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 Inspection Across Highland Park
A chimney inspection in Highland Park typically costs $189 to $489 depending on the level, and most homeowners get a Level 2 camera inspection for a full picture of what’s happening inside the flue. We know the chimneys here, the cracked clay tiles, the spalling brick, the crown leaks on hillside homes off York Boulevard and Figueroa. Flint Chimney Co Pasadena schedules Highland Park inspections throughout the week, and our technicians arrive with camera equipment, a written checklist, and no assumption about what you need before we’ve looked. Call (626) 657-5513 to book an inspection or get a straight answer about what your chimney might need.
Why Flint Chimney Co Pasadena Is Highland Park’s Preferred Chimney Inspection Company
Highland Park homeowners call us because we photograph what we find. That matters in a neighborhood where the housing stock runs to pre-1930 Craftsman and Spanish Colonial homes with original masonry chimneys. A visual-only inspection from the rooftop tells you almost nothing about the flue liner inside. We run a camera through the flue and show you the footage before any repair conversation starts. That’s the Garrison Standard at work: a documented, written price before any work begins, and a written guarantee on every repair, valid for one full year from the service date.
Our field teams understand the local failure patterns. Highland Park chimneys lean after earthquakes. Mortar joints crumble from decades of wood burning and seismic stress. Crowns crack during Santa Ana wind cycles and let water in. When our uniformed, background-checked technicians arrive at a house on a street climbing out of the 90042 zip, they already know what to look for. Dispatch and scheduling are coordinated from our Los Angeles office, with crews serving Highland Park directly. We stock common replacement parts locally so inspections that turn up immediate issues don’t have to drag into multiple appointments.
What keeps customers calling us back is simple: the invoice matches the quote. If we recommend a repair, you see the camera evidence first. If you decide to hold off, we tell you plainly what can wait and what can’t. Hank Delano leads our team the same way he always has, by running jobs that stand up to a homeowner’s close look. That’s why Chimney Inspection from Flint Chimney Co Pasadena is the call Highland Park homeowners make when they want answers, not a sales pitch.
Styles & brands we work with
Level 2 Chimney Inspection in Highland Park
A Level 2 Chimney Inspection in Highland Park runs $289 to $489 and includes a camera scan of the entire flue interior, a roof-level check of the crown and flashing, and an attic and crawlspace visual where accessible. This is the inspection level we recommend for any Highland Park home with an original clay-tile flue, because what hides behind a glaze of creosote is often a shifted tile from past seismic activity. The camera doesn’t lie, and neither do we.
What the camera shows in older flues
Pre-1930 Highland Park chimneys were built with unreinforced masonry and stacked clay tile liners. Decades of ground movement, the 1971 Sylmar quake, the 1994 Northridge quake, and countless small tremors since have shifted those tiles. A cracked or offset tile lets heat and gases reach the brickwork, which is a fire hazard. Our camera inspection documents every joint, every crack, and every offset, and we review the footage with you.
When a Level 2 inspection is required
Building codes and real estate contracts both call for a Level 2 inspection when a property changes hands, after a chimney fire, after seismic events, or when the appliance vented into the flue changes. Selling a home off Monte Vista Street or buying a Spanish Colonial near Garvanza? A Level 2 Chimney Inspection is the standard. Ours includes still photos you can keep.
Chimney Leak in Highland Park
A Chimney Leak in Highland Park is usually caused by a cracked crown or spalling brick, not the flashing, even though flashing gets blamed most often. Water enters through hairline cracks in the mortar crown, works its way down through the masonry, and shows up as stains on the ceiling near the fireplace or a damp smell in the firebox. Fixing the wrong thing means the leak returns, so we inspect before we quote.
Crown repair and waterproofing
The crown is the concrete cap on top of the chimney. On Highland Park hillside homes facing winter rain and Santa Ana wind cycles, crowns crack from thermal expansion and age. We repair crowns with proper masonry materials and can apply a breathable waterproofing treatment where appropriate. The written quote covers the full scope, including what we found on camera.
Flashing vs. masonry: getting it right
Flashing is the metal where the chimney meets the roof. It leaks when sealant fails or metal tears. Masonry leaks when brick absorbs water. The two look similar from inside the house but need different repairs. Our inspection pinpoints the source with a hose test when needed, so you’re not paying for a flashing replacement when the crown is the problem, or the reverse.
