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.
Trusted Chimney Sweep for Fresno Homeowners
A chimney sweep in Fresno typically costs between $189 and $349, takes about 60 to 90 minutes, and is the single most effective way to prevent a chimney fire that could spread to the rest of your house. Alcott Chimney Fresno has been doing this work for Fresno homeowners since 2002 under the leadership of Ruben Castellano, and every technician who arrives at your door has passed a background check, an identity verification, and arrives in a uniform with photo ID you’ll recognize because we sent you their name and photo first. If your fireplace has not been swept in two years, or if you’ve just moved into an older home in the Tower District or Sunnyside and don’t know the flue’s history, call us at (559) 215-1714. A live person answers, any hour.
What Is a Chimney Sweep and Why Fresno Homes Need It
A chimney sweep is a professional cleaning of the entire flue system that carries smoke and combustion gases from your fireplace or stove out of your home. The process removes creosote, the tar-like residue that builds up every time wood burns, along with soot, animal nests, leaves, and debris that block the airway. The National Fire Protection Association calls for a chimney inspection at least once a year, and sweeping is the clean-out that happens when the inspection shows it’s needed. In Fresno, where winter fireplaces are used hard from November through February and then sit idle through the hot, dry summer, the buildup can harden into a glaze that ordinary brush work will not remove.
Ruben Castellano and the team at Alcott Chimney Fresno take a straightforward approach to this. We sweep the flue, we show you what came out, we photograph the interior with a camera system so you can see the condition of the liner and firebox with your own eyes, and we give you a written report on what we found. Nothing gets recommended unless the camera shows it. If your flue is clean and structurally sound, we’ll tell you that plainly and leave. If it’s not, you’ll see why: the photos are part of the record we hand you before any repair price is ever quoted.
Key Takeaways
- A standard chimney sweep in Fresno runs $189 to $349 before any repairs.
- Every Alcott job includes a written price before work starts and a written guarantee on every repair.
- You’ll know your technician’s name and see their photo before they ring the doorbell.
- The 365-Day Done Right Promise covers every completed job for a full year.
- Call (559) 215-1714 any time, day or night, and a live person will answer.
Styles & brands we work with
Chimney Sweep Services
Chimney Sweep Services in Fresno cover everything from a standard flue brushing to a full Level 2 camera inspection and creosote removal, with most basic sweeps priced between $189 and $349 depending on the height of the flue, the type of fireplace, and how much buildup has accumulated. Alcott Chimney Fresno performs residential sweeps, masonry fireplace cleanings, and factory-built fireplace cleanings, always starting with the same step: a close visual inspection of the firebox and flue before a single brush goes in. That initial look tells us whether you have a simple soot job or something more serious, like glazed creosote or a damaged liner, and it keeps us from doing work you don’t need.
Masonry Fireplace Sweeps
Brick and mortar fireplaces are the kind most common in older Fresno neighborhoods like Tower District and the Fig Garden loop. These chimneys have terra cotta clay liners that crack with repeated heating and cooling, and the sweep uncovers that damage when the camera goes in. We run wire brushes sized to your flue, collect the debris at the firebox level with a HEPA vacuum, and then show you the footage.
Prefab and Insert Sweeps
Factory-built fireplaces and wood stove inserts are common in newer construction across southeast Fresno and Clovis. These systems have stainless steel liners that require gentler poly brushes and a slightly different technique so the metal doesn’t get scratched or compromised. Our technicians are trained to identify the exact make and model before the sweep begins, because the wrong brush on a prefab flue can cause damage that’s expensive to fix.
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.
Chimney Cleaning
Chimney Cleaning is the physical removal of creosote, soot, and obstructions from the inside of the flue, and in Fresno it should happen at least once a year if you burn wood regularly, with pricing for a standard cleaning running $189 to $349 depending on the amount of buildup and the condition of the flue. We treat chimney cleaning as a diagnostic procedure, not just a brushing. The creosote that comes out tells us things: a dry, flaky grade one means your burning habits are fine, while a tar-like grade two or three glazing means the fire has been burning too cool, often from unseasoned wood, which is common in the central Valley because of how mild our winters are compared to the mountains. That’s a Chimney Sweep in Clovis issue too, not just a Fresno one.
