Give Us Your City First
Send your name, number and city, and when you usually light the first fire. We call back with a day we are nearby.
How We Plan the Route From Sherman Oaks
Sherman Oaks is where Blackstone Chimney Sweep is based, so it fills first when the fall booking season opens. Studio City and Encino sit on either side of it, and Burbank and Woodland Hills sit at the two ends of our Valley run. Calabasas, Simi Valley, Glendale and Pasadena are longer drives, so we group those visits onto set days.
Wherever you are, the plan is the same: a date before the first fire for the sweep and inspection, and repairs in the next dry stretch. Tell us your city and when you usually light the first fire, and we will find a day we are already close by.
our home base in the middle of the San Fernando Valley
Sherman Oaks
Blackstone Chimney Sweep is based in Sherman Oaks, so the fall calendar fills from here first. A hillside chimney here can stand well above the roof and needs proper access gear, so we give those visits a full morning slot. Down on the valley floor, many houses have a factory-built fireplace, and those visits are shorter and easier to fit into a busy week.
the next community east of our Sherman Oaks base
Studio City
Studio City is a short hop east along Ventura Boulevard from Sherman Oaks, so a Studio City visit often shares a day with one at home. Plenty of houses here still have the brick chimney they were built with in the 1940s through the 1960s. We would rather keep that brick in shape on a steady yearly plan than wait until it needs a big repair.
the next stop west of Sherman Oaks along the Valley
Encino
Encino sits right next to Sherman Oaks, so it shares our busiest booking weeks in the fall. Larger lots here often carry the original indoor fireplace plus an outdoor fire feature built much later. We put both on one visit and one report, so the next due date covers the whole property, not just the living room.
east across the Valley from Sherman Oaks, under the Verdugo Mountains
Burbank
Burbank is the eastern edge of our Valley route, and Burbank visits go on the same days as Studio City and Toluca Lake. Many homes here were built in the 1940s and 1950s with factory-built fireplaces, and the right replacement part depends on the unit's maker and model. We write the model down on the first visit, so a later repair can be ordered ahead and done in one trip.
the far west end of the Valley, out past Encino and Tarzana
Woodland Hills
Woodland Hills is a longer drive west from Sherman Oaks, so we try to fill a Woodland Hills day with two or three visits close together. Homes that back onto the canyons sit in some of the more exposed fire country we cover, and older caps there often came before today's spark arrestor screens.
the rest of the city Sherman Oaks belongs to, over the hills to the south and east
Los Angeles
Sherman Oaks is part of the City of Los Angeles, so chimney permits on either side of the hill go through the same Department of Building and Safety. Our Los Angeles bookings come mostly from the neighborhoods just over the hill, where many chimneys were laid up in the 1920s and 1930s. Permit time has to fit the calendar too, so we plan rebuilds there well ahead of the rainy months.
Santa Monica Mountains parkland on one side, the freeway on the other
Agoura Hills
Half of Agoura Hills went up before 1979, right where masonry gave way to metal fireboxes. Knowing which one you own decides everything, so we read the unit's label before planning any repair.
San Gabriel Valley's streetcar-era west end, between the 10 and 710
Alhambra
Early Alhambra was laid out for streetcar commuters, and about a third of its housing predates 1950. A brick flue that old deserves a camera look before anyone relights it, whether the owner lives there or rents it out.
Baldwin's old rancho below the San Gabriel Mountains
Arcadia
Lucky Baldwin's rancho became roomy Arcadia tracts over several decades, so one street may hold brick flues and the next a factory-built box. We sort out which you have first, since parts and repair plans differ completely.
Pioneer Boulevard's dairy-country city, crossed by the 91
Artesia
Dairy pasture turned into Artesia's tract streets, and roughly three quarters of the homes are older than 1980. Plenty of those block chimneys now hold gas logs, which still need an open flue and a sound liner.
Catalina Island's harbor town across the channel
Avalon
More than half of Avalon was built before 1950, with hardly any detached lots, so chimneys here can be old and tightly packed in. Because the town is about 56 miles from Sherman Oaks and over water, visits get planned well ahead.
Route 66 foothill city below the national forest
Azusa
Half of Azusa's housing was standing by 1970, the point when metal fireboxes started replacing brick. Newer units need their label read and parts ordered, while the older stacks get a camera up the flue.
post-war San Gabriel Valley suburb on old walnut land
Baldwin Park
After the war, citrus and walnut land filled quickly with tract streets. Those stucco ranch houses usually got a plain brick or block chimney, and decades on, many hold gas logs. The liner above deserves a look either way.
dense southeast county city beside the Los Angeles River
Bell
Renters outnumber owners about three to one in Bell, so a chimney question here often lands with a landlord. Those 1920s to 1940s bungalow stacks are site-built brick, and worn mortar is what to watch first.
