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. See what a fireplace and chimney inspection covers.
Do brick chimneys need to be cleaned?
Yes, if you burn wood in them. Every wood fire leaves creosote, a flammable mix of tar and soot, on the inside of the flue, and creosote is what chimney fires are made of. How fast it builds up depends on how much you burn: a fireplace lit a few times a season builds it slowly, a wood stove that heats the house all winter builds it fast. The NFPA recommends an annual inspection, and that inspection tells you whether cleaning is due.
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.
Does homeowners insurance cover a crumbling chimney?
Usually not, if the crumbling comes from age and water. Most policies cover chimney damage from a sudden event such as a chimney fire, while damage from cracked mortar and water getting into the masonry is often not covered. Check your own policy. If you have had a chimney fire, we can inspect the chimney and document the damage for your insurance claim. See flue liners.
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. More on chimney crown repair.
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. See chimney caps and spark arrestors.
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: FEMA lists unreinforced masonry chimneys as a known earthquake hazard (FEMA E-74, masonry chimneys). We will tell you which one you have, including when the answer is the cheaper one. See structural repairs and masonry.
Can a roofer fix a chimney?
A roofer can fix the roof around a chimney, but the chimney itself is masonry and fireplace work. A leak where the roof meets the chimney can be a flashing job for a roofer. A cracked crown, a damaged flue liner, worn mortar joints or a leaning chimney need a chimney contractor, and those are the repairs Sierra West Co. does. An inspection tells you which kind of problem you have.
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. See gas fireplace installations.
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.
Reviewed by Steve Lenschmidt, Sierra West Co. Last updated November 4, 2026.