means you get a repair that is covered by a written guarantee, and a product with a real warranty behind it. Parts availability in Los Angeles is rarely the bottleneck, so most repairs are completed within the same visit.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterCommon Chimney Sweep Problems We See in Los Angeles Homes
- Hardened creosote in dormant chimneys. Because South Coast AQMD no-burn days leave fireplaces unused for months at a time, creosote doesn’t get burned off by regular use. It hardens into a glaze that is harder to remove and more dangerous when you finally do light a fire.
- Animal nests in hillside flues. Raccoons, birds, and squirrels love a quiet chimney. In foothill neighborhoods like Laurel Canyon and Mount Washington, we pull nests out of flues on a weekly basis between March and October.
- Unlined or clay-tile flues in pre-1940 homes. Craftsman and Spanish Colonial Revival homes all over Los Angeles were built with chimneys that were never lined to modern standards. The clay tile cracks with age, and gaps in mortar joints let heat and gases reach the surrounding structure.
- Crown and flashing failures after Santa Ana events. The dry wind does more than raise fire risk. It physically damages chimney crowns and flashing, and the damage compounds each season until water gets in and the bricks start spalling.
Pricing for Chimney Sweep in Los Angeles, CA
A standard Chimney Sweep in Los Angeles for a clean, accessible fireplace typically runs $189 – $389. The variables are flue height, creosote buildup (harder glaze costs more to remove safely), and whether we are also clearing an animal nest or repairing a cap. Gas fireplace cleaning runs $149 – $249. A Level 1 inspection is included with every sweep at no extra charge. A Level 2 camera inspection, which we recommend for any home built before 1940 or any chimney that hasn’t been used in two or more years, runs $249 – $399. If we find a problem that needs repair, you get a written quote before any work starts. You will never get an invoice that doesn’t match the quote. Call (213) 652-7061 for a free estimate, and we’ll schedule around your availability.
We Also Serve Cities Near Los Angeles
Ashby Chimney Los Angeles serves the full LA metro, including South Gate, Bell, Bell Gardens, and Gardena. If you’re in a neighboring city and wondering whether we can get to you, the answer is usually yes. Dispatch and scheduling are coordinated from the Los Angeles office, and our crews cover the surrounding communities daily. Call (213) 652-7061 to confirm service in your area.
Serving Los Angeles, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles
Yes, and this is the most common mistake we see in Los Angeles. No-burn days keep fireplaces cold, but they don’t keep animals out or stop mortar from deteriorating. A dormant chimney is exactly where birds and squirrels build nests, and those nests can block the flue so completely that when you do light a fire, smoke and carbon monoxide push back into your living room. The creosote from your last fire also sits there and hardens without regular burning to break it down. An annual sweep costs a fraction of what a chimney fire or water-damaged flue repair costs. Call (213) 652-7061 and we’ll get you on the schedule.
Hillside neighborhoods in Los Angeles face a risk that coastal and flatland homes don’t, and it is not imaginary. A chimney fire or even a single ember that escapes through a cracked spark arrestor can ignite dry brush in seconds during a Santa Ana wind event. The combination of drought-dry vegetation and 40 to 60 mph gusts means your chimney is not just about your house. It’s about your whole hillside. We recommend an annual sweep plus a visual crown and cap check every fall, before the Santa Ana season, for any hillside property from Laurel Canyon to Mount Washington. If your spark arrestor is damaged or missing, we’ll replace it with a proper screen that meets current code. Call (213) 652-7061 and tell us you’re in the hills, and we’ll make sure you’re scheduled before the winds start.
Not necessarily, and this is where Los Angeles homeowners get taken advantage of more than anywhere else. Many pre-war Craftsman and Spanish Colonial Revival homes in LA were built with clay-tile flues that are still perfectly serviceable. The companies that quote you $6,000 for a stainless liner without ever running a camera are guessing, and they’re usually guessing wrong. The only way to know is a Level 2 camera inspection. In a 1923 Spanish Colonial Revival home in Mount Washington, our crew pulled a raccoon nest and first-degree creosote from the original clay-tile flue, then scoped the entire run after another company told the homeowner she needed a $6,000 liner. The camera showed only minor spalling at the smoke chamber. We recommended a Level 2 inspection and a new chimney cap instead. She saved about $5,200, and the chimney is safe. That’s how we work. Call (213) 652-7061 if someone just quoted you a liner and you want a second set of eyes with a camera.
Because you have no way to verify a chimney problem without it, and we think you should be able to see exactly what we see before you spend thousands of dollars. A camera inspection shows you the inside of your flue in real time. If there is a crack, you’ll see it on the screen. If there is not, you’ll see that too. No repair text from a phone call, no vague warnings about hidden damage. When we recommend a liner or a HeatShield resurfacing or a crown repair, we show you the footage that justifies it. If we can’t show you, we won’t recommend it. That is the whole point of the Kingswell Guarantee. Call (213) 652-7061 if you want an inspection that comes with photographic evidence.
Yes, and the reason is about moisture more than soot. Gas combustion produces water vapor, and in an older mid-century chimney that was originally built for wood, that moisture saturates the mortar and causes it to crumble over years. Add in the fact that many LA mid-century homes were built with prefabricated metal chimneys that have a 20 to 30 year service life, and you’re often dealing with a chimney that is past its intended lifespan. A gas fireplace cleaning in Los Angeles includes checking the flue for moisture damage, rust, and blockages. If your chimney was installed when the house was built and the house is from the 1950s or 60s, schedule an inspection before winter. Even a gas fireplace can put carbon monoxide into your home through a damaged flue. Call (213) 652-7061 for a quote, and we’ll explain what we find in plain English.
Written by Nathan Corliss, Owner at Ashby Chimney Los Angeles, serving Los Angeles since 2002.