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 Sweep Across Northridge
Chimney sweeping in Northridge costs between $189 and $329 for a standard fireplace and flue cleaning, and most homes here take 60 to 90 minutes. If you’re in 91324, 91325, 91326, 91327, 91328, 91329, or 91330, we can usually have a technician at your door within 2 business days of your call. Our crews know the ranch homes and mid-century tract layouts across Northridge, and we understand one thing most companies miss: a chimney sweep here is rarely just about soot. After the 1994 earthquake, thousands of Northridge chimneys were rebuilt or re-lined. That means every sweep should double as a structural check. Call (833) 467-7685 and we’ll tell you exactly what we found, show you the evidence, and give you options.
Why Ontario Chimney Is Northridge’s Preferred Chimney Sweep Company
Northridge homeowners call us because we treat the full chimney as the job, not just the flue. This is a valley full of post-1994 retrofits, and a lot of companies show up with a brush and a shop vac and call it done. We don’t. Our techs are trained to identify cracked crowns, failed flue tile joints, and chimneys pulling away from the house that other sweeps miss. We work on 1950s ranch homes off Tampa Avenue, newer infill near CSUN, and everything in between.
Our technicians have spent enough time in Northridge to know what these homes hide. When a re-roof happens on a stucco-clad chimney, the flashing often never gets re-sealed. When an earthquake retrofit goes in, the crown frequently gets overlooked. That’s why our Chimney Sweep process starts with a visual check of the crown, flashing, and flue tile before we ever set up the brush. We also carry Dust Commander and FBM parts on the truck for common Northridge repairs like caps and dampers, which means faster turnaround when a cap has been wrecked by Santa Ana winds or a damper has seized from sitting shut all summer.
We work on wood stoves the same way we work on open fireplaces. Northridge has a band of properties, especially toward the northern edge and along the ridgelines, where wood stoves run as primary heat through winter. Those flues load up with creosote far faster than a fireplace used on weekends, and we set sweeping schedules accordingly. You won’t hear us recite a generic “once a year” line and move on. If you burn daily, we’ll tell you what that means for your flue and how to adjust.
When you call Ontario Chimney, you talk to a local office that schedules around Northridge traffic and weather, not a call center. We can typically reach most Northridge addresses, from Devonshire Street down to Nordhoff, within two business days. And Al Vickers, who runs the company, insists on one thing: every customer sees the camera footage from their flue before they’re asked to make a single decision.
Styles & brands we work with
- Sweep & inspection
- Caps & crowns
- Flue relining
- Masonry repair
- Gas fireplace service
Chimney Cleaning in Northridge
Chimney Cleaning in Northridge means removing creosote, soot, and debris so your flue drafts properly and doesn’t hold fuel for a chimney fire. Standard sweeping for a wood-burning fireplace in Northridge runs $189 to $279. Our technicians run a polypropylene brush through the flue, hand-sweep the smoke shelf and damper, and finish with a HEPA vacuum of the firebox. The job in Northridge often takes longer than in other parts of the valley because so many flues here were re-lined or rebuilt after the 1994 earthquake, and those newer liners and masonry joints need closer inspection while we’re cleaning.
When to Schedule a Sweep
If you burn a fire more than once a week through winter, book a sweep before the first burn of fall. Hard creosote that sat through a dry San Fernando Valley summer turns glassy and hard, and it’s tougher to remove than the flaky stuff you’d get in a coastal climate.
Chimney Cleaning Walkthrough
We inspect the crown, flashing, and flue tile from the roof before anything goes through the flue. Then we seal the firebox, sweep, check the damper, and run a camera down the flue to verify nothing was left behind. You get the footage. Every time.
Fireplace Cleaning in Northridge
Fireplace Cleaning in Northridge is a deep clean of the firebox, grate, damper, and glass doors, separate from the flue sweep but usually done in the same visit. A full sweep plus fireplace cleaning in Northridge runs $229 to $329 depending on the size of the firebox and whether the glass has clouded from creosote smoke. Many Northridge homes have oversized masonry fireplaces from the 1960s and 1970s with chunky brick hearths and wide fireboxes. Soot and ash pack into the mortar joints, and if the house sits empty through a hot summer, that ash pulls moisture and turns clumpy and gray.
What Fireplace Cleaning Involves
We remove old ash, scrape the firebox walls, clean the damper with a wire brush, and clean glass with a creosote-specific solvent that doesn’t scratch. If your damper won’t close or isn’t sealing, we’ll tell you and quote the fix separately.
When Northridge Homeowners Need It
After a winter of burning, the firebox and damper carry three inches of ash and a layer of acidic soot. In Northridge, where summers hit 100°F and the air gets dry, that acid soot can start corroding the damper assembly. An annual cleaning keeps the metal from seizing.
Trusted Brands We Service in Northridge
We use the same components trusted chimney professionals specify: DuraFlex stainless steel liner systems, Famco caps and dampers, and Copperfield and Olympia Chimney components. We stock common Northridge repair parts on our trucks, so a missing cap off Reseda Boulevard or a seized damper in a 1960s ranch off Louise Avenue can usually be fixed the same day. No hardware-store substitutes, no guessing whether a part will fit. If a flue needs re-lining, DuraFlex navigates the offset flues common in older Northridge homes better than rigid liner. We tell you which product fits, why it’s the right call for your house, and we show you the flue on camera before and after.