Rio Hondo city of small rentals and bungalows
Bell Gardens
Roughly 8 in 10 Bell Gardens households rent, and many lots have grown extra units behind the original bungalow. If that older house has a brick fireplace, its stack may be the oldest thing on the property.
former dairy town on the San Gabriel River's west bank
Bellflower
Farms became Bellflower tracts quickly in the 1940s and 1950s, leaving rows of brick or block chimneys now about seventy years old. Many hold gas logs today, and a camera shows whether the flue still does its work.
1920s and 1930s Flats just over the hills
Beverly Hills
Much of the Flats was built in the 1920s and 1930s, so a Tudor or Spanish Revival house here probably has its original site-built brick. Scaffolding and matching old masonry take planning, which is why repairs get scheduled well ahead.
one of the valley's tiniest cities, roughly 350 homes at the foothills
Bradbury
With only about 350 housing units, nearly all detached and owned, Bradbury is a small place to generalize about. Most homes post-date 1950, and each chimney gets judged on what the label or the brick says.
the western end of our Valley route on the 101, in the Santa Monica Mountains
Calabasas
Calabasas is the far end of our Valley calendar, so we group visits here onto one day. Many homes from the 1970s and 1980s have factory-built fireboxes framed into the wall, and each one carries a label with a model number. We read that label on the first visit, so the right part can be ordered before the repair date instead of after it.
Owensmouth once, now a Los Angeles neighborhood in the west Valley
Canoga Park
A few 1910s bungalows from the Owensmouth days still stand among Canoga Park's later ranch tracts. Since this is the City of Los Angeles, chimney rebuilds run through the same permit office as Sherman Oaks.
South Bay city of owners around Dominguez Hills
Carson
Owners live in roughly three quarters of Carson's homes, unusually high for the South Bay. That points to long-term care decisions, so an inspection maps out what the brick needs now and what can wait.
master-planned city where dairies once stood, beside two freeways
Cerritos
Cerritos was dairy country until master-planned tracts filled it in during the 1960s and 1970s, so the houses are similar in age. Later ones may hold metal fireboxes, and reading the label tells us which parts to order.
college town climbing toward Padua Hills in the foothills
Claremont
Incorporated in 1907, Claremont has an older core where 1920s to 1940s houses tend to have site-built brick. Hillside homes above town, in Padua Hills and Claraboya, add steeper access to plan for at about 42 miles out.
mostly warehouses and freeways, with only a few residential streets
Commerce
Commerce is known more for its freeways and casino than for housing, with a population around 12,000. Rosewood and Bandini hold the homes, often post-war houses with one brick or block chimney and sometimes gas logs.
long-established southeast county city, incorporated in 1888
Compton
Compton dates back to 1888, and older sections mix pre-war bungalows with later post-war stacks. Horse lots at Richland Farms give more room to work than most city streets, but a chimney's age still decides the inspection plan.
east San Gabriel Valley tract city with a Googie landmark
Covina
Tract streets in Covina mostly went up in the 1950s and 1960s, each ranch house with a brick or block chimney, and pre-1950 homes are rare at about 5 percent. Gas logs are a common later change, and the flue still needs checking.
small, heavily rented city in the southeast county
Cudahy
Cudahy has one of the highest rental shares around, with only about 14 percent of households owning. Many lots now hold a front house plus added units, so a chimney may serve only one small part of the property.
hillside and tract neighborhoods along Ballona Creek
Culver City
Fox Hills condo buildings from the 1970s often rely on factory-built metal units, whereas older Carlson Park and Sunkist Park houses tend toward masonry. At about 10 miles from Sherman Oaks, the first task is telling which of those you have.
Puente Hills suburb named for an old ranch brand
Diamond Bar
Roughly half this city went up after 1980, and metal fireboxes in framed chases are common here. Each carries a model label, and that number tells us whether parts can be ordered before a repair date.
post-war farm town turned aerospace suburb
Downey
Downey grew from farm town to aerospace suburb in the 1940s and 1950s, and half its homes date from before 1959. Those solid brick or block stacks often hold gas logs now, which makes the flue easy to forget about.
old citrus town below the foothills, on the Metro A Line
Duarte
Citrus land became Duarte's ranch streets from the 1950s through the 1970s, and about 72 percent of homes predate 1980. Hillside houses add more exposed chimneys, so those get their ladder plan worked out ahead of time.
transit-hub city on the San Gabriel Valley floor
El Monte
Small stucco houses on tight lots are common in El Monte, and about one home in five predates 1950. Those older chimneys are site-built brick, so mortar wear and old quake cracks are the things to rule out first.
small South Bay beach town beside the aerospace firms
El Segundo
West of Sepulveda the grid holds modest bungalows and post-war houses, about a fifth of them older than 1950. Apartments and condos make up much of the rest, and those often have a different fireplace type altogether.
card-club city in the central South Bay
Gardena
Gardena's small ranch houses commonly came with a brick or block stack, and some have since traded wood for gas logs. Older bungalows add a second generation of masonry, so the age of the house tells us where to begin.
