Chimney sweep and cleaning in Ferndale

How fireplaces get used here

Some Ferndale fireplaces get a fire every weekend from November to March. Others have had a gas line run in for logs, like the firebox in the photo, and some haven't been lit in years. Plenty of Ferndale houses also have a second fireplace in the basement, from the larger houses around Drayton, west of Woodward, to the bungalows.

Wood leaves soot and creosote on the flue walls every time it burns. A fire or two a month builds up slowly. Every weekend, with damp wood or the glass doors shut down, builds up a lot faster. Gas logs leave much less, but the flue can still fill with leaves or a nest, and with gas you won't see smoke rolling into the room the way you would with wood.

What ends up in the flue

Ferndale's first plat, in 1910, was the southwest corner of Woodward and 9 Mile, so the blocks around downtown are the oldest in the city, and older blocks tend to have older trees. Leaves and twigs fall straight into an uncapped flue. Squirrels and raccoons go down them too.

From May to August, chirping in the chimney is usually chimney swifts. Federal law protects them and the nest until the young have left. Our guide to chimney swifts explains what to do. Once they're gone, we sweep the flue and can put a cap on it.

What it costs and when to book

A sweep is $349 per flue and includes an inspection on the same visit. We cover the floor around the fireplace, sweep the flue, inspect the fireplace and the chimney, and clean up before we go. A camera down the flue is $75 more. If you have a fireplace upstairs and one in the basement, set the quantity to two when you book, and we'll do both on the same visit.

Book before the first cold weekend. After that the schedule fills fast with people who want a fire right away. Our guide on how often to clean a chimney helps you tell when yours is due. If the inspection turns up damage, our chimney repair prices for Ferndale are on their own page.