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 Venice
Chimney sweeping in Venice runs $189 – $349 for a standard open-fireplace cleaning, with Level 1 inspections at $149 – $229 and Level 2 camera inspections at $249 – $449. Most Venice jobs are done the same week we’re called. The real work here isn’t creosote, it’s salt air eating 1920s masonry and rusting dampers shut. If you’re on a walk street or canal lot, your chimney sits inches from the salt fog with no setback, and that changes everything about how it should be inspected. Call (866) 520-4943 and we’ll put a camera down your flue before anyone quotes anything.
Why Firebrick Chimney Sweep Is Venice’s Preferred Chimney Sweep Company
We work on Venice chimneys that most sweep companies elsewhere never see. The 90291 and 90294 lots, the walk streets, the canal-adjacent cottages, the Abbot Kinney tract homes where a 1940s fireplace still sits in the living room untouched. That’s our day-to-day. Nelson Quijada built Firebrick around the idea that a sweep who can’t repair what he finds is only doing half the job. We sweep it, we repair it, one company, no referrals.
When we roll up to a Venice beach cottage, we know what we’re likely to find before the ladder goes up: spalled brick crowns from decades of salt fog, rusted Famco dampers, mortar joints that crumble when you touch them. That local familiarity means we don’t waste your time re-learning the neighborhood. We show up, we recognize the problem, we show you the camera footage, and we quote the fix only if there’s evidence for it.
Styles & brands we work with
Fireplace Cleaning in Venice
Fireplace cleaning in Venice typically runs $189 – $299 for an open masonry fireplace, with glass-door or gas-converted units falling at the higher end because of disassembly and re-install. Older fireplaces, the ones in 1920s and 1930s beach cottages, often have decades of soot and ash caked into the smoke shelf and firebox. Venice doesn’t carry the heavy creosote loading you see in mountain towns or cold winter climates, so the cleaning itself is usually straightforward. What we actually find in Venice fireplaces is more often corroded dampers and deteriorated mortar than tar-like creosote.
In Venice, cleanings should happen when soot accumulation exceeds 1/8 inch or when you can see flaking deposits in the firebox. If you burn infrequently, once a year is fine. If your fireplace was converted to gas and never inspected after conversion, get a fireplace cleaning and a visual once-over the same visit. Many Venice homeowners with gas logs haven’t had the flue looked at since the conversion, and that’s where problems hide. Call (866) 520-4943 for a flat-price quote before we book.
Wood-Burning Fireplace Restoration
Venice’s wood-burning fireplaces are often original to the house. Cleaning them properly means removing creosote, soot, and ash from the entire system, not just the firebox. We vacuum, brush, and inspect the smoke shelf, damper housing, and flue liner.
Gas Fireplace Log Set Inspection
Gas-converted fireplaces in Venice need a different checklist. We inspect the burner, pilot assembly, logs, and flue path for soot and debris. We also check that the flue is sized and clear for gas venting, which it wasn’t designed for in most of these pre-war homes.
Chimney Services in Venice
Chimney services in Venice start with a Level 1 inspection at $149 – $229, move up to a Level 2 camera inspection at $249 – $449, and include repairs priced individually after we show you the camera evidence. We see more repair work than sweeping here. That’s the honest shape of Venice’s chimney stock: the masonry is old, the salt air has been chewing on it, and the damage shows up as crumbling crowns and rusted-out dampers rather than thick creosote.
Firebrick handles chimney repair alongside sweeping. When our crew finds a cracked tile joint or a deteriorated crown, we’re the ones who fix it. We don’t refer you to a mason, and we don’t hand you a materials list and wish you luck. We use professional-grade chimney materials, including HeatShield ceramic resurfacing and Olympia Chimney components, not whatever’s stocked at the hardware store.
Chimney Crowns and Cap Repair
Exterior stucco-over-brick chimneys on walk streets and canal lots get pummeled by salt fog. A cracked crown lets water into the chimney stack and the adjacent stucco. We rebuild crowns and replace caps before the spalling reaches the firebox.
Damper Replacement and Repair
Rusted-through dampers are the most common repair we do in Venice. Salt air corrodes the damper frame and plate, and the damper seizes shut or falls open. We replace them with Copperfield dampers sized to the original firebox.
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 Venice
We work with professional-grade chimney materials, HeatShield ceramic resurfacing, Gelco, Olympia Chimney, Famco, and Copperfield, not consumer-grade substitutes from the hardware store. When a Venice cottage needs a replacement damper, a repaired crown, or a relined flue, we order and stock the right parts, not a generic one-size-most. Fast turnaround matters here because a missing cap or cracked crown on an 80-year-old chimney doesn’t fix itself, and your neighbor’s stucco wall is twelve inches away. We keep the materials pipeline tight so repairs don’t stall waiting for a niche part.