Verdugo foothill city east of Burbank along the 134
Glendale
Glendale is the east end of our route along the 134, so Glendale visits go on days we are already in Burbank. Spanish revival homes from the 1920s often wrap the brick chimney in stucco, which hides cracks until a water stain shows up inside. A yearly camera look up the flue, booked before the rains, finds those cracks first.
foothill city calling itself the Pride of the Foothills
Glendora
Flat parts of Glendora are largely tract housing from the post-war boom, and roughly 80 percent of the city predates 1980. Those stacks are worth a camera before each season, because gas log conversions can hide a neglected flue.
tiny, densely settled city on the county's southeast edge
Hawaiian Gardens
Hawaiian Gardens fits nearly 14,000 people into a tiny footprint, with small post-war stucco houses and apartments side by side. Where a house has a fireplace at all, it is usually modest, and a single inspection answers most questions.
mostly rentals around Jack Northrop Field in the South Bay
Hawthorne
Barely one Hawthorne home in four is detached, so a fireplace here may belong to a landlord or a building. Where a post-war house remains, its brick or block stack usually needs ordinary attention at the crown.
small beach city of walk streets and sand lots
Hermosa Beach
On Hermosa's walk streets a surviving cottage may sit right beside a tall new rebuild, so chimney work means very different things door to door. Cramped lots also change how materials get to the roof, which we plan before the date.
guarded equestrian enclave at the Valley's western edge
Hidden Hills
About 740 detached homes sit behind the gates here, and older ranch houses with masonry stacks stand alongside the custom homes that replaced others. A large rebuild may also have several fireplaces, so we list each before scheduling work.
Henry Huntington's namesake along the old streetcar line, densely settled
Huntington Park
Huntington Park filled in early, with streetcar-era cottages lining blocks that later gained apartments. Over 4 in 10 homes are older than 1950, so plenty of Spanish Revival stucco here may be hiding brick that nobody has seen in decades.
warehouse and factory city with almost no housing
Industry
Warehouses and factories fill the City of Industry, and only about 210 people live here. Any fireplace is likely a one-off, so this page mostly serves the few homes present and owners of older properties who need a single careful inspection.
1880s townsite grown around Market Street and SoFi Stadium
Inglewood
Inglewood had two big building waves, one in the 1920s and another after the war, and most households rent. A 1920s stack and a 1950s apartment flue age differently, so we ask about the building's date before anything else.
quarry and industry city with scattered houses
Irwindale
Gravel pits and plants dominate Irwindale, whose population sits below 1,400. Homes stand in scattered pockets, mostly detached and owned, and about 1 in 8 is older than 1950, so each chimney calls for a look on its own terms.
foothill estates and suburbs along the 210 at 1,200 feet
La Canada Flintridge
Senator Flint began laying out these hillside estates in the 1920s, and period houses here may carry more than one tall brick stack. With about 94 percent of homes detached and owned, a yearly camera look fits how people keep these houses.
one-acre lots and brush canyons up in the Puente Hills
La Habra Heights
Lots of one acre or more and steep access define La Habra Heights, where custom homes may hide a masonry stack well away from the road. Access gets worked out on the phone first, because it shapes what equipment comes along.
old olive land turned tract city, home to Biola University
La Mirada
Ranch and olive land became these tract streets by the 1960s, leaving half the city's homes older than 1960. Owner-occupied streets like these tend to keep the same chimney for life, so periodic checks catch slow wear before it spreads.
walnut-grove suburb named for Rancho La Puente
La Puente
Walnut groves gave way to La Puente's tracts in the post-war years, and half the homes date from before 1958. Where the builder added a fireplace, it is usually brick or block, and at that age the crown has seen plenty.
Old Town city at the foot of Marshall Canyon
La Verne
Half of La Verne was built before 1976, so masonry and factory-built units both turn up. Custom homes in the northern foothills add wind exposure and trickier access, and those details go into the booking at about 39 miles from Sherman Oaks.
Long Beach neighbor built for early Douglas Aircraft families
Lakewood
Lakewood's small tract houses repeat a few floor plans, and half of them date to 1957 or earlier. That repetition cuts both ways, since the chimney is usually familiar in layout, yet nearly seven decades of owners and remodels may have changed it.
