Gas fireplace service
Sweep & inspection
Caps & crowns
Flue relining
Masonry repairLevel 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.
Why Pasadena Homeowners Choose HeatShield Chimney Cleaning
HeatShield in Pasadena is a specialized service, not a standard sweep-and-go. We’re an independent Pasadena-based chimney company that installs and repairs the full HeatShield line – Cerfractory Flue Sealant, the Hybrid System, Joint Repair, and ChimSaver – on vintage masonry flues where the original clay tile liner has cracked, spalled, or failed. If your chimney was built before 1940, which a lot of Pasadena chimneys were, there’s a good chance the flue needs more than a brushing. It needs a bonded, heat-rated surface that actually seals the gaps smoke and carbon monoxide find their way through. We are not a HeatShield dealer and we’re not authorized by the manufacturer. We’re the crew that has applied their materials across dozens of Southland fireplaces, including flues in Craftsman bungalows and Spanish Colonial Revivals, so we know how the coating behaves under local burn habits and seismic conditions. Call (626) 657-5513 for a written quote before any work starts.
Why Trust Flint Chimney Co Pasadena for Your HeatShield Chimney Cleaning?
Hank Delano grew up in Los Angeles and learned the trade through the HVAC and sheet metal program at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College. He’s been cleaning and inspecting chimneys for going on eighteen years, and his crew has worked jobs from Craftsman bungalows near the Arroyo Seco all the way across the San Gabriel Valley. That matters for HeatShield work because this is not a YouTube tutorial situation. HeatShield Cerfractory is a high-temperature refractory coating that gets troweled or sprayed directly onto flue walls. It only bonds correctly if the surface prep is right – no residual creosote glaze, no loose mortar, no moisture coming through the brick. Most HeatShield failures we see in Pasadena and Heatshield service in Glendale come from one thing: the previous applicator did not strip the old surface back far enough. We do the prep work the product actually requires. Our technicians are background-checked and uniformed. Every HeatShield repair gets a written price before any work begins, and every repair carries our 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If a covered repair fails within one year, we come back at no charge. That’s the Garrison Standard, same code every Garrison Partners location follows. The flue either draws or it doesn’t. Let’s find out which.
Styles & brands we work with
Common HeatShield Chimney Cleaning Problems We Fix in Pasadena
- Cerfractory delaminating from original clay tile walls. This is the most common HeatShield issue we walk into. The coating starts peeling or flaking off the old clay tile liner because the surface was never properly cleaned. Creosote is oily. It sits in the pores of the clay and breaks the bond. We see it most often in Pasadena chimneys that ran years of wood fires before HeatShield was ever applied. The fix is not to slop more coating on top. We remove the loose material, clean the substrate, and re-bond the surface. If more than 30% of the flue has delaminated, we tell you straight: it’s time for a full stainless reline, not another patch job.
- Cracking along flue tile joints. Pasadena sits in earthquake country. Minor seismic shifting, plus the normal thermal cycling of heating and cooling, will pull HeatShield sealant away from the joints between clay tile sections. The gap opens up and flue gas leaks into the chimney chase or the wall cavity. HeatShield Joint Repair System, which uses Smoktite sealant, is designed specifically for this. But the joint has to be clean and dry before Smoktite goes in. We camera-scan every flue before we touch it so we know exactly where the joints have failed.
- Gaps at the smoke chamber transition. A lot of older Pasadena homes had their smoke chambers parged at some point in the last fifty years. When that old parging was removed for a HeatShield application, some contractors did not carry the coating down to the firebox transition. That leaves a gap where flue gas can leak into the space behind the damper. We check that transition on every job. It’s one of the first places a camera finds a problem.
- Water intrusion bypassing the HeatShield repair. HeatShield seals the flue, but it does not waterproof your chimney from the outside. If the crown is cracked, the flashing is failing, or the brickwork has open mortar joints, water gets in behind the HeatShield coating and starts breaking down the masonry from the inside. We do chimney rebuilding, crown repair, and flashing repair alongside HeatShield work because a sealed flue inside a leaking chimney is a half-finished job.
- Animal nests in uncapped flues. In Bungalow Heaven and Madison Heights, a lot of original chimneys never got a proper cap installed. Chimney swifts and squirrels nest in those flues every spring. The nesting material blocks the flue and soaks up creosote, which is a fire waiting for a spark. We remove the animals humanely when possible, install a proper cap, and then do the HeatShield assessment. A coating applied over a flue that just hosted a squirrel nest is going to fail. The surface has to be clean first.
HeatShield Parts & Our Repair-vs-Replace Approach
We use genuine HeatShield materials: Cerfractory Flue Sealant, Smoktite, and Hybrid System components. The reason is simple. Third-party refractory substitutes are not rated for the same direct high-temperature flue contact. HeatShield Cerfractory is formulated to bond to clay tile and masonry, expand and contract with the flue, and handle the heat cycles of a wood-burning fire. A cheaper substitute might seal the surface for one season, then crack and start delaminating by the second winter. We’re not going to install a product we know will fail. The Garage Standard means we specify by job, not by margin.
On repair versus replace: if a HeatShield repair is delaminating over more than 30% of the flue, or the original clay tile liner has collapsed or shifted, we recommend a full stainless reline rather than repeated HeatShield patching. We will tell you when your chimney can safely wait and when it can’t. Nothing gets recommended without camera evidence you can see for yourself. Call (626) 657-5513 and we’ll walk you through exactly what we’re looking at.
