Masonry repair
Sweep & inspection
Caps & crowns
Flue relining
Gas fireplace serviceLevel 1 sweep and inspection to the NFPA 211 annual standard - flue, crown, cap, and flashing checked and photographed
Chimney sweep logs do not sweep chimneys. They loosen some creosote - which then falls where a brush and vacuum still have to collect it.
Trusted Gas Fireplace Repair for San Antonio Homeowners
A gas fireplace that won’t light, won’t stay lit, or smells wrong when it runs isn’t something to put off until next winter. In San Antonio, where our mild winters mean fireplaces sit idle for months at a time, gas valves stick, thermopiles weaken, and burner ports clog with dust and insect nests. Alcott Chimney San Antonio has been providing Gas Fireplace Repair - San Antonio since 2002, and most repairs are completed in a single visit with a written price in your hand before we ever pick up a tool. Ruben Castellano leads a team that shows up on time, calls ahead, and finishes the job right. If your fireplace is acting up, call (903) 515-5079 and a live person will answer, day or night.
What Our Gas Fireplace Repair Service Includes
Gas fireplace repair covers a lot of ground, from a pilot light that won’t catch to a main burner that’s scorching the glass. Here’s what we handle most often in San Antonio homes, and how we approach each one.
Pilot Light and Ignition Repair
When a gas fireplace won’t start, the pilot assembly is the first place we look. In San Antonio, where hard water and mineral content in the air vary by neighborhood, pilot orifices develop a fine white crust that blocks the flame. We disassemble the pilot assembly, clean the orifice, verify the thermopile is producing the correct millivolt reading, and replace any component that’s out of spec. If your fireplace uses an electronic ignition module instead of a standing pilot, we test the module, the spark electrode, and the wiring harness, then replace only what actually failed. Most pilot and ignition repairs run 45 to 90 minutes on site.
Thermopile and Thermocouple Replacement
These are the small sensors that tell your gas valve it’s safe to keep gas flowing. When they wear out, the fireplace lights and then shuts off a few minutes later, or the pilot won’t stay lit at all. Thermocouples and thermopiles are wear items on every gas fireplace, and in San Antonio’s climate they typically need replacement every 7 to 10 years. We carry replacement thermopiles and thermocouples on the truck for most major brands, including units we service in Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills, and Castle Hills. The written estimate you receive before we begin will show the exact cost for the part and the labor separately, so there’s no guesswork.
Gas Valve and Control System Diagnosis
Gas valves fail slowly, and a sticking valve can produce a weak flame, delayed ignition, or a fireplace that runs when it shouldn’t. This is one repair where you want a technician who knows what they’re doing, because gas valve diagnosis requires reading inlet and outlet pressures with a manometer, not just swapping parts. We test the valve with a digital manometer, check the pilot safety circuit, and confirm the valve opens and closes fully before deciding whether it needs replacement or can be cleaned and adjusted. If a new valve is needed, we install a factory-spec replacement and test the entire system for leaks at every connection point with an electronic combustible gas detector.
Burner Cleaning and Flame Quality Correction
San Antonio’s dust, plus the spiders and mud daubers that find their way into vented gas logs every spring, leave burner ports clogged and flames looking weak and orange instead of crisp and blue. A lazy yellow flame means incomplete combustion, which puts more carbon monoxide into the room and soot onto your glass. We remove the burner assembly, clear every port with the appropriate tools, check the air shutter adjustment, and reposition the logs according to the manufacturer’s diagram. This is one of the most common repairs we perform in Boerne, Cibolo, and the hill country areas, where dust and pollen blow in through open vents for months at a time.
Venting Inspection and Blockage Removal
Every direct-vent gas fireplace pulls outside air for combustion and pushes exhaust back out through a coaxial pipe. Birds, leaves, and even tennis balls find their way into vent terminations, and a blocked vent can force carbon monoxide back into your living room. We inspect the full vent run from the fireplace to the exterior termination, clear debris, verify proper slope on horizontal vent runs, and replace any sections of vent pipe that are rusted or separated. In older San Antonio homes, particularly in Windcrest, Kirby, and Schertz, we regularly find vent pipe that was installed incorrectly decades ago and needs to be brought up to current code.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Styles & brands we work with
Brands We Service for Gas Fireplace Repair
We service and repair gas fireplaces from every major manufacturer, and we stock genuine OEM parts for the brands San Antonio homeowners own most. Famco gas valves and controls show up in a huge number of fireplace inserts and log sets across the city, and we’ve rebuilt enough of them over the years to know their failure points by heart. When a Famco valve starts sticking, we can usually tell you on the phone whether it’s worth repairing or if replacement makes more sense.
