Chimney sweep, inspection and repair in Milford

Old houses north of downtown

The North Milford Village Historic District, listed on the National Register in 2000, takes in Main Street from the river to Summit and the residential streets east of it. Houses on Union, Hickory, East, Commerce, Liberty, Canal, Atlantic and Summit went up between about 1871 and 1915. They range from big Italianate and Queen Anne houses built by merchants to small workers' cottages, with bungalows and Dutch Colonials filling in after.

Chimneys on houses that age have usually been through more than one owner's repairs. Some were rebuilt above the roof line years ago. Some have a liner and some never got one. When a coal or wood stove gave way to a gas furnace, the furnace often went into the same old chimney.

Old flues and new furnaces

A modern furnace or water heater puts out cooler exhaust than the old equipment did, and in a large, unlined brick flue that exhaust can condense and eat at the mortar from the inside. If your furnace was replaced and now vents out a side wall, the water heater can be left alone in a flue far too big for it. Our guide to a water heater in an old chimney explains what to look for. The usual fix is a liner sized to the appliance.

Ranches, tri-levels and newer houses

After the war, neighborhoods like Bonnie Highlands, Fairview Heights and Peach Hill added ranches and bi-levels. From the 1960s into the 1980s, subdivisions such as Oakland Orchards, Kensington Hills and Castle Heights went up on former farmland at the edge of town, with raised ranches, tri-levels and colonials on half-acre lots. Newer developments in the township, like Heritage Hills and Milford Bluffs, have larger two-story houses, some with stone chimneys and clay or terra cotta pots on top.

Trees and the river valley

A lot of Milford lots sit under tall trees along the Huron River valley. In the shade a crown stays damp for days after rain, and moss and lichen start growing on it. Leaves pile up on the uphill side of the chimney, where they hold water against the flashing. Branches over the roof also give squirrels and raccoons a way up to an uncapped flue.

Repairs on old and stone chimneys

On the village houses, we match brick and mortar to what's already there so a repair doesn't stand out on an old house. On fieldstone chimneys, the joints between the stones and the top where the crown sits are where water gets in first. We show you photos of the damage before we quote anything.

Getting to you

We come into Milford on Main Street, Commerce Road, General Motors Road and Milford Road, and pair Milford visits with jobs in South Lyon, Wixom and Commerce Township. Book online and pick a 3-hour arrival window.