Sweep & inspection
Caps & crowns
Flue relining
Masonry repair
Gas fireplace serviceLevel 1 sweep and inspection to the NFPA 211 annual standard - flue, crown, cap, and flashing checked and photographed
Chimney sweep logs do not sweep chimneys. They loosen some creosote - which then falls where a brush and vacuum still have to collect it.
Fast, Reliable Chimney Sweep Across San Bernardino
A chimney sweep in San Bernardino typically costs $169 – $289 for a standard fireplace cleaning with a Level 1 inspection, and most jobs are completed in 60 – 90 minutes. If you burn wood as a primary heat source in the foothill neighborhoods, you’ll likely need sweeping every 6 – 12 months rather than the 12 – 18 month interval that works for occasional fireplace users on the valley floor. Call (855) 382-6159 to book a sweep, and we’ll give you a flat price before the truck rolls.
We’re Corona Chimney Sweep, and we’ve spent years working chimneys across San Bernardino, from mid-century tract homes near Perris Hill Park to older Craftsman bungalows close to downtown and ranch-style properties climbing toward the San Bernardino Mountains. Our Chimney Sweep team knows this city’s housing stock and the specific wear patterns its chimneys develop. More importantly, we repair what we find. No handoff to another contractor, no “you’ll need to call someone else for that.” One provider, every venting hazard.
Key Takeaways:
- Standard fireplace sweep in San Bernardino: $169 – $289, flat-priced before we start
- Wood-stove users in the foothills need sweeping every 6 – 12 months, not annually
- Off-season pest intrusion is the most common problem we find after long, hot summers
- We sweep, inspect, and repair in-house using professional-grade materials like DuraFlex, HeatShield, and Gelco
- Call (855) 382-6159 for a free estimate with no obligation
Why Corona Chimney Sweep Is San Bernardino’s Preferred Chimney Sweep Company
San Bernardino homeowners call us because we don’t just clean a flue and leave. When our tech finds a crack, a damaged cap, or a creosote buildup that’s gone past what a brush can remove, we have the materials and the training to fix it on the spot or schedule the repair before you forget about it. That’s the core of what Nolan Ferris built this company around: a chimney service that handles diagnosis and repair under the same roof, with the same technician who knows your house.
We stock parts for the brands San Bernardino homeowners actually have. DuraFlex stainless flexible liners for wood-stove retrofits and older masonry chimneys. HeatShield resurfacing for flue liners with cracked mortar joints or hairline fractures that don’t yet require full replacement. Gelco and Olympia Chimney caps and dampers for the off-season pest prevention that this city desperately needs after long dry summers. That means when we find a problem in a home off Del Rosa or near Cal State, we’re not waiting a week on a special-order part to come from a warehouse.
Response time to San Bernardino is usually next-day for non-emergency sweeps, and we route our crews to bundle foothill and valley appointments so you’re not paying for deadhead drive time. If smoke is backing up into your living room, call (855) 382-6159 and we’ll tell you what you’re looking at and whether the fire is safe to keep burning.
Styles & brands we work with
Fireplace Cleaning in San Bernardino
Fireplace cleaning in San Bernardino homes is a different job than it is in coastal cities, and the price reflects what we actually find. In a mid-century tract home near the 92423 zip code, we’re usually sweeping two seasons of creosote out of a masonry fireplace that was built in 1962 and has never been relined. In a foothill ranch house with a wood stove, we’re often removing third-degree creosote, the hardened tar glaze that forms when a stove burns hot through winter nights and then sits idle through 100-degree summers. A standard fireplace cleaning in San Bernardino runs $169 – $289, while wood-stove cleanings with heavy creosote removal run $219 – $339.
Standard Fireplace Sweep
We remove creosote and soot from the firebox, smoke chamber, and flue using rotary brushes sized to your liner. Then we run a camera up the flue during the Level 1 inspection and show you the footage. You see what we see. No recommendation gets made without visual evidence you can watch yourself.
Heavy Creosote Removal
If you’ve burned pine or unseasoned wood, or if the chimney sat unused long enough for pests to build a nest over last season’s deposits, standard brushing may not get the job done. We use mechanical scrapers and chemical treatments from Gelco to break down glazed creosote, then sweep again to remove it. This takes longer and costs more, but it’s what a flue actually needs to be safe.
Chimney Services in San Bernardino
Chimney services in San Bernardino means more than sweeping, and we’ve built our business around that distinction. A Level 2 inspection with camera documentation runs $249 – $399 depending on the flue configuration and access. Masonry repair, cap installation, damper replacement, and flue liner work are quoted per job after we show you the camera footage. We don’t recommend work that can safely wait, and we say so plainly when it can. But when a cracked clay-tile flue in a 1920s downtown bungalow is letting creosote seep into the masonry, that can’t wait through another burning season.
Level 1 and Level 2 Inspections
A Level 1 inspection is included with every sweep and covers the readily accessible portions of your chimney. A Level 2 inspection is a deeper camera evaluation of the entire flue interior, required when you’re buying a home, after a chimney fire, or when the flue hasn’t been inspected in years. In older San Bernardino neighborhoods near the 92418 zip, we strongly recommend a Level 2 before your first fire every season if the chimney hasn’t been used in six months or more.
