Chimney sweep, inspection and repair in Wixom

A city that grew around a plant

The Ford plant ran from 1957 to 2007, and Wixom grew fastest in the decades it was running. A good share of the homes built then are attached: condos, townhouses and apartment buildings. Single-family houses make up a little over a third of the city's homes.

That matters for chimneys, because most of those attached units have a factory-built fireplace with a metal flue, not a brick chimney.

Metal chases on the roof

On a lot of Wixom condos and houses, the flue runs up through a framed box on the roof, covered in painted sheet metal or siding, with a chase cover and a round cap on top. When the paint on the metal starts to peel, rust follows, and the seams get sealed with tar that cracks within a few years. The water that gets past it runs down inside the chase, where you can't see it from the ground. Our guide to a rusted chase cover or missing chimney cap shows the signs to look for.

Chase covers and caps

On a Wixom chase that's leaking at the top, the usual fix is a new cover made to fit the chase, with the cap and the seal done at the same time. We measure it, show you photos of what we found, and quote it in writing before any work starts.

Condos and the association

In a condo, the chimney or chase can belong to the association, to you, or be split between the two, depending on the master deed and bylaws. Before you book repair work, check with your association or management company. An inspection with photos gives you something to show the association if they're the ones paying for the repair.

If you've owned your condo for a few years and never had the fireplace looked at, start with an inspection before you use it this winter. That goes for a gas fireplace too, even though it doesn't make soot.

Loon Lake subdivisions

The single-family subdivisions on and near Loon Lake, like The Cliffs on Loon Lake and Loon Lake Woodlands, are mostly brick colonials and Cape Cods built from the late 1990s into the 2000s. Some of those houses have a factory-built fireplace in a framed chase with brick on the outside, so it looks like a masonry chimney from the street. If yours does, the chase cover on top is likely the original, and those are now twenty to thirty years old.

Getting to you

We work across Wixom on Pontiac Trail, Wixom Road, Beck, West Maple, Grand River and Loon Lake Road, and pair Wixom visits with jobs in Novi, Walled Lake and Commerce Township. Book online and pick a 3-hour arrival window, or call for same-day availability when the schedule allows.