Copperfield and HeatShield are two more names we work with regularly. Copperfield venting components are common in direct-vent installations throughout San Antonio, and we keep the common connectors and termination caps on the truck to avoid a second trip. HeatShield’s ceramic resurfacing system is the product we turn to when a homeowner’s refractory panels have cracked but the fireplace structure is sound. Whether your fireplace is a DuraFlex-vented unit, a HeatShield retrofit, a Famco-controlled log set, or any other make, we’ll diagnose it the same way: test everything, show you the evidence, and give you a written price before any repair begins.
Signs You Need Gas Fireplace Repair Right Now
- Soot building up on the glass or logs. Black soot means incomplete combustion, which indicates a burner or venting problem. Left alone, it gets worse and can produce dangerous levels of carbon monoxide in the room.
- The fireplace smells like gas or rotten eggs when off. Mercaptan is the odorant added to natural gas, and smelling it means there’s a leak somewhere in the system. Call us immediately, and if the smell is strong, leave the house and call CenterPoint Energy first.
- The flame is mostly yellow or orange instead of blue. A healthy gas flame is blue with yellow tips. When the whole flame turns yellow and wobbly, the burner is dirty, the air shutter is misadjusted, or the vent is partially blocked.
- The pilot light won’t stay lit. This usually points to a failing thermocouple or thermopile, and the fix is straightforward and affordable. Ignoring it means your fireplace won’t work when you actually need it.
- You hear a loud bang or whoomp when it lights. Delayed ignition happens when gas builds up before the flame catches. It can crack firebrick, warp burner tubes, and in rare cases blow glass doors across the room. Have it checked before you use the fireplace again.
Our Gas Fireplace Repair Process – Step by Step
We built our process to remove the uncertainty that most San Antonio homeowners feel when they hire a repair company. Here’s exactly what happens when you book a gas fireplace repair with Alcott Chimney San Antonio.
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You call, and a live person answers. No automated menus, no hold music for 20 minutes. You’ll describe the problem, we’ll ask a few diagnostic questions, and we’ll schedule a visit at a time that works for you. You’ll also get the technician’s name and photo before we arrive, so you know exactly who’s coming to your door.
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We arrive and confirm identity at the door. Every Alcott technician carries a photo ID badge and will present it before stepping inside. The person at your door will be the same person you saw in the photo we sent. This is part of the Threshold Standard, and it’s non-negotiable.
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Diagnosis with real testing equipment. We don’t guess. The diagnostic includes a manometer test for gas pressure, millivolt readings on the thermopile, visual inspection of the burner and logs, and a full venting check. We show you what we find and explain what each reading means.
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Written price before any work begins. Once the diagnosis is complete, you get a written estimate that itemizes parts and labor separately. No work happens until you’ve seen the number and approved it. If the repair makes no sense financially, we’ll tell you that too, and we’ll explain your options honestly.
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Repair, testing, and cleanup. We complete the repair, test the fireplace through several full cycles, verify proper flame color and carbon monoxide levels, and clean up the work area. Before we leave, you’ll get a written guarantee on the repair and instructions on how to reach us if anything comes up.
See the difference
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AfterHow Much Does Gas Fireplace Repair Cost in San Antonio?
A typical gas fireplace repair in San Antonio runs $125 to $450 depending on what’s wrong. Pilot assembly cleaning and thermocouple replacement usually lands in the $125 to $225 range. Thermopile replacement runs $175 to $300. Gas valve replacement is the big one, typically $350 to $500 parts and labor combined, because the valve itself is expensive no matter who installs it. Burner cleaning and air shutter adjustment tends to fall between $150 and $250. These ranges reflect what we see across the city, from Leon Valley to Converse.