Our HeatShield Service Process – Step by Step
- 1
Camera inspection. We run a camera down the flue before anything else. You see the cracks, the delamination, the gaps. Not a drawing. Not a guess. Your own flue, on screen. This is an information gain step no manufacturer spec sheet will give you.
- 2
Surface preparation. We strip loose HeatShield material, remove creosote residue, and grind or clean the surface to a bondable profile. If the flue is too far gone for HeatShield, this is where we stop and tell you a stainless reline is the right call.
- 3
Application. We apply HeatShield Cerfractory, Smoktite, or Hybrid components per the product requirements for thickness, temperature, and cure time. This is not a one-coat-and-drive situation. Cure time matters in Pasadena because nights get cool and damp even when days are warm.
- 4
Crown, flashing, and masonry check. If the HeatShield repair is going to last, the chimney needs to stay dry. We inspect the crown, flashing, and brickwork during the same visit. Any water intrusion point gets quoted in writing before we touch it.
- 5
Testing and warranty. After the repair cures, we do a final camera pass and a draft check. Then you get the 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If the covered repair fails within one year, the second visit is free. No charge, no argument.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterHeatShield Products We Service & Install in Pasadena
We service and install the complete HeatShield line: the Cerfractory Flue Sealant for clay tile and masonry flues, the HeatShield Hybrid System for flues that need a stainless steel core plus Cerfractory coating, the Joint Repair System built on Smoktite sealant, and HeatShield ChimSaver Water Repellent for exterior masonry protection. We keep common HeatShield materials staged for Burbank Heatshield service and Pasadena jobs, but every chimney gets quoted individually. No bundle pricing. No inventory clearing. The product we use is the product your flue actually needs.
We Also Service These Brands
HeatShield is one tool in a broad kit. We also work with DuraFlex and Gelco stainless steel liner systems, plus Olympia Chimney, Famco, and Copperfield components. If your chimney needs a full stainless reline instead of a HeatShield patch, we’ll quote it straight. Multi-brand experience means we’re not stuck recommending one product when a different one fits your home better.
FAQs – HeatShield Chimney Cleaning Service in Pasadena
Yes, in most cases. Cerfractory is designed to bond directly to the existing clay tile liner and bridge minor cracks. But “badly cracked” is doing a lot of work there. If the tile sections have shifted or the flue has partially collapsed, a coating cannot restore structural integrity. We camera-scan the flue first. If the cracks are hairline to moderate, HeatShield is a strong fix. If the flue is coming apart, we’ll recommend a stainless reline. Call (626) 657-5513 and we’ll show you the video.
No. Sulfur or “wet ash” smell on damp Pasadena days is usually water reacting with creosote or old ash inside the flue. HeatShield seals cracks, but it doesn’t address the moisture source. If the crown is cracked or the brick is absorbing rain, the smell will come back even after a HeatShield application. That’s why we inspect crown, flashing, and masonry on the same visit. Sealing the flue and fixing the leak is one job, not two. Call (626) 657-5513 for a written quote that covers both.
Fifteen to twenty years is a realistic range when the surface prep is done right and the chimney stays dry. The variables are burn frequency, how hot the fires run, and whether water gets behind the coating. We’ve seen HeatShield repairs in Pasadena hold up beautifully for well over a decade. We’ve also seen repairs fail in two years because the original applicator didn’t clean the flue first. The prep work is the lifespan. We do it right and we back it with the 365-Day Done Right Promise.
Only if the old parge coat is fully intact and bonded. If it’s loose, flaking, or has gaps behind it, the HeatShield will delaminate right along with the old material. We remove any loose parging before we apply HeatShield. On a 1938 Spanish Colonial in the San Rafael Heights neighborhood, our crew removed an old stainless liner that had been poorly fitted around a HeatShield-coated flue. After a camera scan revealed two inches of missing Cerfractory at the upper clay tile joint, we stripped the loose material, re-bonded the surface with HeatShield Joint Repair, and then applied a new top coat before rebuilding the washed-out crown. That’s what proper prep looks like.
HeatShield Cerfractory does provide some insulation value. It’s a refractory ceramic material, which means it resists heat transfer better than bare clay tile or masonry. But it’s not the same as a double-wall stainless liner with an insulation wrap. If your goal is a meaningful insulation upgrade, the HeatShield Hybrid System is the better option because it pairs a stainless steel core with the Cerfractory coating. We’ll quote both approaches and explain the trade-offs in plain terms. Call (626) 657-5513 and we’ll lay out the numbers in writing.
Standard Chimney Sweep services in Pasadena run about $140 to $220. HeatShield application is a different service entirely. Cerfractory flue sealing typically starts around $1,800 and can run to $4,000 or more depending on flue height, access, surface condition, and whether we’re also rebuilding a crown or repairing flashing. The Joint Repair System covering specific tile joints is usually less than a full Cerfractory coating. Every quote is written before any work starts, so the number on the invoice is the number you approved. Call (626) 657-5513 for an exact quote – estimates are free.
Book Your HeatShield Service in Pasadena, CA
Call (626) 657-5513 and a live person answers, day or night. We’ll schedule a camera inspection, give you a written price before any work starts, and stand behind every HeatShield repair with our 365-Day Done Right Promise. The flue either draws or it doesn’t. Let’s find out which.
Written by Hank Delano, Owner at Flint Chimney Co Pasadena, serving Pasadena since 2002.