Creosote Removal by Stage
First-stage creosote is mostly soot and brushes off easily with a standard wire brush. Second-stage is flaky but thicker, taking a little more work and often a chemical treatment first. Third-stage is a hardened, shiny glaze that no brush will remove; it requires a rotary loop system or a chemical breakdown product like the ones we carry from Olympia Chimney. We’ll tell you which stage you’re at, show you the removed material, and recommend the right removal method without pushing an upgrade you don’t need.
Obstruction and Debris Clearing
Birds, squirrels, and even raccoons find their way into Fresno chimneys in the spring when the fireplace sits unused. Nests, droppings, and fallen leaves from the sycamores around Van Ness Extension all create blockages that push carbon monoxide back into the living room. We clear the obstruction, sweep the flue, and photograph everything so you can see the airway is truly open from firebox to chimney cap.
Fireplace Cleaning
Fireplace Cleaning refers to the firebox itself, the hearth area, the glass doors or screens, and the surrounding masonry, and in Fresno it costs $189 to $349 for a full fireplace and flue cleaning done together, though a standalone firebox clean without the flue runs on the lower end of that range. The firebox is where ash accumulates, where the damp smell comes from in the summer when the Valley heat hits old ash, and where you’ll see the rust stains or pitting that mean a repair is coming. Alcott Chimney Fresno cleans the firebox with a HEPA vacuum, removes the ash completely, scrubs the glass doors with a non-abrasive cleaner, and checks the refractory panels and grate for damage. If you’re looking for Chimney Sweep in Madera, the same standards apply.
Glass Door Restoring
Fireplace glass gets hazy fast, especially if the fire burns on the cooler side, and ordinary glass cleaner won’t cut the baked-on film. We use a refractory-safe creosote remover made for fireplace glass, and the doors come back clear without scratching, so the next fire looks and drafts better.
Hearth and Surround Care
The hearth catches sparks, ash, and the occasional dropped log, and over a few seasons it starts looking tired and soot-stained, especially on the natural stone and tile surrounds common in Woodward Lake and Harlan Ranch homes. We clean the hearth with the right pH-balanced products for the material and let you know if we see cracks that are cosmetic versus cracks that mean the hearth isn’t supporting the fireplace’s weight the way it should.
Chimney Services
Chimney Services in Fresno means more than sweeping: it’s a category that includes full inspections, liner work, chimney cap installation, waterproofing, and masonry repairs, with the sweep itself running $189 to $349 and repairs quoted only after the camera footage shows exactly what’s needed. Alcott Chimney Fresno takes a conservative approach to repairs. We never sell a liner replacement because of a strain on a camera screen. We show you the cracks, the gaps, the deterioration, and then we give you the written price to fix it, always before work begins, always with the repair backed by a written guarantee. Our home page covers the full picture of how we work.
Chimney Cap and Crown Repairs
Rain is the single biggest enemy of a Fresno chimney, because water gets into the crown’s hairline cracks, expands in the winter cold snaps, and slowly breaks the masonry apart from the top down. We replace damaged caps with stainless steel, repair crowns with fresh mortar, and make sure the flue opening is sized right so the draft stays strong and the rain stays out.
Liner Repairs and Resurfacing
When the camera shows cracks in a clay liner, the fix ranges from a HeatShield resurfacing job, where the joints and flue surface are treated with a ceramic material, to a full stainless reline using DuraFlex pipe when the original liner is beyond saving. We carry those trade brands because they’re what professionals specify, and the difference matters inside your smoke chamber.