Antelope Valley city up in the high desert
Lancaster
Aerospace growth left Lancaster with 1950s and 1960s masonry stacks, though most homes here postdate 1980. Newer tract houses tend toward factory-built units, so the visit starts by working out which type you own.
tight South Bay lots along Hawthorne Boulevard, close to the ocean
Lawndale
Small houses, duplexes and apartments crowd these narrow lots, and over a third of households own. A chimney often stands close to a neighbor's wall, which affects ladder placement, so we ask about the side yard ahead of the visit.
former farm fields below the Palos Verdes Peninsula, three miles inland
Lomita
Farm fields around Lomita filled in slowly from the 1940s through the 1970s, so masonry ages vary street by street. Half the homes went up before 1967, and those single-story roofs usually make a crown or cap easy to reach.
big harbor city rebuilt after its 1933 earthquake
Long Beach
The 1933 quake reshaped this city, and many older houses have chimneys damaged or rebuilt since. Downtown towers and east side tracts add other fireplace types, so at 30 miles from Sherman Oaks, knowing your neighborhood and era helps plan the trip.
dairy-named city in the older southeast county
Lynwood
Close to half of Lynwood predates 1950, a high share even around here. A stucco bungalow may wrap its chimney so it looks fine from outside while mortar has been wearing away inside.
canyon and beach city on the Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu
Malibu runs from oceanfront houses to canyon homes, and some of those older masonry chimneys were lost in past fires. A chimney still standing after a burn needs a real look, while rebuilds should have their factory-built unit identified by label.
cool beach streets above The Strand
Manhattan Beach
Tall new homes have replaced many old cottages on these narrow lots, and most rebuilds use factory-built gas units. Where an older house remains, its masonry may be the last of its kind on the block, so a look at the mortar matters.
nearly built-out city beside its Los Angeles River park
Maywood
Maywood is about as built out as a city gets, with few new houses, and roughly 44 percent of homes predate 1950. That leaves a lot of older chimneys in tight surroundings, so access gets settled before any repair date is chosen.
foothill city under Monrovia Canyon with a Metro station
Monrovia
Older Monrovia houses may have river rock mixed into the brick, which behaves differently from a plain stack and is harder to repair by matching. Postwar tracts in the south are simpler, so a booking here always starts with which part of town you are in.
oil-boom suburb beside the Montebello Hills
Montebello
Farmland and the 1917 oil boom built early Montebello, and its bungalows are still scattered among later streets. Roughly half of housing is apartments or attached, so some calls are about a shared stack while others concern one old house.
western San Gabriel Valley hills, from Garvey Ranch to the flats
Monterey Park
Ranch and hillside homes of the 1950s and 1960s make up much of this city, though condos arrived later with different fireplaces or none. On a slope, a chimney can stand taller on the downhill side, which is where we start planning.
last stop on the Metro C Line, on former dairy ground
Norwalk
Norwalk's tracts replaced dairy and farm land mostly in the 1950s, and where the builder added a fireplace it was typically brick. Half the homes are from before 1957, so a crown here has lived through a lot of winters.
Antelope Valley desert city among the Joshua trees
Palmdale
Palmdale boomed from the 1980s on, so about 4 in 5 homes post-date 1980 and many have factory-built fireboxes. Older 1950s and 1960s ranch houses may keep their masonry, and a read of the label or brick sorts one from the other.
peninsula streets laid out by the Olmsted Brothers, high over the Pacific
Palos Verdes Estates
The Olmsted Brothers planned this peninsula from the 1920s, and early Spanish Revival homes here wrap their chimneys in stucco under red tile. Working around old tile takes care, so a repair is planned from the camera results well before a date is set.
Hynes and Clearwater, two farm towns joined and built up at mid-century
Paramount
This city began as the farm towns of Hynes and Clearwater, then built up at mid-century. Older homes with fireplaces usually have a plain brick chimney, and with fewer than half of households owning, each visit starts by asking who decides on repairs.
historic city across the hills to the east, past Glendale
Pasadena
Pasadena is a long drive from Sherman Oaks, so Pasadena work is planned by the week rather than the day, often paired with Altadena. Owners here usually want an old chimney kept, and river rock or clinker brick cannot be matched from stock. We test a mortar mix on a hidden spot first, so the repointing date is booked with the right material ready.
former Ford plant city on a mid-century tract grid
Pico Rivera
Pico Rivera's ranch houses are mostly single-story and owner-occupied, and half went up before 1957. That makes the chimney easy to reach, and a crown or cap repair here is often a tidy, single-visit job once the problem is known.
citrus-era city with an Antique Row and Cal Poly
Pomona
Citrus built this town from the 1880s, so Victorian and Craftsman chimneys stand miles from newer Phillips Ranch fireplaces. About 40 miles from Sherman Oaks, those two ends of town mean different tools, so we confirm the house's age when booking.
peninsula city of ocean air and moving ground
Rancho Palos Verdes
Most of Rancho Palos Verdes went up around the 1960s, but Miraleste and Portuguese Bend hold older and custom houses. Moving ground forced Wayfarers Chapel to be dismantled in 2024, so on those slopes a chimney gets checked for tilt along with its usual wear.
pier and marina city in the South Bay
Redondo Beach
Only about 4 in 10 homes in this city are detached, and later shoreline condos often hold metal units a homeowner has never had opened up. North Redondo's postwar stacks and Riviera hillside homes each need their own look.