Common Chimney Sweep Problems We See in Venice Homes
- Spalled brick crowns from salt air and marine fog. The onshore salt-laden air in Venice eats mortar joints and brick faces on exterior chimneys. Crowns crumble and fall into the flue, which becomes a fire and moisture hazard. We see this on nearly every 1920s walk-street cottage we open.
- Rusted-through dampers on original fireplaces. Salt air corrodes damper hardware fast, leaving dampers that won’t open or won’t close. A stuck-open damper lets rain and marine-layer moisture down the flue, accelerating mortar damage inside.
- Unlined or clay-tile flues in pre-war construction. Many Venice beach cottages were built before modern liners were required. Original clay-tile flues crack and shift, and some stacks have no liner at all, just exposed masonry. A camera inspection will show you exactly what’s there.
- Mixed relined and original flues from past remodels. Venice homes were remodeled in waves, so the house may have a HeatShield-relined flue on one fireplace and an untouched 1940s clay-tile flue on another. The wrong brush size or wrong inspection assumption is a real risk here.
See the difference
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After
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After
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AfterPricing for Chimney Sweep in Venice, CA
Here’s what chimney sweeping costs in Venice. A standard open-fireplace sweep runs $189 – $299. Fireplace cleaning with a glass door or gas log set runs $249 – $349. Level 1 inspections are $149 – $229, and Level 2 camera inspections run $249 – $449. If we find damage requiring repair, we quote it separately, only after you’ve seen the camera footage. Crown rebuilds typically start around $450 and go up depending on chimney height and extent of spalling. Damper replacement runs $300 – $700, including the part. HeatShield resurfacing starts around $1,800, far below a full reline. Every quote comes with a free estimate before any work begins. Call (866) 520-4943 for an exact number.
We Also Serve Cities Near Venice
Our Chimney Sweep team covers Venice and the surrounding westside. If you’re in Santa Monica, Culver City, Ladera Heights, or Century City, we work there too. The salt-air corrosion pattern we see in Venice also shows up along the whole coastal corridor, so our process is built for these exact conditions. Call (866) 520-4943 from anywhere in the area and we’ll schedule a visit.
Serving Venice, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Venice 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 Venice
The salt-laden marine air in Venice is the difference. Your neighbor inland gets dry heat and occasional rain. You get onshore salt fog that deposits corrosive chlorides on your chimney crown, degrades the mortar, and spalls the brick face. With the chimney sitting right against the building line on a walk-street lot, there’s no setback to buffer it. Crown rebuilds here are done with materials rated for coastal exposure, and we recoat the stucco around the chimney base at the same time. Call (866) 520-4943 if you want us to look at yours.
No. A clay-tile flue is a liner, just an older one. What matters is whether the tile joints are cracked, shifting, or spalled. We run a camera down the flue and show you the footage before we recommend anything. If the tile is intact, you may only need a crown repair or a damper replacement. If it’s deteriorated, HeatShield ceramic resurfacing can restore the flue at roughly a third to half the cost of a full reline. Nothing gets quoted without camera evidence. Call (866) 520-4943 for a Level 2 inspection.
Once a year, even with light burning. The risk in Venice isn’t creosote accumulation, it’s moisture intrusion and salt-air corrosion. A Level 1 inspection catches spalled crowns, rusted dampers, and flashing gaps before they become structural or fire hazards. If your chimney is original to a pre-war cottage, annual is especially important because the mortar and brick are 80 years old. Call (866) 520-4943 to schedule a Level 1 inspection.
Salt air is the primary cause in Venice. The marine layer deposits moisture and chlorides on the damper frame and plate, and the metal corrodes until the mechanism binds. It’s a progressive failure that we see on original dampers constantly. A rusted damper needs replacement, not lubrication. We install Copperfield dampers sized to your firebox. Call (866) 520-4943 and we’ll confirm it during a sweep or inspection.
First-degree creosote is a dry, sooty film. Third-degree creosote is a hardened, tar-like glaze that requires more aggressive removal. In Venice, third-degree creosote is rare because the burn season is short and mild. You’re more likely to have first-degree powder or no significant creosote at all. What matters here is what the creosote isn’t telling you: the flue can look clean while the crown, damper, and mortar are failing from salt air. That’s why we inspect the whole system, not just brush the flue. Call (866) 520-4943 for a chimney sweep in Venice that includes a full inspection.
What We Found on a Walk Street Off Abbot Kinney
On a walk street off Abbot Kinney, our crew opened a 1920s beach cottage’s firebox and found the original clay-tile flue had no liner to speak of, with a rusted-through Famco damper and a crown whose brick was spalling from years of salt fog. We ran a camera down the flue, showed the homeowner the cracked tile joints and deteriorated mortar on our monitor, and only then recommended a HeatShield-relined stack and a cast crown rebuild. Nothing was quoted until the camera evidence was on screen. That’s how we work in Venice, every single job. If a sweep gives you a reline number before putting eyes on the flue, call (866) 520-4943 instead. We’ll show you the footage.
Written by Nelson Quijada, Owner at Firebrick Chimney Sweep, serving Venice and greater Los Angeles.