Flue & Firebox Cleaning
A season of fires leaves a residue with opinions about catching fire itself. We brush the flue clean, detail the firebox and damper, and keep every gram of soot inside the vacuum.
Book a sweep →
Golden Valley · Near-West Minneapolis · Since the Ramblers Were New*
Sixty-Year-Old Chimneys. One Honest Crew.
Golden Valley's ramblers and split-levels came with handsome low chimneys, wide fireboxes — and crowns that have now argued with sixty Minnesota winters. We sweep them, mend them and put them back to work, starting with an inspection that costs $99 and hides nothing.
- Certified & insured techs
- Findings photographed, always
- Chimneys, steps & planters
- Phones live 7–7:30 weekdays
*Figuratively. The crew is younger than the houses.
$99The inspection. Flat. Done.
15+Years on near-west rooftops
2400+Flues swept, crowns saved
7–7:30Weekday phone window
Eight Jobs We Do Uncommonly Well
The fireplace, the stack above it, and the mid-century brick around the yard — one crew, one phone number.
The Inspection
Firebox to cap, photographed and summarized in writing while you watch. It costs $99 because it's a service, not bait — and it answers the question every homeowner here has been postponing.
Claim the hour →Crown Replacement
The concrete lid on a 1950s chimney was never meant to see 2026. We break out the cracked original and cast a reinforced, sloped crown with a drip edge that keeps water off the brick.
Recrown the stack →
Repointing & Spall Repair
When joints go sandy and brick faces start flaking into the snow, frost is winning. We grind, repack and match the mortar; spalled brick gets swapped for sound period stock.
Rescue the joints →
Caps & Animal Screens
An open flue near Wirth Park is a wildlife listing with no rent. Screened stainless caps end the tenancy, stop the rain, and pass every code question an inspector can ask.
Cap it properly →Leaks & Flashing
March meltwater finds the chimney flashing like it has a map. We rebuild the step and counter-flashing, correct the ice-dam entry points, and retire the annual ceiling stain.
Stop the stain →
Liners & Conversions
Wide mid-century fireboxes on short stacks smoke on cold starts — geometry, not fate. Correctly sized stainless liners fix the draft and ready the flue for gas logs or an insert.
Fix the draft →
Steps, Planters & Walls
The built-in planter, the breezeway wall, the front steps the frost keeps nudging — original equipment on Golden Valley's ramblers, and all of it repairable by the chimney crew.
Square the brick →Seven Winter Tells, Ranked By Urgency
A chimney rarely fails without giving notice first. Here's the notice.
- Flue tiles shedding shards into the fireboxThe liner is breaking up from the inside. Stop burning until it's scoped.
- A visible crack across the crownWater is already inside the top of the stack, waiting for the next freeze to pry.
- Ceiling stains that reappear each thawMeltwater riding the flashing seam. It will not lose interest on its own.
- Brick faces flaking into the snowFreeze-spall in progress; each winter takes a thicker layer than the last.
- Cold-start smoke rolling into the roomWide firebox, short stack — the classic rambler equation, and it's solvable.
- Scratching sounds above the damperSquirrels or a raccoon have found the uncapped flue. They aren't leaving voluntarily.
- Sandy mortar wiping out of the jointsRepointing weather is short in Minnesota. Get on the list before the frost does.
Four Steps, Start To Swept
No mystery meat in the middle — this is the whole procedure.
- 1
You Call, We Listen
Describe the symptom to someone who has knelt in a thousand fireboxes. First read is free and immediate.
- 2
The $99 Hour
Roof to hearth, photographed. You watch the findings arrive instead of taking anyone's word.
- 3
Numbers In Ink
Repairs priced line by line and ranked by urgency, free. The quote holds while you compare.
- 4
Clean Execution
Tarps, HEPA vacuum, matched materials, hauled debris. The house forgets we were there; the chimney doesn't.
Beat the fall waiting list
One Call Sorts The Whole Stack
Sweep, inspect, recrown, repoint or evict the squirrels — it all starts the same way. Weekdays, 7 to 7:30, a human answers.
(612) 466-4490From Recent Rooftops
Six honest photographs; zero stock heroics.
Decatur Avenue Outward
Golden Valley first, the near-west metro close behind — 55 and 100 do most of the driving.
- Golden Valley
- Robbinsdale
- Crystal
- New Hope
- St. Louis Park
- Plymouth
- Minneapolis
- Bryn Mawr
- Theodore Wirth
- North Loop
- Hopkins
- Minnetonka
- Medicine Lake
- Brooklyn Center
- Brooklyn Park
- Maple Grove
- Wayzata
- Long Lake
- Osseo
- Champlin
- Richfield
- Edina
- Eden Prairie
- Excelsior
Farther out? Ring (612) 466-4490 — mileage rarely kills a job.
Things Golden Valley Asks Us
What do I get for the $99 inspection?
An honest hour. A certified tech checks firebox, damper, flue, crown, cap, flashing and the brick itself, photographs what matters, and hands you a written summary before leaving. No upsell theater — the fee is the whole business model.
Our rambler's fireplace smokes into the room. Normal?
Common, not normal. The mid-century taste for wide, shallow fireboxes on short chimneys drafts badly on cold starts. A smoke guard, a taller termination or a right-sized liner almost always settles it — the inspection tells us which one yours needs.
How often should the chimney get cleaned?
Wood burners: each season in regular use, or per face cord. Gas fireplaces and furnace flues still earn a yearly look, because cracked tiles and blockages keep quiet until they don't. Most houses here are current on the first and years behind on the second.
The original crown from 1958 has never been touched. Bad?
It's overdue for retirement. Sixty-plus winters split any unreinforced crown, and once water slips underneath, the top courses of brick go next. A recast crown with slope and a drip edge is the best money-per-year repair on the menu.
Squirrels got in last fall. Can you keep them out?
For good. Once the tenants exit humanely, a screened stainless cap goes on and the flue stops being habitat. Chimneys under the Wirth Park tree canopy get claimed fastest — worth capping before October.
Do you repair mid-century planters and front steps?
Gladly — the built-in planters, breezeway walls and steps are original equipment on these houses, and frost heaves them the same way it heaves chimneys. We relevel and repoint them to match what the builder intended.
When should repairs be scheduled?
Mortar wants above-freezing cure time, so exterior work runs roughly April to October and the calendar fills front-to-back. Sweeps and inspections book all year. The winning move is calling before you strictly need to.
When can I actually reach someone?
Weekdays, 7:00 in the morning until 7:30 in the evening. Weekends the crew hibernates.
The Phone Is The Whole Front Door
No forms, no chatbots — a person who knows flues, on the line at 7 sharp.
- Call(612) 466-4490
- Shop701 Decatur Ave N, Suite 108
Golden Valley, MN 55427 - RangeGolden Valley & the near-west metro
- HoursMon–Fri, 7:00 AM – 7:30 PM
Sat & Sun closed