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.
Trusted Chimney Inspection for Houston Homeowners
Our Chimney Inspection in Houston typically costs between $150 and $450 depending on the level of inspection and what we find. Most standard visual checks run on the lower end, while Level 2 camera inspections with full documentation land higher. The inspection itself usually takes 45 to 90 minutes, and you’ll have a written report before we leave your driveway.
Houston’s humidity, heavy spring rains, and the occasional freeze-thaw cycle in winter put real stress on brick and mortar. We regularly see spalling bricks in Heights bungalows, rusted dampers in Memorial-area homes built in the 80s, and cracked flue tiles in newer subdivisions around Katy and Cypress where clay liners settled. Kindling Chimney Houston inspects what’s actually there: the flue, the crown, the damper, the firebox, the chimney cap, and the flashing where the chimney meets your roof. Led by Danny Cortes, our technicians are background-checked, uniformed, and trained to explain what they’re seeing in plain language. Call (254) 978-7413 to book an inspection.
Fireplace Inspection
A Fireplace Inspection is a close examination of the firebox, damper, hearth, and the interior of the fireplace itself. It’s the check you need if you’ve just moved into a home and don’t know the last time the fireplace was serviced, or if you’ve been burning regularly and want to verify everything is still sound before heavy use. Danny Cortes and his team at Kindling Chimney Houston look for cracked firebrick, deteriorated mortar joints, a damper that doesn’t seal or open fully, and any signs that heat or smoke has been escaping into the wall cavity. Most fireplace inspections in Houston run between $150 and $250 when paired with a standard sweep.
What We Inspect in the Firebox
The firebox is the area where the fire actually burns, and it takes direct flame contact every time you light a log. We check the firebrick for hairline cracks that let heat reach the framing behind it, and we test the mortar joints with a scratch tool to confirm they haven’t turned to sand. If the firebox shows wear, we’ll show you photos before recommending any repair.
Damper Function and Seal Test
A damper that doesn’t close tightly lets conditioned air escape up the flue all summer. That’s a real cost in Houston, where your AC runs from April through October. During every fireplace inspection, we open and close the damper fully, check the cable or handle mechanism, and look for rust or warping on the throat damper that would prevent a good seal.
Styles & brands we work with
Chimney Inspection Services
Chimney Inspection Services cover the full system from the firebox to the top of the flue, including the exterior crown, cap, and flashing. This is the service homeowners book when they want a complete picture of the chimney’s condition, not just a quick look at the firebox. Kindling Chimney Houston offers visual inspections, camera inspections, and full Level 2 documentation for real estate transactions or after weather events. Our inspections follow the same process every time: a written price quote before any work begins, shoe covers and drop cloths on every visit, and a photo of the clean-up before we leave.
Standard Visual Inspections
A standard visual inspection checks everything our technician can see from the fireplace opening, the roof, and the flue interior using a bright work light and mirror. It’s the right choice when you’ve had the chimney swept in the last year and nothing has changed. For a visual-only inspection in Houston, expect to pay between $150 and $200.
Full System Inspections with Documentation
When you need proof of condition for insurance, a home sale, or a landlord, we provide a full inspection with written findings and photos. This includes the interior flue, exterior masonry, cap, crown, and flashing. Full system inspections with documentation in Houston typically run between $350 and $450, and you receive the report the same day.
What happens when you call
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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.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Chimney Flue Inspection
A Chimney Flue Inspection focuses specifically on the interior passage that carries smoke and combustion gases from your firebox to the outside. This is the most safety-critical part of the inspection, because a cracked flue liner can allow heat and carbon monoxide to reach wood framing inside your walls. In Houston, where clay tile liners are common in homes built from the 1960s through the 1990s, we frequently find vertical cracks caused by settling and horizontal cracks from past chimney fires. A flue inspection alone runs between $150 and $250; when combined with a camera scan, the cost is $300 to $450.
Clay Liner Condition Checks
Clay tiles are durable, but they crack under thermal stress, and once they crack, they don’t heal. During a flue inspection, we look for missing mortar between tile sections, spalled tile surfaces, and any staining that suggests water or creosote has moved through a seam. We’ll mark what we find and show you the photos.