horse lots behind gates, high on the peninsula
Rolling Hills
A.E. Hanson laid this town out in the 1930s for horse keeping behind gates, and its large ranch houses usually carry brick or masonry stacks. Some remodels added gas units, and known ground movement in parts of town adds a look for lean.
peninsula suburb around the Promenade
Rolling Hills Estates
Ranch and custom homes filled in here from the 1950s to the 1970s, so masonry and later factory-built units are both common. A remodel can swap a wood fireplace for gas, and an inspection confirms what is really behind the face.
walnut farmland turned suburb near the Whittier Narrows epicenter
Rosemead
After the war, walnut and farm land became tract streets here, and where a house has a fireplace the stack is usually brick. It has been about seventy years, so the inside of that flue matters more than how the outside appears.
railroad citrus town beneath the San Gabriel foothills
San Dimas
Railroad citrus town beginnings date to 1887, but most homes here came during the suburban growth of the 1960s to 1980s. An old Bonita Avenue house and a 1980s tract home need separate plans, so the house's age is the first question.
small independent city surrounded by the north Valley
San Fernando
San Fernando is its own city, so a permit question here goes to a different office than in Los Angeles proper. Its postwar tracts usually have a single brick stack with steel inside, and older bungalows may have less reinforcing still.
mission city with Spanish Revival streets near the Playhouse
San Gabriel
Craftsman and Spanish Revival houses line the older streets here, and about 38 percent of the city predates 1950. A condo nearby may have no fireplace to speak of, so what you own decides whether the plan is brick, metal or nothing.
estate-lot city near Lacy Park on the Raymond Fault
San Marino
Roughly 70 percent of homes in this city are older than 1950, and plenty keep several fireplaces with brick or stone stacks. Those original chimneys often lack modern reinforcing, so a written plan for each flue is worth having before anything else.
north county valley around the Santa Clara River
Santa Clarita
Most of Santa Clarita is recent, with half the homes built after 1987, so factory-built fireboxes are common. Older Newhall streets are the exception, and a condo owner there or in Valencia may face very different questions than a house owner.
oil-boom industrial city with homes in pockets
Santa Fe Springs
Santa Fe Springs leans heavily industrial, and its homes are clustered in pockets of modest ranch houses, with apartments and mobile home parks too. Half were built before 1960, so a plain brick or block stack is the likely thing to inspect.
oceanfront city of rent control and beach bungalows
Santa Monica
Detached houses are under 1 in 5 of the homes here, and rent control dates to 1979, so chimneys often sit on older rental buildings. Bungalows in Ocean Park and larger North of Montana homes are planned differently.
foothill village at the start of the Mount Wilson Trail, founded 1881
Sierra Madre
Founded in 1881, Sierra Madre keeps a village feel, with cottages and Craftsman bungalows whose brick predates modern seismic rules. Those are exactly the chimneys most easily damaged in a quake, so a camera pass matters more than how the outside looks.
famous oil hill still dotted with working pumps
Signal Hill
Decades of oil drilling held back most building on this hill, so many homes arrived only with redevelopment from the 1980s onward. Those condos and townhomes tend to use factory-built units, whose metal flues and caps age differently from brick.
small industrial city between two rivers
South El Monte
South El Monte mixes factories with small stucco ranch homes, and those postwar tracts usually have one brick chimney with some steel inside. Half the homes predate 1959, so that steel has been in place a while.
former factory city along Tweedy Boulevard
South Gate
Almost half of South Gate went up before 1950, including the bungalows and tracts that housed Firestone and General Motors workers. Many of these stacks predate modern seismic rules, so unreinforced brick is a fair assumption until a camera says otherwise.
tree-lined city with Pacific Electric history on Mission Street
South Pasadena
Most of the older housing here dates from the 1890s through the 1930s, long before modern seismic rules. A cap also keeps leaves out as well as rain on these tree-lined streets, which is one more reason to check it.
home of the Camellia Festival, founded by Walter Temple in the 1920s
Temple City
Though it was founded in the 1920s, this city's streets are mainly stucco ranch houses from the mid-century decades, about 4 in 5 of them detached. So the typical chimney here is a single brick or block stack around seventy years old.
Olmsted-planned South Bay city with aerospace roots
Torrance
Founded in 1912 with an Olmsted plan, Torrance filled out mostly after the war, so a typical home has one brick stack with some steel inside it. Hillside houses in Hollywood Riviera and Walteria add more exposure and trickier roof access.
cold-storage and factory town with barely any residents
Vernon
Roughly a hundred housing units stand in all of Vernon, and some older houses have long been tied to the city itself. Chimney work here means a single property at a time, usually a basic question about one old flue.
owner-heavy suburb around Mt. San Antonio College
Walnut
Building here ran across several decades, spanning the shift from brick to metal fireboxes. Well over half the homes postdate 1980, so a nameplate reading usually comes first, because it tells us what parts could be needed.
sizable valley city rising into its South Hills
West Covina
Two different chimney eras meet here: 1950s and 1960s ranch streets with brick stacks on the flat, then South Hills houses from the 1960s onward, some with metal units by the 1970s. Which side of that line you live on sets the plan.
