Sweep & inspection
Caps & crowns
Flue relining
Masonry repair
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.
Fast, Reliable Chimney Sweep Across Alamo Heights
A standard chimney sweep in Alamo Heights runs $189 – $319 depending on how many flues you have, and most homes here have two or three. That’s the reality of living in a neighborhood built mostly between 1920 and 1965: original masonry fireplaces, multiple flues sharing one chase, and decades of creosote layered inside. We know Alamo Heights chimneys because we work on them constantly, from the brick two-stories near Broadway to the stone and stucco homes winding up from Nacogdoches Road. Call (903) 515-5079 and you’ll get a live person who can tell you exactly what a sweep of your specific chimney will cost before we ever roll a truck.
Why Alcott Chimney San Antonio Is Alamo Heights’s Preferred Chimney Sweep Company
Alamo Heights homeowners tend to ask the same questions before booking: who exactly is coming to my house, what will they do, and what if they find something wrong? We answer all three before the appointment. Every Alcott technician is background-checked and identity-verified under our Threshold Standard. You’ll get the technician’s name and photo before the visit, and they’ll show you a photo ID badge at the door before stepping inside. No exceptions, every single time.
Ruben Castellano runs our operation, and he built it in 2002 on a simple idea: show people the proof. That means a written price before any work begins, a written guarantee on every repair we perform, and a 365-day promise covering every completed job. If a repair we made fails within that year, the second visit is free. Homeowners in Alamo Heights with older masonry chimneys appreciate that kind of accountability because they’ve lived through enough “surprise” invoices from other trades.
When you call about a chimney in Alamo Heights, we know the streets you’re talking about. The narrow, tree-lined blocks off Broadway. The steep driveways on Arvin and Estes. The older stone homes along Wildonnell and Robinhood with custom caps and spark arrestors that don’t come off a shelf. That’s not trivia. It changes how we park, what equipment we bring, and how carefully we handle your cap when we set the brush to work.
Styles & brands we work with
Chimney Maintenance in Alamo Heights
Chimney Maintenance in Alamo Heights isn’t a seasonal afterthought, it’s an annual requirement for homes with original masonry fireplaces that still see weekend use from November through February. The job involves inspecting the flue interior, checking the mortar crown and cap, inspecting the damper for smooth operation, and sweeping out the accumulation of soot and creosote that builds fastest in humid, closed-damper months. Most Alamo Heights homes need this every year, even if the fireplace only gets lit fifteen or twenty times a season.
Annual Sweep and Condition Check
We sweep the flue and smoke chamber, then do a visual inspection of the firebox, damper, and cap. On older brick and stone chimneys in Alamo Heights, we look specifically for efflorescence, the white mineral staining that signals moisture working through the masonry. We’ll tell you if we see it and whether it needs attention now or can wait.
Moisture and Masonry Monitoring
Humidity and heavy rain do more damage to Alamo Heights chimneys than fire does. Water gets in through cracked crowns, deteriorated flashing, or porous mortar, then the next cold snap forces it to expand and spall the brick face. Our maintenance visits include a check of the crown and flashing, so you know before a small crack becomes a rebuild.
Chimney Sweep Services in Alamo Heights
Chimney Sweep Services in Alamo Heights begin with a simple question: how many flues does your chimney actually serve? In this neighborhood, the answer is often two. A 1950s brick home may run a wood-burning flue in the living room and a separate flue for a converted gas log in the den, both inside the same masonry chase. We sweep each flue that needs it, not just the one you use most. The wood side typically costs $189 – $259 per flue, and if both need attention, you’re looking at $289 – $319 for the full job.
Creosote and Soot Removal
Creosote, the tar-like residue that condenses inside the flue, is what actually burns in a chimney fire. First-degree creosote brushes out relatively easily. Third-degree creosote, the hard glazed stuff we occasionally find in Alamo Heights chimneys that have gone years between sweeps, requires mechanical removal and sometimes chemical treatment. We’ll show you what came out and what it means for your specific fireplace.
Fireplace Cleaning
The fireplace itself needs attention too, not just the flue above it. We remove built-up ash, clean the firebox, and check the damper for rust or misalignment. On gas-converted fireplaces, we confirm the log set sits correctly and the damper is locked open as code requires, because a blocked damper on gas is how carbon monoxide ends up back in the room.
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.
Trusted Brands We Service in Alamo Heights
We stock and install the trade brands chimney professionals actually specify, and we service them across Alamo Heights. If your chimney has a DuraFlex stainless liner, we inspect and clean it properly instead of yanking a wire brush through a system that needs measured care. For older masonry chimneys with heat damage, HeatShield resurfacing restores a smooth, insulated flue without a full rebuild. We also work on Gelco and Olympia Chimney components, including the custom caps and dampers we see on so many Alamo Heights homes. Because we keep these parts in our San Antonio inventory, turnaround on a repair is days, not weeks. That matters when you’re watching rain hit a leaking flashing.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterCommon Chimney Sweep Problems We See in Alamo Heights Homes
- Multiple flues with different conditions. A single Alamo Heights chimney often serves a wood fire and a gas log, and the two flues age differently. The wood side accumulates creosote, while the gas side corrodes the damper and flashing. We inspect each one separately, not as one system.