Creosote Measurement and Clearance
Creosote builds up in the flue at different rates depending on what you burn and how hot your fires run. We measure the thickness of any creosote glaze and check the distance between combustibles and the flue exterior. If creosote has built up to a hazardous level, we’ll tell you plainly and schedule a sweep rather than recommending unnecessary liner work.
Chimney Fire
A Chimney Fire happens when creosote inside the flue ignites and burns at extremely high temperatures, often sounding like a freight train or loud popping from the fireplace. It can crack clay liners, warp metal liners, and damage the mortar joints that hold your chimney together. If you’ve heard a rumbling sound from your chimney or noticed puffy, honeycomb-textured creosote in the flue, you likely had a chimney fire at some point without realizing it. Kindling Chimney Houston inspects for exactly this kind of damage in homes across Houston, and an inspection after a suspected chimney fire costs between $250 and $450 depending on the level of documentation you need.
What Chimney Fire Damage Looks Like
After a chimney fire, creosote often takes on a shiny, puffed appearance that professionals recognize immediately. We look for this, along with cracked flue tiles, melted or distorted metal components, and heat discoloration on the chimney exterior. If we find these signs, we’ll explain what needs repair and what can safely wait.
Why You Should Not Wait to Inspect After a Chimney Fire
Your chimney may look fine from the outside while the flue liner behind the brick has cracked wide open. Every fire you burn after that pushes heat and gases through those cracks. If you suspect a chimney fire happened, even years ago, we recommend a camera inspection before your next burn season.
Level 2 Chimney Inspection
A Level 2 Chimney Inspection includes everything in a standard visual inspection plus a thorough camera scan of the entire flue interior, along with checks of the attic and crawlspace areas where the chimney passes through. This is the level most commonly required for real estate transactions, after a chimney fire, after an earthquake or severe storm, or when you’ve made changes to the fireplace system. In Houston, a Level 2 inspection with a written report runs between $350 and $450. Kindling Chimney Houston’s team, led by Danny Cortes, is experienced with the documentation requirements Texas home inspectors and mortgage companies expect.
Camera Documentation for Real Estate Closings
When a home sale is on the line, the inspection report matters as much as the inspection itself. We provide clear camera images of the flue interior, annotated findings, and a summary that agents and buyers can understand at a glance. Our Level 2 reports meet the standard home inspection contingency requirements used across Harris County.
Post-Storm and Post-Repair Level 2 Inspections
After Hurricane Beryl, Harvey, or any of the severe storms that move through the Houston area, chimney crowns and flashing often sustain damage that isn’t visible from the yard. A Level 2 inspection after a major storm checks for water intrusion, shifted bricks, and liner damage. We also recommend this level after any liner repair or fireplace rebuild, to confirm the system is safe before it returns to service.
Chimney Leak
A Chimney Leak is water entering your home through the chimney system, usually showing up as water stains on the ceiling near the fireplace, damp drywall, a musty smell in the firebox, or water pooling in the firebox after heavy rain. Houston’s intense rainstorms and high humidity make chimney leaks one of the most common problems we diagnose. The issue is rarely the brick itself; more often it’s the crown, the flashing, or a missing cap. A leak diagnosis inspection in Houston costs between $150 and $250, and includes a camera scan when the source isn’t obvious from the exterior.
Finding the Source Without Guessing
Water travels, so the stain on your living room ceiling might actually come from flashing on the roof side of the chimney, not from the chimney crown. We trace water entry using the camera, an exterior roof inspection, and a careful look at the mortar joints at the point where the chimney meets the roofline. We don’t guess, and we don’t recommend liner replacement when the real problem is a $400 flashing repair.
What Leak Damage Costs to Ignore
Water inside a chimney does slow, steady damage over time. It rusts dampers, deteriorates the firebox, and softens the framing around the chimney chase. In Houston homes with wood-framed chimney chases, a small leak that goes unresolved for a year or two can become a much larger structural repair. A leak inspection now answers the question before the damage grows.
