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 Westchester
If you own one of the 1950s or 60s brick ranches or split-levels that fill Westchester’s grid, chances are your fireplace still runs through its original clay tile flue. Most of those flues are now 60+ years old and were never retrofitted with a modern stainless liner. That’s exactly what our Chimney Sweep team works with week after week here. We’re based in Cicero, so a Westchester call doesn’t sit on a dispatch board for days. Call (866) 361-2607 and Norm Sulecki will talk you through what you’re seeing before we ever send a truck out.
Why Wexford Chimney Sweep Is Westchester’s Preferred Chimney Sweep Company
Westchester homeowners call us because we treat an old chimney as something to diagnose, not something to automatically replace. The dense postwar housing stock around 60154 means we see the same conditions over and over: unlined clay tile flues, spalling brick crowns, uncapped stacks a few feet from the neighbor’s roofline. When a Westchester customer calls, we already know what to look for before we knock on the door.
Our reputation in Westchester is built on what we don’t do: we don’t hand you a reline quote before a camera has been down the flue. We don’t sweep the firebox and call the job done when there’s glazed creosote farther up. Homeowners here have told us they’d rather pay for an honest assessment than a fast upsell, and that’s the standard we work to.
Norm Sulecki started Wexford Chimney Sweep to offer what most one-visit cleaning crews can’t: the sweep, the camera inspection, and the repair under one company. The techs know Westchester’s housing stock because they’ve been inside hundreds of these exact ranches and split-levels. That matters when a clay tile cracked in 1978 and nobody has looked at it since.
Styles & brands we work with
Chimney Sweep Certified in Westchester
Chimney Sweep Certified in Westchester means we’re pulling creosote, soot, and debris from flues that have often never been properly cleaned since the house was built. The job involves laying drop cloths through the living room, running rotary rods and brushes up through the firebox and smoke chamber, and vacuuming with a HEPA-rated unit so ash doesn’t drift through the house. A standard sweep in Westchester typically runs $225 – $350 depending on flue condition and whether we’re also clearing a cap or crown. If we find third-degree creosote glazed onto the flue wall, that’s a separate removal process because it won’t brush off.
Creosote and Soot Removal
After a Westchester winter with the fireplace running November through March, creosote builds in stages. First-degree is dusty and harmless. Third-degree is a hard, shiny glaze that burns like fuel if a chimney fire starts. Our techs will tell you which stage you’re looking at, show you what came out of the flue, and only then suggest next steps.
Annual Sweep Before Burning Season
A 1950s clay tile flue that gets used for five months straight needs an annual sweep at minimum. Book in September or early October, before the cold sets in and before squirrels start looking for a warm stack to nest in. Waiting until December means whatever settled in there over spring and summer has already been baked on by the first fires.
Gas Fireplace Cleaning in Westchester
Gas Fireplace Cleaning in Westchester gets overlooked because there’s no visible creosote, but gas appliances vent into the same masonry stacks that old wood-burning systems use. The job means removing the glass, cleaning the burner and pilot assembly, brushing the venting, and checking for the acidic condensation that gas exhaust leaves behind. That condensation eats at clay tile mortar over time. A gas fireplace cleaning in Westchester runs $175 – $275, and if the unit vents into an original unlined masonry stack, we’ll run a camera up to check what that exhaust has been doing to the tile.
Venting Check for Split-Levels
Split-levels in Westchester often route gas exhaust through an interior masonry chase that bends before it exits the roof. Those bends collect soot and debris that wood-burning flues don’t see as much of. We check the full vent path, not just the firebox, because that’s where airflow problems start.
Log Sets and Burner Servicing
Gas logs that haven’t been serviced produce a lazy yellow flame and can leave soot on the glass. During a gas fireplace cleaning we pull the log set, clean each piece, and confirm the burner ports are clear. It’s part of the same visit, not a separate trip.
Trusted Brands We Service in Westchester
We stock and install professional-grade product lines, not hardware-store substitutes. That means DuraFlex flexible liner systems for relining work, Westchester HeatShield service for flue restoration when a full reline isn’t necessary, and Famco caps and covers when a Westchester chimney top needs to be sealed against the squirrels that travel along the parkway trees. These are the brands credentialed chimney contractors use nationwide. For Westchester customers, having them available locally means a repair we identify on Tuesday can often be scheduled the same week without waiting on a parts order from across the country.