Trusted Brands We Service in Highland Park
We work with professional-grade chimney materials from brands you can verify independently: DuraFlex for stainless steel liners, HeatShield for flue resurfacing, and Olympia Chimney for crowns and masonry repair products. When a Highland Park inspection turns up a cracked flue, we can spec a DuraFlex liner system the same day and schedule the install quickly, because we keep common components stocked for the chimneys we see most often in this area. We don’t substitute unknown brands, and we don’t push a liner when the camera shows the flue is sound. The material we quote is the material we install, named in writing before work starts.
See the difference
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After
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After
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AfterCommon Chimney Inspection Problems We See in Highland Park Homes
- Seismic flue tile offsets: Ground movement from earthquakes shifts clay tiles inside older chimneys, creating gaps that let heat reach the brick. Homeowners mistake the dark interior for creosote buildup, but the camera reveals the real problem.
- Unlined or partially lined chimneys: Many pre-1930 Highland Park homes have chimneys that were never lined, or were lined only partway. Venting a furnace or water heater into an unlined stack is a carbon monoxide risk and a fire hazard.
- Crown spalling and water damage: The concrete crowns on older chimneys crumble over time, especially on homes exposed to full sun on Highland Park’s hillsides. Water gets in, freeze-thaw cycles do the rest, and brick faces start popping off.
- Brush-and-go sweep jobs that miss the point: The industry’s cheapest inspection is a sweeping with a flashlight glance. A chimney that’s been burning wood for 90 years in Highland Park needs a Level 2 camera inspection, not just a brush.
Pricing for Chimney Inspection in Highland Park, CA
Here’s what inspection pricing looks like in Highland Park. A Level 1 inspection, the visual check when nothing has changed about the chimney or appliance, runs $189 to $249. A Level 2 camera inspection, which we recommend for most Highland Park homes given their age and seismic history, runs $289 to $489. A Level 3 inspection, which involves partial demolition to access concealed areas after a chimney fire or major structural concern, starts at $1,200 and is quoted case by case. Real estate inspections for home sales are Level 2 and cost the same as above. Every quote is written before any work begins, and the inspection includes still photos of what we find. Call (626) 657-5513 for a free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near Highland Park
Flint Chimney Co Pasadena serves Highland Park and the surrounding San Gabriel Valley and northeast Los Angeles communities. Our crews regularly work in Chimney Inspection in Highland Park as well as Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank, and Arcadia. Same written-pricing standard, same 365-Day Done Right Promise, same camera-first inspection process in every city we cover.
Serving Highland Park, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Highland Park 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 Inspection in Highland Park
Most Highland Park chimneys built before 1930 are unreinforced masonry, meaning they have no steel rebar inside the brick. When the ground shakes, the whole structure flexes, and the mortar joints crack or the chimney shifts. You’ll see horizontal cracks near the roofline or vertical cracks along the brick. A Level 2 inspection with a camera checks whether the interior flue tiles have shifted as well, which is the real danger. Call (626) 657-5513 to schedule a structural assessment.
An unlined chimney has no clay tile or metal liner between the fire and the brickwork. In a home built before 1930, that means fire and gases can move directly through aging mortar joints into the house structure. It’s not safe to burn wood in an unlined chimney, and many insurance companies won’t cover a home with one. The fix is a stainless steel liner, often a DuraFlex system, sized to the flue and installed properly. We’ll show you the camera footage before recommending anything.
Santa Ana winds carry fine dust and grit that abrade crown sealant, and the dry heat bakes mortar until it’s brittle. When winter rains arrive, water seeps into the micro-cracks and deteriorates the crown further. On a hillside home with full sun exposure, this cycle repeats every year. Waterproofing the crown after repair extends its life significantly, and it’s a job we quote in writing before starting.
You can sweep out creosote, but that only addresses the fuel, not the condition of the flue that contains it. A 1930s Highland Park chimney that’s been burning wood for decades is exactly the kind that hides cracked tiles behind a glaze of creosote. If the flue is compromised, sweeping alone leaves the fire hazard in place. We recommend at least a Level 2 camera inspection once if the chimney hasn’t been checked in years.
Yes. A proper inspection covers the smoke chamber, the area above the firebox where smoke funnels into the flue, and the damper, the metal plate that opens and closes the flue. Older Highland Park homes often have corbeled brick smoke chambers with rough ledges that collect creosote, and dampers that are warped or rusted from years of heat. The camera inspection documents both. Call (626) 657-5513 and we’ll walk you through what’s included.
Written by Hank Delano, Owner at Flint Chimney Co Pasadena, serving Highland Park as part of the Garrison Partners family since 2002.