Chimney sweep and cleaning in Sterling Heights

How people here heat with fire

The 1970s brick ranches and tri-levels usually have a masonry fireplace, and in a tri-level it's often in the lower family room. Some owners have put a wood insert into that opening, like the one in the photo, to get more heat into the room. Plenty of the houses built in the 1980s and 1990s have a factory-built wood fireplace instead, with a metal flue running up a framed chase. And a lot of people have switched to gas.

We sweep the wood-burning flues. On an insert we brush the liner from the insert to the top. On a factory-built unit we use brushes made for its metal flue. A gas flue doesn't need sweeping the same way, but we check it for nests and debris. Drop cloths go down around the fireplace before we start, and we clean up before we leave.

What comes out of the flue

Wood fires leave soot and creosote on the flue walls. Seasoned hardwood burned hot leaves less. Damp wood or a fire that smolders overnight leaves more, and it can build into a hard glaze that takes longer to remove.

The rest comes in from the top. Where trees hang over the roof, an uncapped flue collects leaves and nests. On framed chases, a rusted cap lets in rain and animals. Chimney swifts nest in chimneys from about May to August. They're federally protected, so a flue with an active nest gets swept after they leave. See our guide to chimney swifts if you hear chirping in the flue.

When to get it done

September and early October, before the first cold weekend. That's when everyone else calls. Our guide on how often to clean a chimney explains how the amount you burn changes the schedule.

The price is $349 for one flue, and it includes an inspection on the same visit. A camera through the flue is $75 more, and on a tall tri-level chimney it shows the part of the flue nobody can see from either end. If the inspection turns up a rusted chase cover or a cracked crown, you'll get photos and a written price for chimney repair in Sterling Heights before anything is done.