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.
Gelco Chimney Cleaning in North Hollywood, CA
We’re Ontario Chimney, an independent chimney service company that works on Gelco fireplaces, inserts, and chimney caps across North Hollywood. We’re not authorized, affiliated with, or endorsed by Gelco – we just know these units well because we’ve serviced them for years across the San Fernando Valley. The thing that makes Gelco work different here is the housing stock: most North Hollywood chimneys are 70 to 100 years old, built before modern seismic codes, and a standard sweep misses what’s actually going on behind the stucco. Call us at (833) 467-7685 for a free estimate on Gelco chimney cleaning in North Hollywood.
Why North Hollywood Residents Choose Us for Gelco Service
Al Vickers, who owns Ontario Chimney, grew up in the Sultana neighborhood of Ontario and spent close to three decades learning what Southern California does to a chimney – the dry summers, the Santa Ana swings, the quick cold snaps that send everyone to the fireplace at once. He picked up the fundamentals of building systems and combustion at Chaffey College before getting his hands dirty on real jobs, and he’s been straight with homeowners ever since about what a flue actually needs versus what it doesn’t. That matters when you own a Gelco unit, because a lot of what passes for chimney cleaning doesn’t address the actual problems we find in North Hollywood. We work on Gelco sales & service issues the way a tech who’s actually seen these units fail would – starting with the firebox, the flue, and the cap, not just a brush through the pipe.
We carry quality aftermarket caps, dampers, and screens matched to your Gelco firebox and flue size, and we turn to OEM parts only when the fit genuinely demands it. No upselling on parts you don’t need. We serve all four North Hollywood ZIP codes – 91611, 91612, 91615, and 91616 – and our techs know the difference between a chimney in the NoHo Arts District and Gelco service in Valley Glen or one up near the Burbank line. The house tells us what it needs before we ever recommend a repair.
Styles & brands we work with
- Sweep & inspection
- Caps & crowns
- Flue relining
- Masonry repair
- Gas fireplace service
Common Gelco Chimney Cleaning Problems We Solve in North Hollywood
- Hairline cracks at the roofline and separated flue tiles from the 1994 Northridge earthquake legacy. This is the big one in North Hollywood. A standard sweep runs a brush through and calls it done. The flue tiles behind the stucco tell a different story. On pre-code 1920s – 1950s stacks, those tiles shifted during the quake and never got checked. We find this constantly in 91601 and 91602.
- Cracked or spalling mortar crowns dried out by Valley summers and Santa Ana wind swings. Hot, dry conditions pull moisture out of mortar year after year. The crown joints open up, debris and pest nests pack into the flue while the fireplace sits idle through the mild winters, and your Gelco insert ends up drawing against a blocked passage. A quick sweep clears the debris but does nothing for the crown that let it in.
- Rusted, seized, or missing dampers on Gelco inserts that sat through long hot summers. When a fireplace goes unused from April to November, the damper gets no exercise. In North Hollywood’s dry heat, that means rust and seizure. We see it constantly – homeowners call about smoke backing up, and half the problem is a damper that won’t fully open.
- Single-wythe brick with no seismic bracing on pre-code construction, hidden behind decorative stucco. The exterior looks fine. The brick behind it is one course thick, built before bracing was required, and the Northridge quake put stress fractures through it. A sweep won’t catch this. A Level 2 inspection will.
- Wind-driven debris and soot blown back down flues during Santa Ana events. The wind doesn’t just dry things out – it actively pushes debris, leaves, and soot back down the chimney. Old or missing Gelco caps make this worse. North Hollywood homeowners who barely use their fireplaces still end up with packed flues by late fall.
Gelco Service in North Hollywood: What Local Conditions Mean for Your Equipment
Here’s the thing about North Hollywood that separates it from Burbank, Studio City, or anywhere else in the Valley: the housing boom here predates modern seismic codes. Many 91601 and 91602 chimneys are unlined or built from single-wythe brick with no seismic bracing. After the 1994 Northridge quake, we routinely find hairline cracks at the roofline and separated flue tiles that a standard sweep would miss. The exterior stucco looks smooth, the crown looks intact, and the Gelco unit lights fine – but the flue behind the facade has shifted. That’s why we recommend a Level 2 camera inspection as standard practice on any pre-1994 North Hollywood chimney, not just when we see an obvious problem. The quake happened 30 years ago, but the damage didn’t go anywhere. It’s been sitting there, slowly getting worse, every Santa Ana season. A clean flue isn’t a luxury – it’s just how the thing is supposed to work.
