Chimney Sweep in West Chester, PA
The borough has some of the oldest chimneys still in use anywhere in the county. Brick from the 1800s, flues that were never lined, and stacks carrying several flues at once. We've been working on them for over thirty years.
Serving the borough, East Bradford, West Goshen, Westtown and Marshallton.
West Chester at a glance
- Historic borough brick and Victorian stock
- Party-wall stacks with multiple flues
- Soft original mortar that needs matched repointing
- Newer construction in Goshen and Westtown
- Tight street access, planned for
What West Chester chimneys are actually dealing with
Housing here splits into two different problems, and the fix for one is the wrong fix for the other.
In the borough
The brick rowhomes and Victorians off Gay Street and High Street went up before flue lining was standard. Plenty of these stacks are bare brick inside and carry two or three flues in one structure.
What we find most is open joints above the roof line, spalled faces on the weather side, and broken-down parging between neighboring flues.
Outside the borough
West Goshen, Westtown and East Bradford are mostly later twentieth-century construction: prefab fireplaces, framed chases and metal chase covers rather than solid masonry.
Different failures entirely. Usually a rusted chase cover, a factory-built firebox past its service life, or a dryer vent running the length of the house that's never been cleared.
Masonry and repointing on historic brick
More of our West Chester work is masonry than in any other town we cover, and mortar choice is the reason we get called back to fix other people's repointing.
- Mortar you can rake out of the joint with a key or a screwdriver
- Brick faces flaking off, or chips collecting in the gutter below the stack
- A lean or a bow you can see in the stack above the roof line
- White chalky staining on the brick after wet weather
- Smoke or smells from a neighbor's fire showing up in your fireplace
- Damp on the inside wall alongside the chimney breast
What we get called out for here
Chimney repointing and masonry
Matched mortar on historic brick, spall replacement, and rebuilds above the roof line on borough stacks that have run out of sound joint.
Read moreRelining unlined flues
A lot of pre-1940s borough chimneys have no liner at all. Stainless relining is how those get brought back into safe use.
Read moreChimney cleaning
Annual sweeping for open fireplaces, inserts and stoves, with drop cloths and a HEPA vacuum, because most of this work happens in finished living rooms.
Read moreChimney inspections
Level 2 inspections with a full video scan, which matters more on a shared stack than it does on a detached house.
Read moreLeaks and waterproofing
Old brick soaks up water directly. We close the entry point first, then use a breathable sealer that won't trap moisture in the wall.
Read moreCaps and crown work
Uncapped flues are common on older borough stacks. Capping one and rebuilding a failed crown is the cheapest protection you can buy.
Read moreLocal answers
Do you work inside the borough where parking is tight?
All the time. Most of our borough work is on streets where you can't just pull a truck into a driveway, and we plan around it. It's never stopped a job.
My house shares a wall with the neighbors. Does that change anything?
It changes what we look for. Row and twin homes often have several flues inside one stack, and a failed liner in one can let smoke or gases cross into the next. We scan the flue that serves you and check for cross-communication.
The chimney has never been repointed. Should it be?
If the house dates to the 1800s and nobody has touched the joints, almost certainly. The part that matters is using a mortar soft enough for the original brick. Hard modern mortar on soft historic brick makes the brick faces fail instead.
Can you handle a chimney on a historic district property?
Yes. We match the existing brick and mortar rather than introducing something that stands out, and we'll tell you straight when a repair needs a particular approach to look right on a period elevation.
Book a West Chester chimney sweep
Cleaning, inspection, masonry and relining across the borough and the surrounding townships.