Chimney Sweep Certified
Chimney Sweep Certified means your technician has passed the industry-standard certification and you can confirm that at the door by matching the name and photo we sent you to the photo ID badge they’re required to show, with a standard certified sweep in Fresno costing $189 to $349 before any repairs are added. Alcott Chimney Fresno takes it further than passing a test. Every technician goes through the Threshold Standard, which means a background check and identity verification before they’re ever allowed on a customer’s property, and for Ruben Castellano that’s non-negotiable. You deserve to know who’s walking into your home, and you get that certainty before the truck even leaves the shop.
The Threshold Standard
Background checks and identity verification are part of the hiring process at Alcott, not an optional add-on for specific customers. The name and photo you receive before the visit are the same name and photo on the ID badge at your door, every time, no exceptions. This matters in a city the size of Fresno, where homeowners tell us they’ve had people show up with no uniform, no ID, and no way to verify the company they claimed to represent.
Why Certification Matters
Certified sweeps have been trained to spot the structural problems and clearances that an untrained eye will miss, and those details are what separate a clean chimney from a safe one. Certification covers codes, clearances, draft theory, and combustion, and it means the person holding the brush understands why a smoke chamber matters, not just where to shove the brush.
Gas Fireplace Cleaning
Gas Fireplace Cleaning in Fresno runs from $149 to $289 and involves cleaning the burner, the glass, the logs or media, and checking the gas valve and connections, which keeps the fire burning cleanly and prevents the carbon monoxide problems that come from soot-covered logs and clogged burner ports. Even though gas fireplaces don’t create creosote, they do produce a fine white film on the glass, and the fake logs collect dust and spider webs during the eight months a year the fireplace sits idle. We clean the glass, vacuum the logs, clear the burner ports, and verify the ignition and flame sensor work so the fireplace lights on the first click when the first cold night hits. This is also a standard part of our Chimney Sweep in Fresno service coverage.
Glass and Media Cleaning
The white haze on gas fireplace glass is actually mineral deposits from the flame impinging on the surface, and it needs an ammonia-free cleaner that won’t etch the glass. We remove the front, clean both sides, and clean or replace the glowing embers and vermiculite as needed, so the flame picture looks the way the manufacturer intended.
Burner and Safety Check
Spiders love gas burner ports, and a blocked port creates an uneven, lazy flame that puts out more carbon monoxide than a properly burning one. We clear every port with compressed air, verify the flame sensor and thermopile are reading correctly, and test the shutoff valve before putting the fireplace back together.
Chimney Maintenance
Chimney Maintenance is the schedule of regular care that keeps your flue safe between sweeps, and in Fresno a maintenance visit that includes a visual inspection, a cap check, and minor cleaning runs $149 to $249, while a full sweep falls in the $189 to $349 range. The smartest maintenance move for any Fresno homeowner is pairing the seasonal first fire with a quick professional look at the flue, because the things that go wrong in a chimney usually happen during the months nobody’s paying attention: the spring rain, the summer wasps, the autumn leaf drop. Alcott provides this as part of our regular chimney service.
Seasonal Maintenance Checks
Before the first fire of the season, we check the damper operation, the cap for rust or missing screens, the flashing where the roof meets the chimney, and the condition of the exterior mortar from the ground or ladder. A small problem caught early, like a missing chimney cap screen, costs far less than a raccoon removal and the damaged liner that follows.
Long-Term Masonry Care
Fresno’s hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters put enormous stress on exterior masonry, and the freeze-thaw cycle through our short winters opens up tiny cracks into bigger ones. We recommend waterproofing treatments from Gelco, applied to the exterior brick and crown, which lets the masonry breathe while keeping water out, and it’s covered by the same 365-day guarantee as our other work.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterBrands We Service
DuraFlex is the stainless steel relining system we install when a clay liner has failed beyond resurfacing, and we’ve worked with it since the early days of the company because of its flexibility on offset flues common in older Fresno two-story homes. HeatShield is our go-to for ceramic resurfacing of damaged clay liners, a joint-by-joint application that saves the original masonry without a full tearout, and we’ve used it on everything from 1940s bungalow chimneys to newer prefab systems.