Gelco Models & Products We Service in North Hollywood
We service the full range of Gelco products found in North Hollywood homes: factory-built prefab fireplaces with metal fireboxes and listed chimney pipe, gas inserts and gas log set retrofits, wood-burning inserts dropped into original masonry fireplaces, and both multi-flue and single-flue Gelco chimney caps. The approach is straightforward – we use quality aftermarket components sized to your specific firebox and flue, and we stock common parts locally so North Hollywood turnaround doesn’t mean waiting on a warehouse in another state. When a Gelco cap has rusted through or a damper has seized beyond repair, we replace it with something that actually fits the flue diameter and draw characteristics of your setup. OEM parts get used when the fit is proprietary and aftermarket won’t hold up – and we’ll tell you which situation you’re in before any money changes hands.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterGelco Service Pricing in North Hollywood
Gelco chimney cleaning in North Hollywood typically falls between $180 and $340 depending on the unit type, flue length, and whether the fireplace has sat idle long enough to pack debris. Level 2 camera inspections run higher – usually $200 to $500 – because they involve full flue video documentation, and they’re the only way to see what’s happening behind stucco on pre-1994 construction. Mortar repointing and cap replacement are quoted per job after we see the condition of the crown and flue. Your free estimate includes an on-site look at the unit, the flue, and the cap – not a phone quote pulled from a flat-rate chart. We flag what needs work now and what can safely wait. Call (833) 467-7685 and we’ll give you a straight answer.
Serving North Hollywood, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the North Hollywood area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs – Gelco Chimney Cleaning in North Hollywood
The usual culprit in North Hollywood is debris packed into the flue during the idle months, often combined with a damper that’s rusted or seized from sitting unused through the summer. Santa Ana winds push leaves, soot, and pest nests down the chimney, and by the time you light a fire in November or December, the flue is partially blocked. It’s not the insert – it’s the chimney around it. We clear the flue, free or replace the damper, and test the draw before we leave. Call (833) 467-7685 and we’ll sort out exactly which one is your problem.
If your North Hollywood home was built before 1994, yes. The Northridge earthquake shifted flue tiles and cracked mortar in ways that a brush never touches, and exterior stucco hides most of it. A Level 2 inspection puts a camera down the entire flue and documents what’s actually there – separated tiles, open joints, missing mortar. Without it, you’re paying for a sweep that leaves the real problem in place. We’ll show you the footage and explain what we found.
The stucco is a facade, not a structure. We can’t see through it, but a Level 2 camera inspection shows us the inside of the flue, where cracks, separated tiles, and deteriorated mortar are visible even when the exterior looks perfect. In North Hollywood, where single-wythe brick construction was common before seismic codes, that internal view is the only reliable way to assess post-quake damage. We’ll also check for the telltale signs at the roofline and crown that indicate movement behind the cladding.
Both, and that’s why a rusted or poorly sized cap causes problems. The cap blocks rain, debris, and wind-driven backdrafts while allowing smoke and combustion gases to escape freely. When it’s rusted through, seized, or sized wrong for the flue, you get either smoke pushing back into the house or debris accumulating inside the chimney. We replace Gelco caps with aftermarket models matched to your flue diameter and draw requirements, and we’ll tell you if the old one is doing the job or working against you.
Usually, yes. Cracked mortar crowns, open joints, and separated flue tiles can often be repointed and stabilized without a full rebuild, especially when we catch the damage before water intrusion and seismic shifting compound it. North Hollywood’s dry climate means the damage progresses slower than in wetter regions, which works in your favor. We’ll recommend replacement only when the firebox or flue has genuinely failed – and we’ll show you the evidence on camera first. Call (833) 467-7685 for an honest assessment.
Service Areas Near North Hollywood
Ontario Chimney serves North Hollywood and the surrounding San Fernando Valley communities. If you’re in North Hollywood service area or nearby, we cover the neighborhoods across the 91601 and 91602 corridor. We also work with Gelco owners in Gelco service in Shadow Hills to the east and Gelco service in Del Aire further south, plus the broader Valley region.
Book Your Gelco Service in North Hollywood Today
If your Gelco fireplace or insert hasn’t been inspected in years – or if you’ve never had the flue camera-checked since the Northridge quake – now’s the time. We’ll give you a straight answer about what’s going on and what it costs to fix. Call (833) 467-7685 for a free estimate on Gelco chimney cleaning in North Hollywood.
Written by Al Vickers, Owner at Ontario Chimney, serving North Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley.