Services
Chimney sweeping details for Gabriella homes
Why our family-owned crew in Gabriella sweeps chimneys the way it does.
Birds and animals in the flue
Scratching, chirping or twigs in the firebox usually mean something is living in the chimney. Chimney swifts nest in masonry flues and are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and Florida wildlife rules restrict when bats can be excluded from a building.
Sweeping an occupied flue can mean waiting until the animals have gone, or handing the job to our animal removal service first. Please do not try to smoke an animal out or light a fire under it. Once the flue is clear, a properly sized cap with a screen keeps the next visitor from moving in, and we can price one along with the cleaning. A cap also keeps rain out of the flue, which protects the damper and firebox from rust and staining.
A clogged cap screen
The mesh on a chimney cap keeps out animals and sparks, but it also collects soot and creosote. A screen clogged with deposits narrows the opening at the very top, and the fire may start to smoke into the room even with a clean flue below.
The cap screen gets cleaned on the same visit, and we make sure the cap itself is tight. The Florida Building Code, Residential, requires a masonry chimney's spark arrestor to offer at least four times the flue outlet's net free area and to be removable or reachable for cleaning, so a screen that cannot be cleaned is worth discussing with us. If the cap is loose, dented or rusted through, we tell you and quote a replacement separately.
What a clean flue reveals
Deposits cover defects. Once the flue walls are clean, cracked or missing tiles, gaps in the mortar between them and damage around the damper frame become much easier to see from the fireplace and from the top.
The cleaning can expose problems, and you are told what it found and whether it affects safe use. A cleaning visit covers what the brushes reach; a formal chimney inspection goes further, and we say when one is worth booking. Anything we find is written up with its own price, and you decide what happens next without any pressure from us. We point to each finding from the fireplace or the roof, so you understand exactly where it is.