Chimney Camera Inspection
A Chimney Camera Inspection uses a small, high-output camera lowered through the flue to show you exactly what the interior of your chimney looks like. The camera reveals cracks, gaps, missing mortar, critter nests, and creosote buildup that a flashlight and mirror simply cannot reach. This is the single most useful tool we use in Houston, where clay liners and older masonry chimneys make visual-only inspections incomplete. A camera inspection runs between $300 and $450, and we show you the footage on-site so you can see what we see.
Seeing Your Flue in Real Time
We bring the camera monitor to your fireplace, and we walk through the footage with you section by section. When we find something, we pause and explain what it is, why it happened, and what it means for the safety of your fireplace. You don’t just get a verbal summary. You see the crack, the gap, or the nest with your own eyes.
Honest Findings, No Pressure
Houston families tell us the same thing again and again: they want to know if the chimney is safe, and they don’t want to be sold a liner they don’t need. The camera removes the guesswork. If your flue is in good shape, we’ll say so. If it needs work, you’ll see the evidence and hear your options, with a written price before any repair is scheduled.
Brands We Service
Kindling Chimney Houston works with the professional-grade materials and components you’ll find in homes across the greater Houston area. We regularly inspect and maintain chimneys built with DuraFlex liners, and our technicians understand the alloy properties and installation patterns specific to that brand. When repairs are needed, we use manufacturer-specified components rather than universal substitutes that may not fit or perform the same way.
We also service chimneys with Olympia Chimney caps and chase covers, and we’re familiar with the wear patterns those components show after years of Houston humidity and sun. When we inspect a system with Gelco or HeatShield treatments, we know what proper application should look like and can tell if a previous installation was done correctly. Whether you have one of these brands or any other make, we can help.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterSigns You Need a Pro Right Now
- Water stains on the ceiling or wall near your fireplace after a heavy Houston rain. This usually means water is getting in at the flashing or crown. Left alone, the water will spread into drywall and insulation, and the repair gets larger and more expensive every month.
- A strong, campfire-like smell inside your home when the fireplace is not in use. This often means creosote has built up in the flue and humidity is pulling the odor into the house. It’s unpleasant, but more importantly, heavy creosote is fuel.
- Visible cracks in the fireplace firebrick or mortar joints that are widening. When mortar crumbles and firebrick shifts, heat can reach the framing behind the firebox. Fresh cracks after years of stable service usually signal something has changed.
- You hear animals inside the chimney. Birds, squirrels, and raccoons love an uncapped flue in Houston’s mild winters. Nests and droppings block airflow, smell bad, and create a fire hazard. We remove what’s blockable and recommend proper caps from Olympia Chimney when needed.
- You recently bought your home and have no record of the last chimney service. Previous owners rarely leave chimney records behind, and the fireplace could carry years of unknowns. An inspection gives you a baseline and you’ll know exactly what you’re working with before the first cold front.
Our Process, Step by Step
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Book the appointment and get a precise arrival window. A live person answers the phone 24/7. We’ll ask about your chimney’s history, your home, and any concerns you’ve noticed. You’ll get a scheduled window that fits your family’s routine.
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Crew arrival with the Cedarwell Care Promise. Our background-checked, uniformed technicians arrive with shoe covers and drop cloths. We protect your floors from the front door to the fireplace, and we don’t move furniture without asking first.
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Inspection from top to bottom. The technician examines the exterior crown, cap, and flashing from the roof, then moves inside to check the firebox, damper, and flue. If a camera scan is part of your inspection, you’ll watch the footage when it happens.
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Review findings together. You see the photos or camera footage and get a plain-language explanation of what’s found. If repairs or a sweep are needed, you’ll receive a written price before any work is scheduled. No pressure, no surprise charges.
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Clean-up and photo documentation. Before we leave, we take a photo of the clean-up so you can see exactly how the space was left. Then we’ll walk through any next steps and make sure you have everything you need in writing.
How Much Does Chimney Inspection Cost in Houston?
