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 Van Nuys
A chimney sweep in Van Nuys typically costs $189 – $289 for a standard fireplace with a clean flue, while wood stoves running as primary heat usually land between $249 – $389 because the creosote loading is heavier. We book sweeps throughout the 91405, 91406, 91401, and 91411 ZIPs and can usually get a crew to your door within 5 to 10 business days, shorter if you’re flexible on scheduling. If you’re burning wood every night in a freestanding stove, call (855) 382-6159 and tell us what you’re running. That changes what we bring.
Nolan Ferris built Corona Chimney Sweep to do the work that other sweeps walk away from. That matters in Van Nuys, where a lot of what we find inside older masonry fireplaces and retrofitted stoves is not a simple brush job. We repair what we find.
Why Corona Chimney Sweep Is Van Nuys’s Preferred Chimney Sweep Company
Van Nuys has a specific kind of chimney problem, and we see it more here than almost anywhere else in the Valley. The 1940s through 1960s tract homes that make up so much of this neighborhood were built with real masonry fireplaces, often on exterior walls. Decades later, a lot of those fireplaces got sealed off or converted into something else. The chimney is still there, hidden behind drywall or buried under a remodel, and nobody thinks about it until there’s a smell, a stain, or a smoke problem.
Our Van Nuys customers call us because they want one company that can sweep the flue, inspect what’s actually inside, and fix what’s wrong without handing them a referral slip. We run a full repair shop. Liner work, damper replacement, crown repair, smoke chamber parging. If we find it, we can usually fix it on the spot or schedule it before burning season gets serious.
We don’t badge-drop. What we will tell you is this: every tech who shows up at a Van Nuys house carries equipment for standard brush sweeps, rotary whip work for glazed creosote, and video inspection so you can see what we see. No recommendations based on something you can’t verify. You get camera footage of your own flue liner.
Styles & brands we work with
Fireplace Cleaning in Van Nuys
Fireplace cleaning in Van Nuys is a different job than it is on the coast, because your fireplace sits cold and unused for eight months out of the year. Hot, dry Valley summers mean the flue doesn’t get any draft running through it. Dust, spider webs, and debris settle in the smoke shelf. Then winter hits, you light the first fire, and all of that is sitting right above the firebox, waiting to get hot.
A standard fireplace cleaning here runs about $189 – $249 when the flue is in reasonable shape. That includes the sweep itself, a Level 1 inspection of the accessible interior, and a quick check of the damper assembly. If you haven’t used the fireplace in years, call us. The pricing doesn’t change much, but the odds of finding something serious go up.
Annual Sweep & Creosote Removal
The NFPA standard is an annual sweep, and for a wood-burning fireplace in Van Nuys that sees weekend use through January and February, that’s the right interval. Creosote removal is the core of the job. First-degree creosote is a flaky dust that brushes out clean. We deal with a lot of second-degree and worse because people skip a year or two. In freestanding stoves used as primary heat, we see third-degree glaze, which is a hard, tar-like coating that a standard brush will not remove.
Soot Removal & Smoke Chamber Cleaning
Soot removal is not the same as creosote removal. Soot is carbon, lighter, and less of a fire hazard than creosote, but it still clogs airflow and cuts draft. We clean the smoke chamber above the damper in every fireplace sweep. A lot of sweep crews skip it because it’s awkward to reach. Skipping it means smoke rolls back into the room and the draft stays weak. We get a whip into the smoke chamber on every job.
Chimney Services in Van Nuys
Chimney services in Van Nuys go well past sweeping, and that’s where we do most of our work. The housing stock here, mostly 1940s – 1960s ranch and tract builds, has original masonry chimneys that are now 60 to 80 years old. Mortar joints fail. Clay tile liners crack. Damper assemblies rust out. If your flue liner is compromised, the fireplace is not safe to burn, and a sweep alone will not fix it.
Full chimney service, meaning sweep plus inspection plus minor repair, typically runs $289 – $489 depending on what we find. Bigger liner jobs are quoted after inspection, and we walk you through the numbers with camera footage in hand. Nothing is recommended that you cannot see for yourself.
Level 1 & Level 2 Inspections
A Level 1 inspection is included with every sweep and covers the accessible portions of the chimney. A Level 2 inspection is what you need if you’ve just bought a Van Nuys home, if you’ve had a chimney fire, or if the chimney was sealed off and you’re bringing it back into service. It involves video scanning the entire flue interior. If you bought a 1950s ranch and don’t know the last time anyone looked inside the chimney, start with a Level 2.
Mortar Crown & Damper Work
A cracked mortar crown is the most common structural problem we see on older Van Nuys chimneys. Water gets into the crown, works its way down through the masonry, and you end up with spalling brick and a rusted damper. We rebuild crowns and replace dampers as part of our chimney service. Not as a referral. Not as a separate contractor. Us.
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 Van Nuys
We install and service materials from DuraFlex, HeatShield, Gelco, and Olympia Chimney, the same professional-grade lines chimney contractors source from supply houses, not what you’d find at a big-box store. DuraFlex stainless flexible liners go into older Van Nuys homes where the original clay tile flue can’t handle a wood stove retrofit. HeatShield resurfacing lets us repair deteriorated flue interiors without a full liner replacement where the conditions qualify. That’s a repair option most sweep-only companies in this area cannot offer. We keep the common parts stocked, so a damper or crown repair on a 1950s tract home doesn’t mean three weeks of waiting on a distributor.