Sunset Strip city of courtyards and apartments
West Hollywood
Detached houses are rare here, under 1 in 10, and only 1 household in 5 owns, so most fireplaces belong to a building. Harper Avenue's 1920s courtyards show how old that shared brick can run, and those decisions usually go through an owner or board.
man-made lake community on the old Albertson Ranch
Westlake Village
Albertson Ranch became this planned lakeside community beginning in the 1960s, so almost nothing here predates that. The stucco homes straddle the changeover to metal fireboxes, and each unit's data plate settles how a repair gets planned.
Quaker-founded city named for a poet
Whittier
Quakers founded Whittier in 1887, so Uptown streets hold some of the oldest chimneys in this region, and half of all homes predate 1956. Plenty of that brick lacks real reinforcing, which raises the stakes on any old crack.
Oxnard Plain city of master-planned tracts and outlets
Camarillo
About 34 miles from Sherman Oaks, Camarillo is mostly master-planned tract housing, and more than half of it postdates 1980. Older postwar houses often hold one brick stack, while the bigger homes in Spanish Hills may need parts ordered by model.
old citrus and rail town where Sespe Creek meets the river
Fillmore
Early bungalows downtown survive beside later tract homes in this citrus and rail town. Downtown took bad damage in the 1994 quake, so an old chimney may be rebuilt, patched or merely lucky, and a camera is the honest way to find out.
High Street town in inland Ventura County
Moorpark
Homes older than 1980 are only about a fifth of the total here, so metal flues inside framed chases are the normal thing to inspect. Each firebox has a label, and reading that number means the correct part can be ordered before the repair date comes around.
Ventura County valley town, known as Nordhoff until 1917
Ojai
Libbey's 1917 Spanish Colonial downtown gave Ojai its look, though much of the housing came later, with half built after 1971. About 50 miles from Sherman Oaks, a visit here gets grouped into one planned day, so details are worked out at booking.
big coastal farm-plain city around Channel Islands Harbor
Oxnard
Oxnard's tract housing runs from postwar into recent decades, so age alone does not tell you much. About half the units are attached, which changes who owns the decision, and a look at the label or brick shows what you actually have.
wharf and naval base town on flat, windy shoreline
Port Hueneme
Thomas Bard's 1871 wharf and later the naval base built this town, and most homes here are attached, with only about a third detached. Postwar houses may have a single brick stack, whose steel reinforcing has now spent decades in damp sea air.
Citrus Capital of the World on the Santa Clara River
Santa Paula
Citrus built this town, and Limoneira was founded here in 1893, so Victorian homes and Craftsman bungalows downtown come with early, often unreinforced brick. Half the housing goes back to at least 1970, and an old chimney in this town has a long story behind it.
suburban city in eastern Ventura County, over the hills west of Chatsworth
Simi Valley
Simi Valley is over the hills from our Valley route, so Simi bookings get their own day on the calendar. The city grew in waves from the 1960s into the 2000s, which leaves masonry chimneys and factory-built fireplaces side by side on the same streets. We note which kind each house has, so the next visit is booked for the right length.
Conejo Valley suburb, from old Jungleland to Dos Vientos
Thousand Oaks
Half of Thousand Oaks predates 1978 and half comes after, right across the change from brick to metal fireplaces. Lang Ranch and Dos Vientos lean newer, so that side of town usually starts with a label instead of a look at old mortar.
mission city on the Pacific with a harbor and hills
Ventura
Housing here ranges from preserved 19th century houses to postwar tracts and waterfront homes on the Keys. About 47 miles from Sherman Oaks, those three worlds need separate plans, so the neighborhood and age get sorted out on the first call.
young San Joaquin Hills planned city, incorporated in 2001
Aliso Viejo
Barely 6 percent of Aliso Viejo's homes are older than 1980, and most fireplaces arrived as factory-built units in a planned community. About 57 miles from Sherman Oaks, an inspection here gets grouped with others, and the label decides the plan.
the old German colony of 1857, grown into a very large city
Anaheim
An 1857 winemakers' colony began this city, and its historic district preserves that era, but most streets are postwar tracts and later. Brick and factory-built metal both turn up, and the label or the masonry decides which plan applies at about 45 miles out.
