Washtenaw County
Chimney sweep, inspection and repair in Ypsilanti
Ypsilanti's historic district runs from downtown on Michigan Avenue along Huron Street to Depot Town, with houses from the 1800s near the river. Normal Park, near Eastern Michigan, has houses from the 1840s through the 1970s.
Old houses along the Huron
The historic district covers downtown, Depot Town and the blocks of houses along Huron Street between them. A lot of those houses were built in the 1800s, when a house had a chimney for every stove or fireplace. Some still have two or more, and one of them may be out of use, capped over with mortar, or cut down to the roofline years ago. On a house like that, the first job is working out what each chimney and each flue still does.
Working in the historic district
The city's Historic District Commission reviews exterior work on houses in the district, and you apply for a work permit before the job starts. The commission has asked on past roof jobs how the roof would be patched where an old chimney once stood. If your house is in the district, we'll ask about the permit before we quote work that shows from outside.
Normal Park
Normal Park, near the Eastern Michigan campus, has about 420 houses. The oldest go back to the 1840s, and about half were built before 1940. The houses from the early and middle 1900s usually have a brick chimney with a flue for the fireplace and often a second one for the furnace or water heater. When those chimneys were built, nobody expected a high-efficiency furnace to vent out the side wall and leave the water heater alone in the flue, so we check what every flue is connected to.
Repairs on old brick
A crown like the one in the photo, cracked across and wearing away at the edges, lets water straight into the top of the chimney. We repair the chimney with brick and mortar that suit its age, and you see the damage before we quote anything.
Caps, trees and the river
The big trees on the streets near the Huron give squirrels and raccoons an easy way onto the roof, and from there an old chimney with no cap lets them straight in. An open flue lets in rain as well as animals. Our guide to a rusted chase cover or missing chimney cap covers what goes wrong when there's nothing on top. If you own a rental near campus, a cleaning and inspection between tenants tells you what shape the fireplace and chimney are in before the next lease starts.
Getting to you
We come into Ypsilanti on Michigan Avenue, Washtenaw, Huron Street, Cross Street, Hamilton and Forest, and pair visits with Ann Arbor and Canton. Book online and pick a 3-hour arrival window, or call for same-day availability when the schedule allows.
Ypsilanti and the cities around it
We work across Oakland, Macomb, Wayne and Washtenaw counties.
Every area we serveServices in Ypsilanti
Chimney cleaning
We sweep the chimney and inspect it on the same visit, then clean up before we leave.
$349
Chimney inspection
We inspect the chimney inside and out and walk you through what we found, in plain language.
$49
Level 2 chimney inspection
For home sales and system changes: the attic, basement and crawl spaces, and a camera through the flue.
$149
Questions
Does chimney work in Ypsilanti's historic district need a permit?
The city's Historic District Commission reviews exterior work on houses in the district, and you apply for a work permit before the job starts. That can include chimney work you can see from outside. If your house is on Huron Street, in Depot Town or elsewhere in the district, we'll ask about the permit before we quote.
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 Ypsilanti
Pick a day and a 3-hour arrival window online. If you'd rather talk it through, call (248) 266-9991.