Common Chimney Sweep Problems We See in Van Nuys Homes
- Third-degree creosote glaze in freestanding stoves: When a wood stove is the primary heat source, like we see in the older ranch homes around the 91405 area, the flue gets hot and the creosote bakes into a hard glaze. A standard brush will not remove it. We use a rotary whip and chemical treatment to break it down.
- Sealed-off fireplaces hiding blockages: Remodels in the 1940s – 1960s tracts often covered over the fireplace opening without capping the flue properly. Debris, birds, and creosote keep accumulating in a chimney no one can see. The current owner has no idea the chimney is there.
- Rusted damper assemblies: Valley summers are dry, but the winter damp and years of disuse eventually rust dampers in place. We see frozen dampers in about a third of Van Nuys fireplaces we inspect.
- Green wood and low draft causing fast buildup: Burning unseasoned wood because it’s available cheap is common in Van Nuys. Low draft in exterior-wall chimneys compounds the problem. Wet wood smolders, smoke cools fast, and creosote condenses into the flue liner quickly.
See the difference
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AfterPricing for Chimney Sweep in Van Nuys, CA
You should know the numbers before you call. A standard fireplace sweep in Van Nuys runs $189 – $289. Add a wood stove and you’re at $249 – $389 because the work takes longer and the creosote is usually heavier. A Level 2 video inspection, which we recommend for any home where the chimney history is unknown, runs $150 – $250 as a standalone service or less when bundled with a sweep. Repairs are quoted after inspection. A damper replacement runs $350 – $550. A mortar crown rebuild runs $600 – $1,200 depending on access. What changes the price is your specific chimney’s condition and what’s needed to make it safe. That’s what the free estimate is for. Call (855) 382-6159 and we’ll give you real numbers.
We Also Serve Cities Near Van Nuys
Our Chimney Sweep team works across the central San Fernando Valley. If you’re in Valley Glen, Sherman Oaks, Encino, or North Hills, you’re within our normal service area and can expect the same scheduling and pricing. We drive to you, not the other way around. Call (855) 382-6159 from any of those areas and we’ll set a window.
Serving Van Nuys, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Van Nuys 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 Van Nuys
Every 6 months, or at least twice per burning season, if your wood stove is running daily as primary heat in Van Nuys. Heavy use creates creosote glaze fast, and a stove flue can go from safe to hazardous in a single winter. We tell our Van Nuys stove customers to sweep mid-season and again in spring when the stove goes cold. It is cheaper than a chimney fire. Call (855) 382-6159 to get on a schedule before the cold snaps hit.
Yes, and this is one of the most common calls we get from the older Van Nuys tracts. A sealed-off fireplace is not a dead chimney. The flue is still open at the top unless it was properly capped, and years of debris, birds, and old creosote have likely accumulated inside. We inspect every ghost chimney we find. The video camera tells us if the flue needs cleaning, a cap, or full liner work. Schedule it once and you’ll know for good.
First-degree creosote is a flaky black dust that brushes out easily. Third-degree creosote is a hard, glossy glaze that forms when high heat bakes creosote into the flue wall, and a standard brush will not strip it. It matters in Van Nuys because the freestanding stoves running as primary heat in our older tract homes produce exactly the hot, smoldering conditions that create glaze. Third-degree creosote is concentrated fuel. It is what turns a small chimney fire into a structure fire. If we find it, we remove it with a rotary whip and chemical treatment, not a brush. Call (855) 382-6159 and we’ll inspect your flue.
Yes. We cover 91401, 91405, 91406, 91411, and the surrounding Van Nuys ZIPs. There is no surcharge for any of them. We schedule service across the whole neighborhood and run routes through Van Nuys weekly. If you are in the 91401 area near the civic center or the 91406 tracts north of Victory, you are in our normal range. Call (855) 382-6159 for the next available slot.
Burn only seasoned hardwood with a moisture content under 20 percent, and do not let a fire smolder overnight with the air control choked all the way down. In Van Nuys, where we get short winter burn seasons and long off-seasons, the two biggest mistakes we see are burning green wood and dampering the stove too far. Both create cool, smoke-heavy conditions that condense creosote onto the flue walls. Burn hot, burn clean, and keep the draft open enough for the fire to breathe. For a deeper assessment of your specific stove and flue, call (855) 382-6159.
Call Corona Chimney Sweep for Chimney Service in Van Nuys
If you have a fireplace or wood stove in Van Nuys and you don’t know what’s inside the flue, the answer is simple: we bring the camera, and we show you. No fear-selling, no vague recommendations. One provider for sweeping, inspection, and repair, with materials from DuraFlex, HeatShield, Gelco, and Olympia Chimney where the job calls for them. Nolan Ferris and the crew at Corona Chimney Sweep have been handling Valley chimney problems like ghost chimneys, glazed flues, and cracked crowns for years. Call (855) 382-6159 for a free estimate, and we’ll tell you exactly what your chimney needs and what it costs.
Written by Nolan Ferris, Owner at Corona Chimney Sweep, serving Van Nuys and the San Fernando Valley.