1917 oil town now spreading into Olinda Ranch and La Floresta
Brea
Oil gave Brea its start, but most housing came after the 1950s. Older tracts usually have a brick stack with some steel inside, whereas newer neighborhoods such as La Floresta tend toward stucco houses on gas or factory-built fireplaces.
northwest Orange County home of Knott's Berry Farm
Buena Park
Walter Knott's berry stand aside, this city is largely postwar tract housing, where one brick chimney with some steel inside is normal. Few homes predate 1950, and at nearly 60 percent detached, the rest are apartments and condos with different needs.
coast tableland east of the Santa Ana River
Costa Mesa
The name means coast tableland, and the housing is equally mixed: postwar tracts with a brick chimney, many apartments, and infill homes on gas. Less than half of units are detached, so the first step is working out which of these you own.
former Dairy City on the county line
Cypress
Dairy City became Cypress in 1957 and built out quickly, so roughly three quarters of homes are older than 1980 but few go back to 1950. Site-built brick and block give way to metal around the 1970s, and a label will tell you which side you are on.
harbor city on bluffs at the county's south coast
Dana Point
Sidney Woodruff's 1920s Lantern Village started the place, but today most homes date from the 1970s on. Salt air hits bluff-top homes hardest, and at about 64 miles from Sherman Oaks a part gets ordered ahead so one return trip can close the job.
farmland-turned-tract city beside Mile Square Park
Fountain Valley
Farmland gave way to Fountain Valley's tracts mainly in the 1960s and 1970s, so most homes predate 1980 but almost none go back past 1950. A two-story tract house has a taller stack than its neighbor, which changes roof access.
Santa Fe railroad city near Hillcrest Park and the universities
Fullerton
Early homes here include Spanish Colonial Revival houses and Craftsman bungalows that often kept their brick chimneys, even as tracts and university apartments spread around them. A stucco-wrapped stack can hide what age has done, so a camera goes first on those.
orchard land turned tracts near Little Saigon
Garden Grove
Orchards and farms turned into Garden Grove's tract housing after the war, leaving wood-frame stucco ranch homes with low roofs. Over half are owner-occupied, and for those long-term owners a basic flue check every few years prevents surprises.
oil and surf city around Bolsa Chica's wetlands
Huntington Beach
Fireplaces here shift from masonry in 1960s tracts to metal through the 1970s and 1980s, and Huntington Harbour homes sit right above the water. Salt affects every one of them, and at about 40 miles out, parts get ordered ahead of the repair date.
Orange County's village-plan city around UC Irvine
Irvine
Half this city went up after 2002, so a site-built masonry stack is rare outside its first villages, such as Turtle Rock. Most homes have metal or gas units, and the model label settles nearly everything we need to plan.
namesake of the 2014 quake, in the Puente Hills pass
La Habra
La Habra's name means the pass, and about 3 in 4 of its homes are older than 1980. Tract ranch houses usually have a brick or block fireplace, and half of them have stood since 1968, which is plenty of time for a crown to tire.
small planned suburb built out by the early 1970s
La Palma
A planned suburb from the start, La Palma filled out within roughly fifteen years, so its chimneys are nearly all one age. If your neighbor needed a crown repair, there is a decent chance yours is on the same clock.
artists' colony between steep canyons and the Pacific
Laguna Beach
Old Laguna cottages often have brick or stone stacks, and hillside homes climb neighborhoods like Bluebird Canyon on steep lots. About 58 miles from Sherman Oaks, a steep lot needs access planned and materials settled before the trip.
Moulton Ranch land along Interstate 5 and El Toro Road
Laguna Hills
Former ranch land became this city through the 1970s and 1980s, so homes here fall almost evenly on either side of 1980. Either a metal firebox or a late masonry stack is possible, and a quick look at the unit tells us which plan fits.
hillside city around its regional park lake
Laguna Niguel
Half of Laguna Niguel went up after 1986, stucco and tile homes that generally come with metal fireboxes. Hillside grading matters here too, because a shifted slope can stress a chase. At 61 miles from Sherman Oaks, visits are grouped.
Leisure World's successor, a city built around one retirement village
Laguna Woods
Detached homes are a tiny 7 percent here, because Laguna Woods Village, built from 1964 as Leisure World, makes up most of the city. A fireplace in a manor may fall under a shared-roof arrangement, so we confirm who handles what before any visit.
former El Toro community, incorporated in 1991
Lake Forest
Formerly El Toro, Lake Forest has only about 38 percent of its homes older than 1980, so factory-built metal and gas units lead here. Older masonry does exist, however, and a look at the house's age and the label tells us quickly which you have.
former sugar beet town beside the Joint Forces Training Base
Los Alamitos
Sugar beets drove early growth here from 1897, but most homes are 1950s and 1960s tracts with likely masonry fireplaces. Only about 42 percent of homes are detached, so an attached unit's flue may belong to a wider group of owners.
Saddleback Valley city of the Nadadores swim club
Mission Viejo
Very little in this city predates 1980 by much, with half the homes built before 1979, so metal fireboxes and gas are normal here. Some early homes keep masonry, so a read of the label comes before any plan, about 59 miles from Sherman Oaks.
the harbor, its islands and hillside estates up at Newport Coast
Newport Beach
Older cottages mix with newer custom homes around Newport Heights, and Newport Coast adds large modern estates that may have several flues. About 50 miles from Sherman Oaks, a trip here needs each home's fireplaces listed before the visit.
