Chimney Sweep in Revere, MA

On the salt air side of Revere, rust is almost never surface-only. Once a cap or chase cover has opened up, the galvanized steel underneath has usually been thinning for years, and patching it just moves the leak a few inches. We replace those with stainless, which is the only thing that holds up to blowing spray off Revere Beach. Masonry crowns and flashing are different. If a crown is cracked but the brick below it is still sound, sealing and rebuilding the crown is a real repair, not a stopgap. We'll tell you plainly which situation you're in and show you photos from the roof before you decide.

Water and rust, far more than soot. Onshore wind drives rain and sea spray straight into the windward face of a chimney, so we see rotted chase covers on the newer condo and apartment buildings near the shore, failed flashing on the older two-families inland, and brick that has absorbed moisture and then spalled when it froze. Inside, the giveaways are a damp smell in the fireplace, white mineral staining on the chimney breast, or ceiling stains in the room where the chimney passes through. On gas-vented chimneys, the other common finding is a deteriorated clay liner or a metal liner with corroded joints, which is a safety issue rather than a cosmetic one.

Yes, though the work looks different than it would for a heavy wood burner. With light, occasional wood use there's usually not much creosote to remove. What we're really doing in Revere is inspecting the liner, the cap, the crown and the flashing, and checking that the gas appliance venting is intact and clear. Gas flue gases are wet and acidic, and in an unlined or old clay-lined chimney they break the masonry down from the inside. Nests, loose brick and leaf debris also block flues on houses that only fire up a few times a winter. An inspection every year is the point; the sweeping is just part of the visit.

A straight sweep and inspection on a two-family or bungalow is the low end of what we do and it's priced per flue, so a house with a fireplace flue plus a heating flue costs more than a single-flue chimney. What drives the number up in Revere is almost always the exterior work: stainless cap or chase cover replacement, flashing, crown repair, or relining. Height and roof access matter too. A three-decker-style roof or a chimney on a shore-side building takes more setup than a low bungalow. We go over the findings and what each item costs before anything gets scheduled, and you're free to do the safety items now and the cosmetic masonry later.

Routine sweeps and inspections typically book a few days to a week out, and longer in the fall when everyone calls at once. Active water coming into the house is handled differently. After a nor'easter we get a run of calls about leaks around the chimney, and we try to get those looked at quickly, since a cap or chase cover that has let go will keep letting water in with every storm. Same-day is sometimes possible, especially if we already have a crew on the Revere side of our route that day. Call and we'll be honest about where you'd land on the schedule rather than promising a window we can't hold.