Oakland County
Chimney repair, inspection and sweep in Sylvan Lake
Sylvan Lake started as an 1890s resort between Pontiac and Orchard Lake. It has 1920s cottages near the water, Wood Lawn houses from the 1920s and 1930s, and the Sherwood Forest subdivision, built from the 1950s into the 1980s.
Most of Sylvan Lake
Our service area takes in most of Sylvan Lake. If you live at the east edge, out by Telegraph and the Pontiac line, call and ask before you book, and we'll tell you whether we can get to you.
From resort lots to a city
In 1893 Merrill Mills and three partners built the Sylvan Lake Inn on a hilly point between the two parts of the lake and laid out about 1,300 building lots around it. They sold lots at auction for $10 down. In 1895 Mills opened a trolley line from Pontiac, and it ran down Garland until 1928, which is why Garland is a boulevard. The inn burned in 1903, but the lots stayed. Cottages and a few year-round houses went up along the shore, the canal was dredged in the 1920s, and Sylvan Lake became a village in 1921 and a city in 1947. Sewers didn't come until the 1940s.
Three kinds of houses
The cottages along Lakeview and the shore are the oldest houses in town. Wood Lawn filled in during the 1920s and 1930s, so those chimneys are close to a hundred years old. Then Sherwood Forest went up from the 1950s into the 1980s. The city's history credits one developer, Sam Warwick, with building more than 300 homes in Sylvan Lake.
That spread matters for the chimney. A brick chimney from the 1930s, a ranch chimney from the 1950s and a chimney from the late 1970s can be on the same few blocks, and they don't fail the same way. On a house from the 1970s or 1980s, the chimney may be a framed box covered in siding, with a metal flue inside and a sheet metal cover on top. If yours is like that, our guide to a rusted chase cover or a missing chimney cap shows what to look for. An inspection tells you which kind you have.
Bare flue tiles
The chimney in the photo has two clay flue tiles standing open with no cap. Rain and snow go straight down a flue like that. Over the years the water rusts the damper and soaks the smoke chamber, and leaves and nests can fill the flue. With this many trees close to the lake, an uncapped flue near Sylvan Lake also makes an easy den for raccoons. A stainless cap with a mesh screen fixes both.
Crown and flashing repair
The other thing the photo shows is a crown that stays damp enough to grow lichen and step flashing rusting through at the roof line. If the crown is still solid, we clean and seal it. If it's cracked through, we rebuild it. Rusted flashing gets replaced and cut into the mortar joints, not tarred over. You see the photos and a written quote before we start.
Getting to you
We come into Sylvan Lake on Orchard Lake Road, Garland and Pontiac Drive, and pair visits with jobs in Keego Harbor, Orchard Lake and West Bloomfield. Book online and pick a 3-hour arrival window, or call for same-day availability when the schedule allows.
Sylvan Lake and the cities around it
We work across Oakland, Macomb, Wayne and Washtenaw counties.
More Oakland County cities: Berkley, Beverly Hills, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Clawson, Commerce Township, Farmington, Farmington Hills, Ferndale, Franklin, Hazel Park, Huntington Woods, Lathrup Village, Lyon Township, Madison Heights, Milford, Novi, Oak Park, Pleasant Ridge, Royal Oak, South Lyon, Southfield, Troy, Walled Lake, Wixom.
Every area we serveServices in Sylvan Lake
Chimney repair
Crowns, caps, masonry, flashing and leaks, quoted after we've looked at the chimney.
From $195
Chimney crowns
Cracked and crumbling crowns repaired, or rebuilt when they're too far gone to patch.
From $249
Chimney caps and chase covers
Rusted chase covers replaced with ones that fit, and caps in standard and custom sizes.
From $195
Masonry repair and tuckpointing
Crumbling brick, failed mortar joints, tuckpointing and partial rebuilds, matched to the house.
From $595
Chimney inspection
We inspect the chimney inside and out and walk you through what we found, in plain language.
$49
Chimney cleaning
We sweep the chimney and inspect it on the same visit, then clean up before we leave.
$349
Questions
We live in Sherwood Forest in Sylvan Lake. What kind of chimney do we have?
It depends on when your house was built. Sherwood Forest went up from the 1950s into the 1980s, so a house there can have a brick chimney with clay flues or, on a later house, possibly a framed chase covered in siding with a metal flue and a sheet metal cover on top. An inspection tells you which one you have and what condition it's in.
Do you offer same-day service?
Same-Day Availability When Schedule Allows. Call (248) 266-9991 and we'll tell you what we can do today.
Book a chimney visit in Sylvan Lake
Pick a day and a 3-hour arrival window online. If you'd rather talk it through, call (248) 266-9991.