Warren, Macomb County
Chimney sweep and cleaning in Warren
A Warren ranch from the 1950s usually has one brick fireplace in the living room, and when a house has changed hands, nobody may know when that flue was last swept.
Fireplaces in the postwar houses
We sweep chimneys in the northwest part of Warren, west of Van Dyke and north of 10 Mile, so call before booking if you're outside that. A lot of the houses there are small ranches and Minimal Traditional houses from the 1950s, built fast and sold to young families, often on VA loans. The fireplace, when there is one, is usually brick in the living room, with a clay-lined flue in the same chimney as the furnace flue.
Some of those fireplaces get a fire every weekend in winter. Some have gas logs now. Some haven't been lit since the house changed hands. We sweep the wood flues, check the gas flues for nests and debris, and tell you which ones need what. Drop cloths go down around the fireplace first, and we clean up before we leave.
What we pull out
Every wood fire leaves creosote on the flue walls. Burn dry hardwood hot and you get a thin, dry layer that brushes off. Burn damp wood, or let fires smolder, and you get something like the photo: a rough, bubbly coat that sticks to the flue and takes more work to get off. Our guide on how often to clean a chimney explains how to tell when yours is due.
From the top, it's whatever gets in. The trees planted on these streets seventy years ago are tall now, including on the blocks around Halmich Park, the 80-acre city park on 13 Mile between Ryan and Dequindre. Leaves, twigs and squirrels end up in uncapped flues. Chimney swifts nest in chimneys from about May to August and are federally protected. Our chimney swifts guide explains what to do if you hear them.
Getting on the schedule
Book in September or early October, ahead of the first cold weekend, when the phones fill up. The sweep is $349 for one flue and includes an inspection on the same visit. A camera through the flue is $75 more. If the inspection finds a cracked crown or loose brick near the top, you'll get photos and a written price for chimney repair in Warren, and nothing is done until you approve it.
Questions
We burned a lot of fires last winter in our Warren ranch. Is it time?
Probably. A fire most evenings through a Michigan winter leaves a lot of creosote, especially if any of the wood was damp. The $349 sweep includes an inspection, so you'll know how much was in there and whether anything else needs attention. Book before the first cold weekend if you can.
Can you tell if there's an animal in my chimney?
Usually, yes. We look up the flue from the firebox and down it from the roof. If there's a nest, we tell you what it is and what it takes to clear it. Chimney swifts are a federally protected bird, so an active swift nest stays until they leave in late summer, and we come back to sweep after that.
Chimney sweep in Warren
Pick a day and a 3-hour arrival window online. If you'd rather talk it through, call (248) 266-9991.