Look for this badge when hiring a chimney company
The days of hiring just a chimney sweep are long gone. If you are looking to hire just a chimney sweep to come run a brush down your chimney, you should just save your money and put it towards something useful….like better homeowners insurance to cover the potential chimney fire you will eventually have within your fireplace system.
I hope I have everyones attention now.
We have all heard this saying before… “You get what you pay for.” This is absolutely true when it comes to a chimney sweep. Maybe we should start out by telling you who we really are and what we call ourselves these days. We no longer call ourselves a chimney sweep. The days of singing and dancing on rooftops with Mary Poppins are long gone. We have moved on. We have evolved. Call it what you will. We refer to ourselves as a “Chimney Technician” now, and we take our jobs very seriously. As a chimney technician, we do so much more than just run a brush down your chimney for $99. Remember what I said, you get what you pay for.
A chimney technician may do a lot of different duties. Here is a list of services we offer at Grand Designs Masonry, Chimney, and Fireplace:
Chimney Inspections, video inspections, chimney sweep, lintel parge, smoke chamber parge, firebox repair, stainless steel liner installation, relining of clay flues, firebrick replacement, damper repair, top damper installation, crown repair, crown replacement, brick repair, brick replacement, chimney rebuild, tuckpointing, rain caps, full coverage rain caps, flashing, flashing repair, waterproofing, fireplace installations, gas fireplace repair, gas fireplace cleaning.
Now that you know who and what we are, let’s talk about why?
Why would you get your chimney inspected? The question you should be asking is why wouldn’t you? Your chimney is the only thing stopping fire and smoke from rolling through your home if left unchecked. Did you know fire isn’t even the lead cause of the deterioration and destruction of chimneys? Can you guess what it is? It’s moisture! Not everyone uses their fireplace, so they don’t have to worry about fire and smoke, but I guarantee 100% of chimneys see rain, snow and ice all year here in our great state of Minnesota. There has not been one leaky chimney that we have not been able to solve. We have fixed hundreds of them. Some are super simple and quite cheap. Some…not so much, BUT, we solved the problem and we repaired it to last long term.
When should you have your chimney inspected and how often do you need a chimney sweep?
You should have your chimney inspected every year. A lot of things can happen in a year to a chimney or fireplace system. Cracks in your tuckpointing can open up, cracks in your crown, cracks in your firebrick, and creosote build up are just a couple examples that are cheap fixes if caught early on. A chimney masonry repair is not cheap. Trust me, I write the estimates, and people are always genuinely surprised at how much the cost of doing the masonry work is. Will your chimney flues always need to be swept? No. That’s why we inspect chimneys first and then sweep if necessary. If you’re curious about the inspection process and who is qualified to do them, you may visit the CSIA website, https://www.csia.org/ for more information. We recommend using a CSIA certified chimney technician for all of your inspections.
How much does it cost for a chimney sweep?
$100.00
Will we come to your house to sweep your chimney for $100? No. We first must perform an inspection of your chimney. We charge for our inspection first, then during that time, we will determine if a chimney sweep is necessary. If a chimney sweep is needed, then we charge an additional $100 to sweep it. If the chimney is not safe to use, or if the flues are broken or cracked, we do not sweep the chimney as it is not suitable for operation.
Can you hire a chimney sweep for $100? Yes.
Can you hire a CSIA certified chimney technician for $100? No.
A rooftop chimney inspection