Common Chimney Sweep Problems We See in Northridge Homes
- Hardened creosote glaze in wood stove flues. Northridge properties that burn firewood daily, especially toward the northern rural edge and along ridgelines, build thick tar-like creosote fast. A standard brush won’t remove third-degree glaze. It demands rotary removal with a steel whip or chemical treatment, and we spot this on nearly every stove we see that has gone two seasons without a sweep.
- Post-earthquake and re-roof flashing failures. After the 1994 Northridge earthquake, rebuilding and re-roofing left thousands of chimneys with flashing that never got re-sealed. Water runs behind the flashing, rots the chase, and destroys the flue tile from the inside. A chimney that looks fine from the ground is often spalling inside.
- Uncapped flues packed with bird, squirrel, and bee nesting. The hot, dry San Fernando Valley summer sends animals looking for cool, shaded spaces. An uncapped flue is an open invitation. We pull out nests every single week in Northridge. Left in place, they block draft and smolder when the first winter fire hits.
- Spalling crowns and cracked flue tile from earthquake settling. Homes in 91324 and 91325 that went through the 1994 quake often carry hairline cracks in flue tile and spalled crowns. These get worse with every Santa Ana wind season and temperature swing, and they’re invisible without close inspection.
See the difference
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After
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After
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AfterPricing for Chimney Sweep in Northridge, CA
Here’s what Northridge homeowners can expect to pay at Ontario Chimney:
- Standard chimney sweep (fireplace and flue): $189 – $279
- Full fireplace cleaning + sweep: $229 – $329
- Level 1 inspection add-on: $89 – $119
- Level 2 inspection (real estate, after an earthquake, or after suspected damage): $249 – $399
- Rotary removal of third-degree creosote: $150 – $300, quoted after camera inspection
- Chimney cap replacement (Famco or Gelco): $180 – $420 depending on flue size
What changes the price? A wood stove flue that hasn’t been cleaned in two or three years takes longer and may need rotary removal. A house near CSUN with a factory-built metal flue system needs different tools and care than a brick masonry chimney. Square flues cost slightly more than round because they’re harder to brush clean and inspect. Every quote is flat and agreed before we start. Call (833) 467-7685 for an exact number. Estimates are free.
We Also Serve Cities Near Northridge
Our technicians cover the entire San Fernando Valley from our Ontario, CA base. If you’re in Northridge today and calling from a neighboring community, we also serve North Hills, Encino, Van Nuys, and Valley Glen. Same crews, same professional-grade materials, same camera inspection on every job.
Serving Northridge, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We serve Northridge and nearby communities. Use the map below to see the area we cover. If you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About Chimney Sweep in Northridge
Every two cords of wood burned, or at minimum once per season, whichever comes first. A daily wood stove in Northridge builds a far heavier creosote load than a weekend fireplace, and the hot, dry summers harden that creosote into a glaze. If you skip a year, what could have been a $219 sweep becomes a $300 rotary removal. Call (833) 467-7685 and we’ll set a schedule that fits your burn rate.
The direct answer: you need an eye on the crown, the flue tile joints, and the flashing, not just a visual glance from the yard. We run a camera down the flue and inspect the crown and flashing from the roof on every sweep in Northridge. If you’re in 91324 or 91325 and the chimney was rebuilt after 1994, we’ll look specifically for hairline cracks in the tile, separation from the structure, and flashing that was never sealed after a re-roof. The fix is usually straightforward when caught early. Call us for a Level 2 inspection if you haven’t had one since the retrofit.
A cracked flue tile cannot be repaired with a brush or a patch, and it usually means a liner is the right call. We use DuraFlex stainless steel liner systems that navigate the offset flues common in older Northridge ranch homes. If the damage is limited and the tile is structurally stable, we may recommend HeatShield ceramic resurfacing instead of a full tear-out. That’s a decision we make only after showing you the camera footage. Call (833) 467-7685 for an honest assessment, not a scare pitch.
Yes. Nests block draft, and the twigs, grass, and feathers can smolder or ignite when the flue heats up. In Northridge, where flues sit unused through a long hot summer, animals have months to build. We remove the nest, inspect the flue, and install a Famco or Gelco cap sized to your flue. The cap also stops rain from getting in and rusting the damper. Call us for a cap that fits the first time.
Burn dry, seasoned hardwood, not softwood or green wood. Keep the fire hot enough to fully combust the wood gases, which means don’t damp it down to smolder overnight. Use a moisture meter (under 20 percent is good). Even with good burning practice, a wood stove used daily through winter still needs a sweep at least once per season. If you’re on the northern rural edge of Northridge and burning as primary heat, call (833) 467-7685 and we’ll put you on a twice-a-year schedule.
Call Ontario Chimney for Your Northridge Sweep
If you’re in Northridge and the fireplace hasn’t been cleaned in years, or you just bought a ranch home with a chimney and want to know what you’re working with, call (833) 467-7685 now. We’ll schedule a sweep, run a camera through the flue, and show you exactly what’s going on before you commit to anything. Flat pricing, professional-grade materials, and one company from inspection through repair.
Written by Al Vickers, Owner at Ontario Chimney, serving Northridge and the San Fernando Valley.