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 Inspection Across Houston
Chimney inspection in Houston costs $189 for a standard Level 1 inspection and $349 – $449 for a Level 2 camera inspection, with most homes needing the camera route given the age of the housing stock here. That’s the honest answer before you book. Our crews serve every corner of Houston, from Kingwood down to Clear Lake, and we schedule within 3 to 5 business days for routine inspections. Call (254) 978-7413 and a live person answers, day or night, not a phone tree.
Houston chimneys don’t fail the way northern chimneys do. We don’t see mountains of creosote from nightly winter fires. We see cracked clay tiles, rusted dampers, spalled brick, and animals that moved in during months the fireplace sat unused. Our Chimney Inspection team is trained to look for exactly these things, and we document everything with camera footage before we ever quote a repair.
Why Kindling Chimney Houston Is Houston’s Preferred Chimney Inspection Company
Danny Cortes leads our Houston crew, and the way he runs inspections hasn’t changed since he started: if we can’t show you the problem on camera, we don’t ask you to fix it. That’s the whole promise. No scare tactics, no hand-waving about “draft issues,” no $8,000 liner quote based on a hunch. When a Houston homeowner calls us back for our Chimney Sweep in Houston or a repair years later, it’s because they saw the footage and made the call themselves.
Every technician who arrives at your door is background-checked and in uniform, and the Cedarwell Care Promise is non-negotiable: shoe covers and drop cloths go down before anything else, nothing gets moved without asking, and we photograph the clean-up before we leave. Houston families with kids and pets should never have to wonder if the crew tracked soot across the living room. We make sure they don’t. And if something isn’t right after we leave, the 365-Day Done Right Promise means we come back and make it right. No fine print.
We’re part of the Cedarwell family of companies, established in 2003. The Houston location is independently owned and operated, which means the people who answer your call are the same people who show up with the camera.
Styles & brands we work with
Fireplace Inspection in Houston
Fireplace Inspection in Houston is less about how often you burn and more about what happened while you weren’t looking. A fireplace that sat unused through a humid Houston summer can have a rusted-open damper, a family of squirrels in the flue, or a clay-tile liner that cracked during a rare freeze and has been quietly shedding pieces into the smoke chamber. A standard fireplace inspection here runs $189 – $249 depending on the home, and it includes a look at the firebox, damper, flue access, and exterior cap.
What Gets Checked
We examine the firebox for cracked brick or missing mortar, operate the damper to confirm it seals, and visually assess the flue from both the top and bottom where access allows. In Houston, the damper is often the first thing to fail. Humidity rusts the metal, and a damper that won’t close is leaking air-conditioned air straight up the stack all summer. That’s a real cost to your electric bill, not an abstract one.
When Houston Homeowners Call
Most calls come after one of three events: a hard freeze that exposed cracks, a smell of animals or smoke backing into the house, or a home inspection before buying or selling. If you’ve never had the chimney looked at since you bought the place, and the house is a 1970s brick ranch, that’s exactly the kind of chimney we see unexpected problems in. A camera inspection costs more than a Level 1, but it catches what a flashlight cannot.
Chimney Inspection Services in Houston
Chimney Inspection Services in Houston follow the NFPA 211 standard: Level 1 for routine annual checks, Level 2 for real estate transactions or after storms and freezes, and Level 3 when there’s suspected hidden damage requiring component removal. For most Houston homes built between the 1960s and 1990s, we recommend a Level 2 camera inspection at least once, because clay-tile flues from that era hide cracks that no visual check can confirm. Level 2 runs $349 – $449 here.
Camera and Flue Inspection
A push-cam sends live footage through the flue, and you can watch it on our screen while we narrate what we’re seeing. If there’s a spalled tile, you’ll see the chunk missing. If there’s a breach, you’ll see daylight. We don’t ask you to take our word for it. That’s the difference between our inspection and the kind that gets a cracked flue “passed” because nobody looked beyond the firebox.
Real Estate Inspections
Buying or selling a home in Houston? A Level 2 inspection is what you want on the table. It gives a written, photographed record of the chimney’s condition, which matters in a city where unlined and clay-tile flues from the mid-century dominate. We schedule real estate inspections on a tight window, and we send the report fast because we know closing dates don’t move for a slow chimney company.
What happens when you call
- 1
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.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Houston
When a Houston inspection does reveal damage, the materials we use to fix it are the same ones commercial chimney professionals have trusted for decades. We stock and install HeatShield resurfacing systems, which bond a ceramic coating directly to the flue wall and come with a manufacturer warranty. For liner replacements, we use DuraFlex repair in Houston, and for crown repair we’ll typically spec Gelco or Olympia Chimney products. Because we keep common parts on hand for Houston’s most frequent failure points, turnaround on repairs after an inspection is usually measured in days, not weeks.
Common Chimney Inspection Problems We See in Houston Homes
- Spalled clay-tile flues after hard freezes. Houston’s 2021 storm caused tile flues to flake and crack across the city. The pieces fall into the smoke chamber and can block the flue or allow heat to reach combustible framing.
