Old hillside homes, winding streets and a lot of original 1920s masonry around the reservoir. We sweep, inspect and repair chimneys across Silver Lake, from Sunset Junction and Ivanhoe up into the hills above the water.
Send the details and we will get back to you the same day. We inspect first and price after, so the number we give you is the number you pay.
Rather talk it through? Call (818) 854-5578
We handle sweeping, inspection and repair across Silver Lake, from Sunset Junction and the Reservoir up through Moreno Highlands, Ivanhoe and the Micheltorena hills.
Silver Lake wraps around its reservoir on a set of steep, curving hillsides, and the houses climb right up them. Near Sunset Junction and Rowena you get walkable blocks of Spanish and Craftsman homes, and as the streets wind uphill into Moreno Highlands and the Micheltorena hills they narrow and stack, with the odd Neutra or Schindler modern tucked among them.
Most of these homes went up between the 1920s and the 1950s, and a lot of the chimneys are as old as the house. Original masonry stacks and clay-tile flue liners of that age do wear, and some were never lined at all. That history is the first thing we read on a Silver Lake roof.
The hillside streets are the other factor. Parking is tight, the driveways are steep, and some roofs are easier to reach from above than below. We work that out before we come rather than block your narrow street figuring it out.
All of it is available across the neighborhood, and every job opens with an inspection.
Where every job starts. You get photos and a plain read on an older chimney's real condition.
Crowns, mortar, flashing and flue liners, common work on the 1920s stacks up here.
Flue cleared of creosote and soot, with the mess held in the whole visit.
Tracing a leak back to its source, which older hillside masonry tends to hide.
Caps and spark arrestors fitted right, worth more with brush on the surrounding hills.
Firebox, damper and hearth work on the original and remodeled fireplaces here.
The thing that shapes a Silver Lake chimney is age. A lot of these stacks were built in the 1920s, 30s and 40s, and mortar that old loses its grip over time. We find crumbling joints, cracked crowns and clay flue tiles that have shifted or gone missing, sometimes on a chimney that was never properly lined to begin with.
These fireplaces also get used. The winter here is short but genuinely cold in the hills, and an original fireplace tends to get lit on those nights. Real wood burning lays down creosote, and an unlined or worn flue gives that heat and residue too many ways to reach the house.
The hills carry brush, and a dry Santa Ana can push fire through the canyons above the reservoir. A sound spark arrestor on the cap keeps an ember inside the flue instead of out on the slope, which matters more the higher you sit.
Some of this you can read from the ground. Look for a leaning or crumbling crown, and check the cap for rust. If the mortar flakes away under a screwdriver or the firebox brick looks cracked, the chimney is due for a proper look before you burn much more.
Call for the quickest answer, or send the form higher up the page and we will come back to you the same day.
Usually the same week. We are on the eastside often, so a Silver Lake visit fits in without a long wait. Call and we will give you the next open day and a realistic arrival window.
Often it is, but age is the whole question. Old mortar, a worn crown or an unlined flue can let heat and creosote reach the house. An inspection tells you where it really stands before you burn, and we show you the photos.
Yes. The canyons above the reservoir can burn on a Santa Ana wind, and a spark arrestor keeps an ember from leaving your flue. If yours is missing or rusted, we would fit one before fire season.
Usually yes. Even a lightly used flue collects debris and nesting material, and an old stack keeps weathering whether you light it or not. A yearly look catches the small things while they are cheap to fix.
Once a year for most homes that burn wood, before the first cold night. On an older unlined flue that annual check matters even more, since it is when we catch a crack or a worn liner early.
Rarely. We deal with tight hillside streets and steep driveways all the time and plan the roof access before we arrive. Give us the address and we will know what we are working with.
We look at it, you see the photos, then you get a written price. Call, or fill in the form above.