See the difference
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After
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After
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AfterCommon Chimney Sweep Problems We See in Westchester Homes
- Uncapped stacks near neighboring rooflines. Westchester’s compact lots put chimney tops close to the house next door, and squirrels, birds, and debris move roof-to-roof along the mature parkway trees. We regularly pull nests out of flues that were never fitted with a cap.
- Cracked clay tile flues that nobody has ever inspected. These ranches and split-levels were built with clay tile liners that are now 60+ years old. Heat stress from decades of Chicago winters cracks the tile, and the cracks let heat and gases reach the surrounding masonry.
- Third-degree creosote glazed onto unlined flues. Heavy use from November through March bakes creosote into a hard glaze that a standard brush won’t move. It’s common in Westchester fireplaces that burn soft woods or aren’t swept annually.
- Spalling brick and deteriorating crowns. Spring thaw cycles and summer humidity work water into the masonry, and the freeze-thaw cracking shows up as flaking brick faces and crumbling crown mortar. Unaddressed, it lets water into the flue and accelerates the damage.
Pricing for Chimney Sweep in Westchester, IL
A standard chimney sweep in Westchester runs $225 – $350. Gas fireplace cleaning runs $175 – $275. A Level 1 inspection is included with every sweep. A Level 2 inspection, which involves camera scanning the full flue interior, runs $150 – $250 on its own and is what we recommend whenever a Westchester homeowner is buying a house, changing fuel type, or has never had the original clay tile flue inspected. If we find a crack during the sweep, we’ll show you the footage on the monitor before we discuss any repair. That’s the standard. Call (866) 361-2607 for a free estimate and we’ll quote the job before anyone shows up.
We Also Serve Cities Near Westchester
If you’re a few blocks outside the 60154 ZIP in Broadview, La Grange Park, Brookfield, or Maywood, we cover those streets too. The same camera-first standard applies. Whether you’re in Chimney Sweep in Westchester or just over the village line, we’ll bring the same equipment and the same no-upsell discipline.
Serving Westchester, IL — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Westchester 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 Westchester
No. A clay tile flue that is intact and in good condition does not need a stainless liner just because it’s old. The only way to know is to run a camera down the full flue and look at every tile section. If the tiles are cracked or missing mortar joints, then we’ll discuss options, and HeatShield restoration is often possible without a full reline. Anyone who quotes a reline before showing you camera footage of your flue’s interior is selling you something you haven’t seen with your own eyes. Call (866) 361-2607 and we’ll schedule a Level 2 inspection first.
It comes down to cap coverage and proximity to trees. In Westchester’s grid, a split-level without a chimney cap sits open to whatever drops from the parkway trees, and squirrels travel those mature canopies roof-to-roof. A capped stack stays clear. If your stack has no cap or a damaged one, we can fit a Famco cap that keeps nests out year-round.
Yes, especially if the flue is unlined and the fires burn low and slow. Third-degree creosote forms when smoke condenses on a cool flue wall, and an unlined clay tile flue in a Westchester winter stays cold between fires. Burning soft wood or not getting the fire hot enough speeds it up. A standard brush sweep will not remove it, so expect an additional creosote removal step if we find it during your annual sweep.
A Level 2 inspection involves running a camera through the full flue from firebox to chimney top, looking at the crown, the cap, and the flue walls. You need a Level 2 when you’re buying a Westchester home, when you’ve changed fuel type, after a chimney fire, or if you’ve lived in the house for years and have never had the clay tile flue checked. A Level 1 is a visual inspection we do with every sweep, but it can’t see what the camera sees inside a 60+ year-old flue.
Yes. Gas exhaust carries acidic moisture that condenses on cold clay tile flue walls, and over years that condensation breaks down the mortar between tiles. A gas fireplace that vents into an unlined masonry stack in a Westchester ranch should be checked regularly, not skipped because there’s no creosote. A cleaning and camera check of that vent path is much cheaper than repairing a collapsed flue later. Call (866) 361-2607 to get it on the schedule.
Written by Norm Sulecki, Owner at Wexford Chimney Sweep, serving Westchester and surrounding communities since our founding in Cicero.