Chimney Repair FAQ
Common questions we get from homeowners across Sonoma County. If yours isn’t here, call (707) 237-3605 and ask.
How often should a chimney be inspected?
Once a year is the standard recommendation for any chimney in regular use, and it is not optional if wood is your main heat source. If you burn most days through the winter, which is common on rural properties around Sebastopol and west county, creosote builds up far faster than it does in a fireplace lit a few times a season. A chimney that has not been used in a year or more should also be checked before you light it, because that is exactly where birds nest.
What does chimney repair cost?
It depends almost entirely on what is wrong, so anyone quoting a firm price before looking is guessing. A spark arrestor or a chimney cap is a small job. Rebuilding a crown is a bigger one. Relining an unlined flue or repairing a cracked masonry chimney is bigger again, because it involves structure rather than surface. The honest answer is that an inspection tells you which of those you are dealing with. Call (707) 237-3605 and we will come and look.
My chimney is unlined. Is that dangerous?
Yes, and it is common in older Petaluma and Healdsburg homes. An unlined brick flue was normal practice before the war, but as the mortar erodes, heat and combustion gases, carbon monoxide included, can reach the timber inside your walls. It is one of the few chimney problems we would tell you to stop using the fireplace over until it is fixed. Installing a flue liner is the usual remedy.
Do I need a chimney inspection before buying or selling a house?
It is not legally required in California, but on any home built before about 1960 it is among the cheapest inspections you can buy relative to what it can find. Chimney problems are structural, they are expensive, and a general home inspection typically will not put a camera up the flue. If you are buying an older home in Petaluma or Healdsburg, have the chimney looked at separately.
What is a chimney crown, and why do they fail?
The crown is the sloped mortar or concrete slab across the top of a masonry chimney, and its job is to shed water away from the brickwork below. They fail because they are the most weather-exposed part of the house. Rain, sun and the freeze-and-thaw cycle crack the mortar, water gets into the joints, and the damage then works downwards through the chimney. A cracked crown is cheap to fix and expensive to ignore.
Do I need a spark arrestor?
In Sonoma County’s high fire-hazard areas, treat it as essential. A spark arrestor is the metal screen that stops burning embers leaving your chimney and landing on a dry hillside, and in an ember storm it works the other way too, keeping wind-driven embers out of your roof. For homes around Windsor, Sebastopol and the wooded parts of the county it is one of the least expensive pieces of wildfire preparation available.
Can a cracked masonry chimney be repaired, or does it need rebuilding?
Both happen, and which one you need depends on where the cracking is and how far it goes. Surface mortar erosion can usually be repointed. A chimney that has separated from the house, is leaning, or is cracked through at the roofline generally needs rebuilding from the damage down. In earthquake country that is a safety matter, not a cosmetic one. We will tell you which one you have, including when the answer is the cheaper one.
My fireplace is a metal one, not brick. Do you work on those?
Yes. Factory-built and prefabricated fireplaces are very common in homes built from the 1960s onwards, which covers most of Rohnert Park and much of Windsor. They wear out: fireboxes rust through, chase covers corrode and let water into the framing, and once a firebox has rusted through it has to be replaced rather than patched. That is also often the right moment to change to a more efficient gas or wood appliance.
Which towns do you serve?
Sierra West Co. works throughout Sonoma County, covering Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Sebastopol, Windsor, Healdsburg, Santa Rosa and the surrounding rural areas. We also serve Novato and San Rafael in Marin County, where the business started in 1982.
Are you licensed?
Yes. Sierra West Co. holds California contractor’s licence #542298 and has done since 1982. You can verify any California contractor’s licence yourself through the Contractors State License Board, and with any contractor you have not used before, you should.