- Unlined or deteriorating flues in pre-1940 homes. Many of the original brick homes in Alamo Heights were built before clay tile liners were universal. Without a proper liner, heat and moisture work directly against the masonry. A standard sweep can feel like a bandage if we don’t also tell you honestly what the flue wall looks like inside.
- Custom caps and spark arrestors that need careful handling. Alamo Heights homeowners invest in distinctive copper and steel caps, often machined to fit a non-standard flue size. A heavy rotary brush can bend the mesh. We inspect the cap before we start and handle it accordingly, because replacing a custom cap isn’t a trip to the hardware store.
- Spalling and efflorescence from seasonal moisture. Brick and stone chimneys absorb water during humid stretches and heavy rain, then release it during winter cold snaps. That cycle is why we see flaking brick faces and white mineral staining all over Alamo Heights. We document it during the sweep and tell you whether it’s cosmetic, or whether water is getting where it shouldn’t.
Pricing for Chimney Sweep in Alamo Heights, TX
Here’s what Alamo Heights homeowners actually pay us. A single-flue sweep runs $189 – $259. Two flues in the same chimney, which is common in this neighborhood, run $289 – $319. If you need a Level 1 inspection bundled with the sweep, that typically adds $75 – $110. A Level 2 inspection, the one we recommend for any Alamo Heights home that hasn’t been inspected in more than three years or is changing fuel type, runs $190 – $290. These are written prices you’ll see before we start, not estimates that grow during the visit. Call (903) 515-5079 for a free estimate on your specific chimney, and we’ll give you a number based on the flue count and access we’ll see at your place.
We Also Serve Cities Near Alamo Heights
Our crews serve Alamo Heights and the surrounding metro from our San Antonio office, which keeps response times tight. You’ll find our Chimney Sweep team working regularly in San Antonio, Schertz, Cibolo, and Boerne as well. If you’re just outside Alamo Heights, call (903) 515-5079 and ask, because we’re likely already scheduled on your street this week.
Serving Alamo Heights, TX - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Alamo Heights area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About Chimney Sweep in Alamo Heights
Most larger Alamo Heights homes have two or three fireplaces, which often means two flues sharing one chimney chase or separate chimneys entirely. Yes, each flue that has been used needs its own sweep, because creosote and soot accumulate differently in each one depending on how often it’s lit and what’s burned in it. We price per flue, and on a one-chimney, two-flue home, the total typically runs $289 – $319. Call (903) 515-5079 and tell us your fireplace count, and we’ll give you an exact written price.
Homes built in Alamo Heights before roughly 1940 frequently have chimneys without a modern clay tile or steel liner, especially the smaller, older masonry homes. An unlined flue means the heat and gases pass directly against the brick and mortar, so we sweep more conservatively and watch closely for cracked joints, spalling, and heat transfer into surrounding framing. We’ll tell you plainly whether the flue should be lined, and we won’t push a liner you can’t see the evidence for.
Yes, and Alamo Heights has a lot of these conversions. The sweep on a gas-converted chimney is different: we clean the flue of any residue, then inspect the damper to confirm it’s locked open as code requires. We also check the gas line, log set, and venting path. Many of these conversions we see are on original 1950s masonry fireplaces, and the old wood-burning flue often still has creosote from decades ago that should be removed even though the fire is now gas. Call (903) 515-5079 for a free estimate on a gas-converted chimney, and we’ll give you a straightforward price before we start.
We recommend an annual sweep for any flue you use, and a Level 2 inspection every two to three years for a home with multiple fireplaces, especially if any are original to the house. Alamo Heights homes with 1920s – 1960s masonry construction and several flues in one chase hide problems between the flues, not just inside them. A Level 2 inspection includes video scanning of the flue interior, which shows us cracking, spalling, or glaze that a visual check from below can miss. If your home hasn’t had a Level 2 in the last three years, that’s the next step, and we’ll show you the footage ourselves.
They do, and this is one of the first things we note when we arrive. Custom copper and steel caps on Alamo Heights chimneys are often sized to non-standard flues and built with finer mesh than off-the-shelf arrestors. We remove or work around the cap carefully, never forcing a heavy brush through it, because bending that mesh means replacing a cap that may not exist anywhere except in a fabricator’s shop. If your cap is custom, we’ll tell you what we’re doing before we touch it. Call (903) 515-5079 and ask us about your cap specifically, we’ll let you know what to expect.
If you own an older masonry home in Alamo Heights, your chimney deserves a sweep team that knows what a multi-flue, custom-cap, moisture-prone system actually requires. Call (903) 515-5079 for a free estimate. A live person answers, and you’ll get a written price before any work begins, along with the name and photo of the technician coming to your door.
Written by Ruben Castellano, Owner at Alcott Chimney San Antonio, serving Alamo Heights homeowners with verified technicians since 2002.