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 North Hills
A chimney sweep in North Hills typically costs $189 – $329 for a standard cleaning, and the job itself usually takes 45 to 90 minutes. But in this part of the San Fernando Valley, the real question isn’t just soot removal. It’s whether the 60-year-old clay flue behind your fireplace is still sound. We’re Firebrick Chimney Sweep, and we’ve worked on hundreds of North Hills homes from the 91343 and 91393 ZIP codes, and we know exactly what to look for when we get on your roof near Sepulveda Boulevard or Woodley Avenue. Call (866) 520-4943 to book a sweep with a team that understands mid-century masonry.
Why Firebrick Chimney Sweep Is North Hills’s Preferred Chimney Sweep Company
North Hills homeowners call us because we don’t treat a chimney sweep as a box to check. We treat it as an inspection of a system that’s been sitting on your roofline since the Eisenhower administration. Most of the homes we service in this area were built between 1955 and 1965, and their original clay-tile flues have weathered decades of small tremors and Santa Ana wind events. That changes the work. Where other companies run a brush up the flue and hand you an invoice, we run a camera, document what we find, and show you the footage.
The typical North Hills customer is someone who got flagged by a home inspector before a sale, or someone who’s lived in the house for 20 years and finally decided to check on the fireplace they use twice a year. Either way, they want an honest read. Nelson Quijada built Firebrick around a simple standard: no recommendation gets made unless the homeowner can see the evidence on screen. That’s why our Chimney Sweep team includes camera documentation with every Level 1 and Level 2 inspection we do in North Hills.
We’ll get to a North Hills address fast. Most of our calls in the area route through the 405 or Roscoe Boulevard, and we schedule sweeps within days, not weeks, during the fall pre-season when most Valley homeowners finally think about their fireplaces.
Styles & brands we work with
Chimney Services in North Hills
Chimney services in North Hills start at $189 for a basic sweep with a Level 1 inspection, and run up to $450 or more when a Level 2 camera inspection with a full written report is involved. What you actually need depends on what’s happening inside the flue, and the only honest way to know is to look. Here’s what we handle for homes across North Hills:
Level 1 Inspection
This is the right job when you’ve used the fireplace consistently and nothing has changed: no new appliance, no storm damage, no water stains. We inspect the fireplace, the accessible flue, and the exterior cap from the roof. Level 1 sweeps in North Hills run $189 to $250 and take under an hour.
Level 2 Inspection
North Hills homeowners need a Level 2 inspection when something has changed: a home sale, a Santa Ana event that may have damaged the cap, a new furnace or water heater vented into the same flue, or a property flagged by an insurance carrier. We run a camera the full length of the flue and give you a written report with stills. Level 2 inspections here range from $300 to $450 depending on roof access.
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.
Chimney Sweep Certified in North Hills
A chimney sweep certified by trade-standard methods is what you want when your North Hills fireplace hasn’t been opened in years and you’re not certain what’s been building up inside the flue. Here’s what the work actually involves: flue brush and HEPA-filtered vacuum, removal of creosote and debris, inspection of the firebox and damper, and a condition check on the cap and crown. In North Hills, a standard sweep runs $189 to $329, and we’ll flag anything structural we find before we ever pick up a repair tool.
Creosote Removal
Creosote in North Hills flues is rarely the thick, tar-heavy glaze you’d find in a snow-country chimney that burns daily through winter. What we see here is lighter, flakier stage-one and stage-two creosote from occasional use, plus wind-blown debris. Removal is included in the sweep price.
Soot Removal
Gas fireplaces and inserts in North Hills homes produce soot, not creosote. Soot removal calls for a gentler process: soft brushes, no wire rods, and a vacuum that won’t blow fine black dust into your living room. This runs $150 to $225 and is often paired with a gas insert service check.
Trusted Brands We Service in North Hills
We work with professional-grade chimney-industry materials because mid-century flues don’t need consumer-grade patch jobs. When a North Hills homeowner needs a liner repair, we use HeatShield ceramic resurfacing, which rebuilds the inside of the flue without jackhammering the structure. For mortar and crown work, we use Gelco and Olympia Chimney products, and our cap replacements use Famco hardware. These aren’t the brands stocked at the hardware store on Nordhoff Street. They’re what certified chimney professionals use when a repair needs to last another 60 years. We keep the common components on the truck, which means most North Hills jobs get done in one trip, not three.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterCommon Chimney Sweep Problems We See in North Hills Homes
- Cracked crowns and loosened mortar joints. Two decades of minor earthquake vibrations and hot-and-cold cycling loosen the mortar at the crown, and once water gets in, it expands and contracts with every Valley summer. By the time a homeowner notices, the damage is often behind the brick, not in front of it.