Old Towne city with a preserved historic core
Orange
This city splits three ways: Old Towne's Victorians and Craftsman bungalows keep original brick, postwar ranches have one brick fireplace, and the east side leans gas. Each needs a different kind of look, starting with its age.
Pleasant place near the A. S. Bradford House
Placentia
Placentia's name means pleasant place, and half its homes went up before 1976, mostly stucco ranch tracts with brick or block fireplaces. Later homes bring metal units with labels, so the first look sorts which of these two you own.
one of Orange County's newest cities, incorporated in 2000
Rancho Santa Margarita
This city was planned in the mid-1980s and only about 4 percent of homes are older than 1980, so old masonry is very rare. Most fireplaces are factory-built or direct-vent gas, and their labels decide nearly everything about any service.
Spanish-style beach town below Talega's brushy hills
San Clemente
Hanson's Spanish-style homes gave San Clemente its look, and some keep their old masonry, while later tracts run on metal or gas units. About 68 miles from Sherman Oaks, planning and parts matter even more.
mission town where swallows return each March
San Juan Capistrano
Los Rios keeps adobes and board-and-batten houses, among the state's oldest, while most of the city is stucco tract and estate from the 1960s on. Either way, about 64 miles from Sherman Oaks, your home's age sets the first question we ask.
the county's old courthouse city, home of Floral Park
Santa Ana
Floral Park, French Park and Washington Square preserve Victorian, Craftsman and Spanish Revival houses that often keep brick chimneys. With only 44 percent of units detached, apartments make up the rest. At about 43 miles out, knowing the street helps us plan.
old Bay City on the Orange County coast
Seal Beach
Old Town cottages, College Park tracts and Surfside Colony's private beachfront make up three separate worlds in a small city. Most homes date from around the 1960s, about 36 percent detached, so what you own decides whether salt or age is the focus.
three square miles on either side of Beach Boulevard
Stanton
Only about 1 home in 4 is detached in compact Stanton, and plenty of the attached ones lack a fireplace. An older house with one likely has brick or block, and half the housing here dates from 1975 or before, so it has some age.
Old Town city with a former air station turned Tustin Legacy
Tustin
Old Town Tustin keeps early 1900s homes and brick chimneys inside a Cultural Resources District, while Tustin Legacy on the former base is all new factory-built or gas. Those two ends of the city need completely separate plans, starting with a location.
mostly custom houses on large lots near Santiago Oaks
Villa Park
Owners live in about 90 percent of the homes here, nearly all detached, on large lots built up during the 1960s and 1970s. A custom chimney is its own design, so we plan it one home at a time.
former Presbyterian temperance colony, now tracts and busy boulevards
Westminster
Presbyterian temperance settlers founded Westminster in 1870, but it mostly grew later, and fireplaces from that later era are likely brick or block. Condos along the boulevards may hold metal units, and just over half of households own, so ask us early about both.
north county city against Chino Hills State Park
Yorba Linda
Half of Yorba Linda went up after 1984, mostly stucco and tile homes with gas or metal units, while custom homes may still carry masonry. About 83 percent of homes are owner-occupied, so a label read now usually pays off for years to come.
Mission Inn city with roots in citrus and a university campus
Riverside
Victorians in Heritage Square and Spanish or Mediterranean Revival buildings near the Mission Inn hold some of the oldest brick here, but half of Riverside dates from 1976 or later. About 62 miles from Sherman Oaks, age and street set the trip plan.
Circle City, the old Lemon Capital, below the national forest
Corona
Half of this city was built after 1991, leaving metal or gas units the likely case, and only about 1 home in 4 predates 1980. Hillside custom homes near the national forest may differ, and about 54 miles out, we read the label before planning any trip.
the entire county, from the Malibu coast to desert Lancaster
Los Angeles County
Across nearly 10 million people, there is no single chimney story for this county. Pasadena Craftsman brick, Malibu canyon homes and Long Beach towers each need separate plans, so we start by asking which city and what year your home went up.
huge inland county from Temecula wine country to Idyllwild
Riverside County
Roughly 870,000 homes fill this county, most of them recent, from Idyllwild cabins with wood stoves to Coachella Valley country clubs. Each of those needs a different plan, and the community and house age come first.
the whole county, from Santiago Peak to the coast
Orange County
Unincorporated areas here run from 1950s Rossmoor to 2000s Ladera Ranch, and coastal cottages add one more category. Half the county's homes went up before 1977, so brick and factory-built metal may share a ZIP code. Our first question is simple: where and when?
citrus, coast and Conejo Valley west of the Valley
Ventura County
Surviving adobes and older houses in several of the county's towns sometimes keep masonry chimneys, while farm areas hold ranch houses. About 65 percent of homes are owner-occupied, and the first call sorts out your town and house type.
Your street sits between two cities?
Call and give us the address. We will put you on a day we are already working next door, ahead of your season.