For exterior waterproofing, we carry Gelco products because they hold up through the Valley sun without peeling the way cheaper sealers do. We also install Olympia Chimney caps, dampers, and flashings, which are the brands the industry specifies, and Famco components for specific venting applications. Whether you have DuraFlex, HeatShield, Gelco, Olympia Chimney, Famco, or any other make, we can help. If you need service in Chimney Sweep in Madera, these same brands and standards apply.
Signs You Need a Pro Right Now
- A smell like a campfire in the house when the fireplace is not lit. This is usually downdrafting, which means the chimney is drawing air backward and pulling last season’s creosote smell into the room. It gets worse on hot, still Fresno summer days, and a sweep plus a draft check will usually fix it, but ignored, it means combustion gases are not venting the way they should.
- Smoke rolling back into the room when you light a fire. That’s a draft or blockage problem, not a nuisance. A partially open damper, a bird’s nest, or a flue narrowed by creosote can all cause it, and every one of those can push carbon monoxide into the home. Call us at (559) 215-1714 before the next fire.
- Black, tar-like substance on the damper or firebox walls. That’s third-stage creosote, the most flammable form and the direct cause of most chimney fires. It forms when a fire burns too cool, often because of unseasoned wood, and it will not brush out. It needs a professional chemical or rotary removal process.
- Crumbling mortar or missing bricks on the exterior chimney. Water gets into those gaps and accelerates the damage with every rain, and in a few seasons you’re looking at a partial rebuild instead of a repointing job. Exterior damage also means the flue liner may already be compromised, so a camera look is the right next step.
- You hear animals or scratching sounds from inside the chimney. Birds and squirrels nest in chimneys during the spring and early summer, and the nest itself is a fire hazard even after the animals leave. A missing or damaged chimney cap is the usual entry point, and we’ll replace it as part of the sweep so the next raccoon stays on the roof, not in it.
Our Process, Step by Step
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You call and talk to a person. There is no phone tree at Alcott. You call (559) 215-1714, a live person answers, we book the appointment that works for your schedule, and we send you a confirmation with the technician’s name and photo. Before the visit, you’ll know exactly who’s coming.
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The technician arrives with identification visible. During the visit, the technician shows the same photo ID badge you received in the confirmation. Our technicians are uniformed for quick recognition, and they’re all background-checked and identity-verified as part of the Threshold Standard.
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The inspection comes before anything else. We start with the firebox and exterior, then run a camera through the flue to see the liner condition, the smoke chamber, and the full airway. You’re shown this footage, and it becomes the basis for everything we recommend.
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You get a written price, then you decide. Nothing gets repaired without your approval and a written quote first. If the sweep is all you need, the price is already on the table and that’s the entire job. If we find damage, you’ll see it on the camera before we quote a dollar figure.
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The work gets done, and it’s guaranteed. The sweep is done with the right brush for your flue type, the debris is fully vacuumed, and any repair we do comes with a written guarantee. If a repair fails within the coverage period, the second visit is free. That’s our 365-Day Done Right Promise, and it applies to every completed job, no fine print.
How Much Does Chimney Sweep Cost in Fresno?
A standard chimney sweep in Fresno runs $189 to $349 for most homes, with simple single-story flues on the lower end and multi-story masonry chimneys with heavy creosote on the upper end. Gas fireplace cleaning typically falls between $149 and $289, and a maintenance visit with inspection and minor cleaning runs $149 to $249. Those are the numbers you should expect to hear from any honest chimney professional.