A standard visual chimney inspection in Houston typically runs $150 to $250. A Level 2 inspection with camera documentation, which is the level most Houston real estate transactions require, costs $350 to $450. If you combine an inspection with a chimney sweep on the same visit, many Houston homeowners pay between $300 and $500 total depending on the condition of the flue and the level of creosote present. An inspection focused on diagnosing a specific issue, like a leak or suspected chimney fire damage, runs between $250 and $450 because the technician spends additional time tracing the problem and documenting findings.
What affects the price: the level of inspection you need, the height and accessibility of your roofline, whether a camera scan is required, and the condition of the chimney itself. Homes with steep rooflines in neighborhoods like Memorial or River Oaks can be slower to access, and that factors into the quote we give you before work starts. You can avoid overpaying by knowing what level you actually need: if you’re just maintaining a chimney you use yearly and nothing has changed, a standard visual inspection is appropriate. If you’re buying or selling, or you’ve had a chimney fire, a Level 2 is the right call. Every Kindling Chimney Houston inspection includes a written price before work begins, the clean-up photo, and shoe covers and drop cloths from arrival to departure. Call (254) 978-7413 for a free estimate.
Our Service Area Near Houston
Kindling Chimney Houston serves Houston and the surrounding communities including The Woodlands, Pearland, League City, Atascocita, La Porte, Alvin, Dickinson, Bellaire, West University Place, Greatwood, and Bacliff. We schedule inspections throughout Harris County and the northern Gulf Coast belt, and our technicians know the construction patterns in each area, whether it’s 1970s ranch homes in Dickinson or newer builds in Greatwood. Most inspections can be scheduled within a few days, and we’ll confirm your window when you book.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions About Chimney Inspection in Houston
A chimney inspection is a professional examination of the fireplace, flue, damper, crown, cap, and flashing to confirm the system is safe to operate. At Kindling Chimney Houston, inspections range from a visual check to a full camera scan, depending on your situation. The inspection ends with a clear explanation of findings, and you get a written price for any work before it’s scheduled. Call (254) 978-7413 to book one.
Most Houston chimney inspections take between 45 and 90 minutes. A standard visual inspection runs closer to 45 minutes, while a Level 2 with camera documentation typically takes 60 to 90 minutes. We’ll confirm your inspection window when you book so you can plan the rest of your day.
In Houston, a visual chimney inspection costs between $150 and $250, and a Level 2 camera inspection with a written report runs $350 to $450. The exact price depends on what level you need and the access to your roofline. Every inspection includes a written price before any work starts, so there are no surprises at the door.
Yes, we regularly inspect and maintain DuraFlex chimney systems in Houston homes. Our technicians know the installation patterns and wear characteristics specific to DuraFlex liners, and when repairs are needed, we use manufacturer-specified components. If you have a DuraFlex liner or any other brand, we can help.
We schedule inspections as quickly as possible, and a live person answers the phone 24/7. If you’ve had a chimney leak after a Houston storm or you suspect damage from high winds, we’ll prioritize getting you on the schedule. Call (254) 978-7413 and we’ll work out the soonest available window.
Every inspection and every job we do is backed by the 365-Day Done Right Promise. If something isn’t right, we make it right, with no fine print and no runaround. The Cedarwell Care Promise also applies to every visit, covering shoe covers, drop cloths, a written price before work begins, and a photo of the clean-up before we leave.
You don’t need to do much. Clear any decor or furniture from the immediate area around the fireplace if you can, and move any pets to a comfortable room during the inspection. We’ll handle the rest, including protecting your floors with shoe covers and drop cloths from the moment we walk in.
Schedule Your Chimney Inspection Service in Houston Today
A clean, safe chimney starts with knowing what’s actually inside it. Kindling Chimney Houston offers upfront pricing, the 365-Day Done Right Promise, and the Cedarwell Care Promise on every visit. Call (254) 978-7413 for a free estimate and we’ll get your Houston chimney inspection scheduled.
Written by Danny Cortes, Owner at Kindling Chimney Houston, serving Houston since 2003 as part of the Cedarwell family of companies.