- Rusted-open dampers from humidity. A Houston summer pushes humid air through the chimney 24/7. The damper rusts, stops sealing, and your air conditioning goes up the flue. Inspectors who skip the damper miss this every time.
- Animal nesting in unused flues. Squirrels, raccoons, and birds love an unused Houston chimney. Nests block the flue and create a fire and odor risk. If an inspector never checks the cap and crown, they’ll blame “draft problems” instead of the obvious nest.
- Efflorescence and spalling brick at the exterior. Heavy rains soak into porous brick, and the white mineral staining plus flaking brick face means water is getting where it shouldn’t, often for years before anyone notices.
See the difference
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After
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After
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AfterPricing for Chimney Inspection in Houston, TX
Here are the honest numbers for Houston. A Level 1 visual inspection runs $189 – $229. A Level 2 camera inspection runs $349 – $449, depending on the home’s size and the flue’s condition. Real estate inspections land in the Level 2 range and include a written report with photos. If an inspection uncovers damage and you choose to repair it with us, we credit the inspection fee toward the repair on most jobs. And every quote is written, itemized, and delivered before any work begins. No pressure, no “today only” pricing. Call (254) 978-7413 for a free estimate and a straight answer on what your chimney actually needs.
We Also Serve Cities Near Houston
Our crews are on the road every week to Houston neighborhoods like Meyerland, Bellaire, the Heights, and Sharpstown, but we also cover the surrounding cities. Galena Park, South Houston, Bellaire, and Pearland all fall within our normal service area, and we schedule inspections throughout the metro without a travel surcharge. If you’re in any of these communities and need a chimney inspection, call the same number and you’ll get the same crew, the same care promise, and the same camera-first approach.
Serving Houston, TX - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Houston 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 About Chimney Inspection in Houston
You need a Level 2 camera inspection before anyone patches anything. A hairline crack on the visible firebox is often the outward sign of a worse problem in the flue itself, and no one can tell you what the repair is without seeing what’s behind the surface. The inspection costs $349 – $449, and you’ll get camera footage showing exactly what’s going on. Some cracks are cosmetic. Others are a heat risk. The only way to know is to look. Call (254) 978-7413 and we’ll get a camera in there within the week.
Yes, and you should. We inspect around active nests where it’s safe to do so, and we’ll document the nest, the species, and the flue damage it may have caused. In Houston, squirrel and bird nests in unused flues are one of the most common findings, and they shouldn’t be ignored. We’ll recommend removal of the animals first, then an inspection once the flue is clear. Raccoons need a wildlife professional; squirrels and birds we can usually guide you through. Call (254) 978-7413 and describe what you’re hearing and seeing, and we’ll tell you the next step without charging you for the phone call.
The honest answer is that you can’t know from looking at the firebox alone. Clay-tile flues crack from the inside, often from the heat of a fire that happened years ago or the freeze-thaw cycle from a rare Houston cold snap. A Level 2 camera inspection is the only way to confirm the flue is intact. In our experience with 1960s and 1970s brick ranch homes across Meyerland, Sharpstown, and Bellaire, the first camera run often reveals spalling or cracking the homeowner had no idea was there. The camera is $349 – $449. The peace of actually seeing the flue on our screen is free. Call (254) 978-7413 to schedule.
It does, and it’s often worse because no one’s looking. Humidity rusts dampers open, soaks into mortar joints, and feeds mold and mildew inside the flue. A fireplace that hasn’t been lit in years is not a fireplace that’s fine; it’s a fireplace that’s been quietly degrading without anyone noticing. We see this constantly in Houston: rusted dampers, spalled bricks, and animals nesting in flues that looked “fine” from the living room. A Level 1 inspection checks these points, and it’s $189 – $229. Even if the fireplace is decorative, the chimney is still part of the house envelope. Call (254) 978-7413 to book one.
A Level 1 is a visual check of the accessible parts: firebox, damper, cap, and the flue as far as you can see from above or below. It costs $189 – $229 and is right for a chimney that’s been inspected regularly with no known issues. A Level 2 adds a full camera scan through the flue, and it’s recommended for real estate transactions, after any major weather event like the 2021 freeze, or if the home has never had a camera inspection. For a Houston ranch home with a clay-tile flue, we almost always recommend the Level 2 once, because those flues hide problems. The cost is $349 – $449. If we find damage, we apply the inspection fee toward the repair. Call (254) 978-7413 for a straight answer on which one your home needs.
Call Kindling Chimney Houston for a Straight, Camera-Backed Inspection
In Meyerland, we inspected a 1972 brick ranch whose clay-tile flue had spalled after the 2021 winter storm, sending chunks into the smoke chamber. Our tech used a push-cam to confirm the breach, showed the homeowner the footage on-site, and recommended a HeatShield resurfacing instead of a full rebuild. No upsell, no mystery. Just the same view of the chimney we had, and a repair that fit the problem. That’s the standard for every Houston inspection we do.
If you live in Houston and want an inspection you can actually see and understand, call (254) 978-7413. A live person answers, 24/7. We’ll give you a written price before anything is scheduled, and we’ll treat your floors, your pets, and your kids like they’re part of the job. Because they are.
Written by Danny Cortes, Owner at Kindling Chimney Houston.