What changes the price? Flue height matters, because a two-story roof means more ladder work and longer rods. The type of fireplace changes the tools, because a prefab needs poly brushes and more care. The condition of the flue matters, too: light soot brushes out quickly, but glazed creosote requires rotary equipment or chemical treatment, which adds labor time. And any repairs, from a chimney cap replacement to a full liner job with HeatShield or DuraFlex, are quoted separately with written prices before any work starts.
To avoid overpaying, get a written price before the job begins and never work with a company that quotes over the phone without looking at the flue. A legitimate sweep needs to see the fireplace, the roof, and the flue condition before the number is real. At Alcott, that written price is always included before any work starts, there are no surprise charges at the end, and our free estimate includes the full visual and camera inspection. Call (559) 215-1714 for an exact quote.
Our Service Area Near Fresno
Alcott Chimney Fresno serves the entire city of Fresno, including Woodward Lake, Sunnyside, Tower District, Fig Garden, Harlan Ranch, and the neighborhoods around Van Ness Extension. We also regularly sweep chimneys in Clovis, Madera, Sanger, Selma, Reedley, Kerman, Kingsburg, Fowler, Parlier, Dinuba, and Visalia. Same-week appointments are usually available, and since we’re based right here in the Valley, we’re never more than a short drive from your door. If you’re nearby, our Chimney Sweep in Clovis page has the same details for your area.
Serving Fresno, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Fresno area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
Frequently Asked Questions About Chimney Sweep in Fresno
A chimney sweep is a professional cleaning of the flue, smoke chamber, and firebox that removes creosote, soot, and obstructions. It’s the standard maintenance that keeps a fireplace drafting safely and prevents chimney fires. In Fresno, it should happen at least once a year for wood-burning fireplaces, and it costs $189 to $349 for a standard residential sweep.
A standard sweep takes 60 to 90 minutes from setup to final cleanup. Masonry fireplaces with heavier creosote or multi-story flues can take up to two hours. The camera inspection adds about 20 minutes to the job, and it is that footage that lets you see the actual condition of the liner.
Expect to pay between $189 and $349 for a standard sweep, with gas fireplace cleaning running $149 to $289. The price depends on flue height, fireplace type, and buildup level, and you’ll always receive a written quote before any work begins. Call (559) 215-1714 for a free, exact quote that includes the full inspection.
Yes, we install and service HeatShield resurfacing and DuraFlex stainless liner systems, along with Olympia Chimney caps, Gelco waterproofing, and Famco components. These are the trade brands chimney professionals specify, and our technicians are trained on each one. If your existing system is one of these brands, we know it well.
Yes, and unlike most companies, when you call at an odd hour a live person answers, not a voicemail system. If you have smoke rolling into the house or you suspect an animal is trapped in the flue, call (559) 215-1714 any time and you’ll talk to a person who can dispatch a technician.
Every repair is backed by a written guarantee, and if the repair fails within the coverage period, the second visit is free. Our 365-Day Done Right Promise covers every completed job for a full year. The guarantee is included at no extra charge, and we’ll hand you the written terms before work begins.
Move any furniture or decor away from the hearth area about four feet, and take down anything fragile from the mantel, because vibration from the brushes can travel. Make sure the fireplace is cold, and that no fire has burned for at least 12 hours. We’ll handle everything from the firebox to the roof, but a clear path to the fireplace and a clear path to the roof ladder make the visit quicker. If you’re ready to book, call (559) 215-1714 and a live person will schedule your sweep.
Schedule Your Chimney Sweep Service in Fresno Today
Your chimney doesn’t fix itself, and the creosote sitting in your flue right now doesn’t wash away in the rain. Call Alcott Chimney Fresno at (559) 215-1714 for a free estimate, and you’ll get a written price before any work starts, a technician whose name and photo you’ll know before arrival, and a 365-day guarantee on every job. We’ve been serving Fresno area homes since 2002, and we answer the phone around the clock. Make the call this week, before the first fire of the season.
Written by Ruben Castellano, Owner at Alcott Chimney Fresno, serving Fresno and the surrounding Central Valley since 2002.