Chimney sweep and cleaning in Ypsilanti

Wood, coal and then gas

Plenty of houses in the northeast part of the historic district, the frame Greek Revival, Queen Anne and Tudor Revival houses built in the late 1800s and early 1900s, had fireplaces or stoves in more than one room. Before gas came in, a lot of them burned coal. Many were later fitted with gas logs, like the fireplace in the photo with its gas line running along the back corner.

A sweep on a fireplace like that takes off whatever is on the flue walls: soot and creosote from wood, old coal soot, or just dust and debris. Then we inspect the chimney on the same visit, because an old flue can have cracked or missing tiles that you can't see from the room. On a house with more than one flue, we sweep the one you use and look at the others while we're on the roof.

Trees along the river

Ypsilanti has big old trees, especially on the streets near the Huron River and around Riverside Park. Squirrels and raccoons climb from branches onto roofs, and an uncapped flue is an easy den. Leaves and twigs fall in and pile up on the smoke shelf above the damper, and in a fireplace you only use a few times a year, nobody notices until the room fills with smoke.

From May to August, chimney swifts nest inside open masonry flues. They're federally protected, so if you hear them, the sweep waits until they've gone. Our guide to chimney swifts explains how to tell.

Timing

The best time is before the first cold weekend of fall. If you burn wood often, you may need a sweep more than once a season. Our guide on how often to clean a chimney covers what to look for.

Price

A chimney sweep is $349, and it includes an inspection on the same visit. A camera run down the flue is $75 extra, and on an old Ypsilanti chimney it's often worth it, since it shows the tiles all the way down. We put drop cloths around the fireplace before we start and clean up before we leave. If we find damage, you get photos and a written price for the repair.