- Santa Ana wind damage to caps and spark arrestors. North Hills sits in a wind corridor, and after every serious Santa Ana event we get calls about caps found in backyards or flues packed with eucalyptus leaves and pine needles from mature trees on the property.
- Spalled clay flue tiles. Original 1950s clay tiles crack under thermal stress and moisture intrusion, then flake away in pieces that can block the flue. A camera inspection shows exactly where the spalling is, and whether it’s minor or dangerous.
- Furnaces and water heaters vented into old masonry stacks. Many North Hills ranchers had their HVAC upgraded over the years, but the old chimney was repurposed without being inspected. These stacks sometimes have several appliances venting through a flue never designed for them.
Pricing for Chimney Sweep in North Hills, CA
Here’s what you’ll pay in North Hills, straight up. A standard sweep with a Level 1 inspection runs $189 to $329. A sweep with a Level 2 camera inspection runs $300 to $450. Gas fireplace cleaning runs $150 to $225. A cap replacement after Santa Ana season typically runs $350 to $600 depending on the cap type and the roof pitch. What moves the price: the height and pitch of your roof, the length of the flue, whether the damper rusted shut, and whether we find damage that needs documentation for an insurance claim. We give you a firm quote before we start, and we don’t change it mid-job. Call (866) 520-4943 for a free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near North Hills
Our Chimney Sweep in North Hills work takes us into every corner of this community, and we regularly serve the surrounding Valley too: Northridge, Van Nuys, Valley Glen, and San Fernando. If you’re just over the city line, call us, we’re likely already working nearby on any given week.
Serving North Hills, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the North Hills 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 North Hills
Not necessarily. The only way to know is to run a camera down the flue and see the condition of the original clay tiles. If the tiles are intact, no major gaps at the joints, and no spalling, you may not need anything beyond regular sweeping and a proper cap. If the camera shows cracked tiles, water intrusion, or gaps at the mortar joints, then yes, a liner or HeatShield restoration may be appropriate. We’ll show you the video before we ever quote a repair. Call (866) 520-4943 for a Level 2 inspection and get a straight answer.
Annually, without exception. North Hills sits in the San Fernando Valley’s seismic and wind corridor, and between small tremors and Santa Ana gusts, a chimney that was fine last year may have a shifted cap, cracked crown, or loosened mortar joint this year. We recommend an annual sweep paired with a visual inspection of the exterior stack every fall, before you light the first fire. After any Santa Ana event with gusts over 40 miles per hour, you should also have the cap inspected. Call (866) 520-4943 to schedule before the season fills up.
A Level 1 inspection is a visual check of the fireplace and flue without a camera, and it’s appropriate when nothing has changed since the last sweep. A Level 2 inspection adds a full camera scan and written report, and it’s required when you’re buying or selling a home, after a chimney fire, after wind or earthquake damage, or when you’ve changed venting appliances. In North Hills, most homeowners need a Level 2 the first time we visit, simply because the chimneys are 60+ years old and have rarely been documented. After that, Level 1s usually suffice. Call (866) 520-4943 and we’ll tell you what your house actually needs.
Often the cap replacement is the whole job, but not always. The same wind event that ripped the cap off may have also driven debris into the flue, cracked the crown, or dislodged the spark arrestor mounting. We’ll inspect the crown and the first several feet of the flue while we’re on the roof, and show you what we see. If the damage is limited to the cap and its mounting, we replace the cap with a Famco unit that’s rated for high-wind exposure, and you’re done in one visit. Call (866) 520-4943 and we’ll get on the roof and tell you exactly what happened.
Yes and yes. Every sweep we do in North Hills includes a camera run unless the customer specifically asks us not to. We use it to document creosote, obstructions, mortar joint conditions, and flue tile spalling. You’ll watch the footage on our screen in real time, and we’ll pause to explain anything unusual. If we recommend a repair, you’ll know why because you’ll have seen it with your own eyes. That’s the standard Nelson Quijada set for Firebrick, and we don’t work any other way. Call (866) 520-4943 to book a sweep with camera documentation included.
Written by Nelson Quijada, Owner at Firebrick Chimney Sweep, serving North Hills since the company’s founding.