What actually affects the price is straightforward: the specific part that failed, the cost of that part from the manufacturer, and how long the repair takes. We don’t pad labor or mark up parts beyond what’s fair. The written estimate you approve before we start is the price you pay, period. Our free estimate includes the full diagnostic, so even if you decide not to proceed with the repair, you’ll know exactly what’s wrong and what it would cost to fix. Call (903) 515-5079 to schedule yours.
Gas Fireplace Repair Near San Antonio – Our Service Area
Alcott Chimney San Antonio serves the entire San Antonio metro area, including Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills, Castle Hills, Windcrest, Kirby, Leon Valley, and Converse. We also travel to Boerne and the surrounding hill country, and we keep regular routes through Schertz and Cibolo. Most gas fireplace repair appointments are scheduled within 48 hours, and we offer extended hours for homeowners who can’t take time off work. If you’re in the San Antonio area and your fireplace isn’t working right, you can also visit our home page to see our full range of services. For homeowners in nearby communities, our Gas Fireplace Repair in Schertz and Gas Fireplace Repair in Cibolo pages have local details specific to those areas.
Serving San Antonio, TX - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Antonio area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
Frequently Asked Questions – Gas Fireplace Repair in San Antonio
Gas fireplace repair is any service that restores a gas fireplace to safe, proper working condition, including pilot light repair, thermopile replacement, gas valve replacement, burner cleaning, and venting repairs. In San Antonio, where fireplaces sit unused for months, repairs most often address components that fail from disuse, dust, and insect intrusion. Our technicians diagnose the specific fault using professional testing equipment, then complete the repair with a written guarantee.
Most gas fireplace repairs in San Antonio take between 45 minutes and 2 hours on site. Simple fixes like thermocouple replacement or pilot cleaning are usually done in under an hour. Gas valve replacement and venting repairs can take 2 to 3 hours because they require more disassembly and safety testing. We’ll give you a time estimate when you call so you can plan your day around the visit.
Gas fireplace repair in San Antonio typically runs $125 to $500 depending on the part that failed and the labor involved. Pilot cleaning and thermocouple replacement run $125 to $225, thermopile replacement runs $175 to $300, gas valve replacement runs $350 to $500, and burner cleaning runs $150 to $250. Your written estimate will show the exact cost for your specific repair before any work begins. Call (903) 515-5079 for a free diagnostic and exact quote.
Yes, we service gas fireplaces from every major manufacturer, including units with Famco valves, Copperfield venting, DuraFlex liners, and HeatShield resurfacing systems. Most parts we install are OEM, not generic substitutes, and we keep common components on the truck to complete most repairs in one visit. If you’re not sure what brand your fireplace is, send us a photo when you call and we’ll identify it for you.
If you smell gas or the fireplace is producing visible soot, that’s an urgent situation that needs attention right away. Our phones are answered by a live person 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so you can reach us at 11 p.m. if something smells wrong. We’ll assess the situation over the phone and help you determine whether you need immediate service, whether the gas should be shut off, and what to do next.
Every gas fireplace repair we complete comes with a written guarantee. If the repair fails within the coverage period, the second visit is free, and we make it right under our 365-Day Done Right Promise. The guarantee is included at no extra charge on every repair, and we’ll explain exactly what it covers before we leave your home.
Clear the area around the fireplace so our technician has room to work, and make sure we can access the gas shutoff valve if you know where it is. If you have pets, we appreciate them being secured in another room during the visit. Most importantly, if you can, take a photo of your fireplace and its model number before the appointment, so we can bring the right parts on the first trip. That’ll save you time and money.
Schedule Your Gas Fireplace Repair Service in San Antonio Today
If your gas fireplace is acting up, don’t wait until the first cold night to find out it won’t light. Call Alcott Chimney San Antonio at (903) 515-5079 and a live person will answer right away. We’ll schedule your repair, send you the technician’s name and photo before the visit, and give you a written price before any work starts. Every repair comes with our 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing. That’s how we’ve been doing it since 2002.
Written by Ruben Castellano, Owner at Alcott Chimney San Antonio, serving San Antonio since 2002.