Liner Repair and Replacement
When the camera shows cracks or gaps in your clay-tile flue, we have two repair paths. HeatShield resurfacing seals hairline cracks and deteriorating mortar joints without a full liner replacement, and it’s an option sweep-only companies can’t offer because they don’t do repair work at all. For chimneys that need it, we install DuraFlex stainless flexible liners. Both approaches restore a safe draft and meet code.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees — you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in San Bernardino
The materials on your chimney matter, and we don’t stock big-box substitutes. For San Bernardino homeowners, we install and service DuraFlex flexible liner systems, HeatShield resurfacing material, Gelco creosote treatments, and Olympia Chimney caps and dampers, plus Famco and Copperfield components where the job calls for them. These are the same lines professional chimney contractors source from supply houses, not what a handyman grabs off a retail shelf. When we install a cap on a foothill home before nesting season or a DuraFlex liner in a 1960s masonry chimney that’s never been relined, the parts are built for the specific thermal and weather conditions this city throws at them.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterCommon Chimney Sweep Problems We See in San Bernardino Homes
- Bird nests and bee hives in uncapped flues. After months of summer heat when the chimney sits idle, sparrows and starlings build nests directly on top of last season’s creosote. When that first cold snap hits, the nest blocks the flue and smoke backs into the house. Bee hives in the smoke chamber are also common in foothill properties, and they require careful removal before sweeping can proceed.
- Third-degree creosote in wood-stove flues. Foothill residents who heat with wood run their stoves hard from November through March, and that creates a hard tar glaze on the flue walls. A brush alone cannot remove it. This is the single biggest reason we recommend a shorter sweeping interval for wood-stove users in the 92424 and 92427 areas.
- Cracked clay-tile liners in older bungalows. The freeze-thaw cycles between San Bernardino’s hot days and near-freezing winter nights put real stress on clay tile. Downtown Craftsman homes built in the 1910s through 1930s often have original liners with hairline cracks that widen with each passing season, letting creosote and heat reach the surrounding masonry.
- Deteriorated mortar crowns and missing caps. The mortar crown is the concrete slab that seals the top of your chimney, and years of direct sun, rain, and Santa Ana wind erode it. Once the crown goes, water gets into the masonry and starts breaking down the brick and mortar from the inside. A missing or damaged cap compounds the problem by inviting animals into the flue during the long off-season.
Pricing for Chimney Sweep in San Bernardino, CA
Chimney sweep pricing in San Bernardino runs $169 – $289 for a standard fireplace sweep with a Level 1 inspection, $219 – $339 for a wood-stove sweep with heavy creosote removal, and $249 – $399 for a Level 2 camera inspection. What changes the number is what we find: a flue that needs third-degree creosote treatment costs more than a seasonal sweep; a cracked liner requiring HeatShield or a DuraFlex retrofit is quoted per job after we show you the camera evidence. No recommendation is made without footage you can see for yourself, and no work gets scheduled without a flat quote up front. Call (855) 382-6159 and we’ll give you an exact number for your chimney before we book the appointment.
We Also Serve Cities Near San Bernardino
Our San Bernardino service area extends through the surrounding communities, so if you’re in Muscoy, Highland, Loma Linda, or Rialto, you’re covered by the same crews and the same flat pricing structure. We bundle appointments across these cities to keep drive time low and scheduling predictable, and the free estimate applies everywhere in the San Bernardino Valley.
Serving San Bernardino, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Bernardino area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage — if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About Chimney Sweep in San Bernardino
Every 6 – 12 months, and more frequently if you burn pine or unseasoned wood. Wood stoves in foothill homes run hot through winter and build third-degree creosote far faster than a decorative fireplace used a few times a month on the valley floor. The safe sweeping interval is not a calendar guess, it’s based on how many cords you burn and what species of wood. A shorter interval means less creosote per sweep and a lower fire risk, so we recommend scheduling your first sweep before the heating season starts in November. Call (855) 382-6159 to set a reminder or book now while we’re scheduling ahead of the cold snaps.
Birds have likely built a nest in your flue during the months the chimney was idle, and that nest is now blocking the draft path. In San Bernardino’s long hot summers, uncapped chimneys are prime nesting sites for sparrows and starlings, and foothill properties also get bees and rodents. The nest must be removed before you light a fire, or smoke and carbon monoxide will back up into the house. We remove nests, sweep the creosote beneath them, and install an Olympia Chimney cap to prevent a repeat. Call (855) 382-6159 and we’ll get it handled before the next cold night.
Because original clay-tile liners in those homes have endured nearly a century of San Bernardino freeze-thaw cycles, and hairline cracks are common even when the outside of the chimney looks fine. A Level 2 inspection puts a camera through the entire flue interior and shows you exactly what’s happening inside the liner. If we find cracks, we can seal them with HeatShield before they become a structural problem or a fire path into your walls. The inspection itself runs $249 – $399, and it’s the only way to know whether your bungalow’s flue is safe to burn. Call (855) 382-6159 for a free estimate.
No drive-time surcharge for properties within San Bernardino city limits, including the foothill and mountain-adjacent neighborhoods in the 92424 and 92427 areas. We bundle foothill appointments together to keep scheduling efficient, which means your sweep costs the same as a job on the valley floor. The price difference, if any, comes from what we find in the flue, not from the miles on the truck. Call (855) 382-6159 for a flat quote before we schedule the drive.
First-degree creosote is a dry, flaky, grayish soot that brushes off the flue walls easily. Third-degree creosote is a hardened, shiny tar glaze that forms when a wood stove burns hot and the flue then cools, leaving a concentrated deposit. The glaze is highly combustible and can fuel a chimney fire that reaches temperatures no masonry or metal liner is built to withstand. A brush alone won’t remove it, so we use mechanical scrapers and chemical treatments to break it down, then sweep again. If you’re burning wood as a primary heat source, this is the main reason a 6 – 12 month sweeping interval is non-negotiable. Call (855) 382-6159 to book a sweep before the next burning season.
Written by Nolan Ferris, Owner at Corona Chimney Sweep, serving San Bernardino since the company’s founding.