Level 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.
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AfterFast, Reliable Chimney Repair Across Selma
Chimney repair in Selma typically runs $220 – $1,800 depending on what’s actually wrong, and most jobs are diagnosed and quoted in a single visit. The number that matters isn’t the first one you hear on the phone. It’s the one written down after a camera goes up the flue and shows you exactly what’s failing. We’re Flint Chimney Sweep, part of the Garrison Partners family founded in 2002, and we repair chimneys across Selma, CA with a written price delivered before any work starts, backed by our 365-Day Done Right Promise. Call (830) 251-4560 and a live person answers, any hour, any day.
Why Flint Chimney Sweep Is Selma’s Preferred Chimney Repair Company
Selma homeowners call us because they want a straight answer, not a sales pitch. Our founder Hank Delano built Flint on a simple rule: the price you approve is the price you pay. Every Selma job gets a written quote before the first tool comes off the truck. If a covered repair fails within one year, we return at no charge, no argument. That guarantee is in writing on every repair we do.
We know the houses here. Selma’s older downtown streets, the ranch houses off Floral Avenue, the newer subdivisions pushing toward Fowler and Parlier. Each has different chimney problems. A 1950s brick chimney near the raisin yards fails differently than a 1990s prefab unit. Our technicians are background-checked and uniformed, dispatched from the Fresno, Central Valley office, and they arrive inside the window we give you, with the parts and materials to fix most issues on the spot.
We’ve earned our reputation in Selma by doing what we say we’ll do. Written pricing. Camera evidence before any repair recommendation. A photo report you keep. And a phone number where a real person answers, 24/7.
Chimney Crown Repair in Selma
Chimney crown repair in Selma addresses the concrete or mortar slab at the very top of the chimney, the part that takes the full brunt of Central Valley sun, winter rain, and the freeze-thaw cycle that cracks open older crowns. When a crown fails, water seeps down into the brick and mortar below, and that’s how a small job becomes a rebuild. Selma’s long, hot summers bake crowns hard, and a cracked crown on a downtown Selma home won’t heal itself.
A crown repair in Selma typically runs $350 – $850 depending on the crown’s size and how much of the old surface needs removal before re-laying. Add waterproofing and you’re usually at the upper end of that range. Most crown work is done inside one day.
Crown Cracks and Water Entry
Water is the enemy of every chimney in Selma, and the crown is the first line of defense. A hairline crack lets moisture into the masonry, which widens it every winter. If you see white staining on the brick below the crown, that’s efflorescence, a sign water has already been moving through. We repair the crown surface and apply a masonry waterproofing treatment that still lets the brick breathe.
When a Crown Needs Rebuilding
A crown that’s spalled, crumbled, or missing in chunks needs more than a skim coat. We tear off the failing material, form a new crown with the right slope and drip edge so water sheds away from the flue, and match the profile to the rest of the chimney. It’s a half-day to full-day job in Selma, and it stops the damage at the source.
Chimney Repair Companies in Selma
Chimney repair companies in Selma aren’t all built the same way, and the difference comes down to what you get in writing. Skip the outfits that quote over the phone, then “discover” more work once they’re on the roof. At Flint Chimney Sweep, the repair process in Selma starts with a camera inspection up the flue. You see the problem on our screen. You get a written scope and price. You approve it. Then we start.
What separates a legitimate Chimney Repair operation from a guy with a ladder and a brush is process. Our Selma repair calls follow The Garrison Standard, the operating code every Garrison Partners location follows. That means written documentation at every step, professional-grade materials, and a guarantee with teeth. We work with Famco and Copperfield caps and dampers because they hold up to Selma’s summer sun and winter rain.
The Inspection Comes First
You can’t repair what you haven’t seen. That’s why a Level 2 camera inspection is standard practice before we recommend any repair in Selma. The camera goes up the flue and records everything, liner condition, mortar joints, damper operation, obstructions. You get a photo report showing what we found, so your decision rests on evidence, not trust.
Repairs We Handle in Selma
From mortar repointing and tuckpointing to spalling brick repair, flashing repair, chimney waterproofing, and full chimney rebuilding, our crews handle the full range of chimney repair work across Selma and the surrounding farm communities. If the repair involves the flue liner itself, we often recommend DuraFlex or HeatShield resurfacing, depending on the damage.
Trusted Brands We Service in Selma
We install and repair chimneys built around proven names like Famco, Copperfield, DuraFlex, and HeatShield. These aren’t generic parts pulled off a warehouse shelf. They’re professional-grade materials specified by the job, not the margin. For Selma homeowners, that matters. A Copperfield chimney cap specified from the start fits right and lasts through the Central Valley weather, instead of rusting out in two seasons. We keep common Selma repair parts in local stock, which means most repairs don’t wait on a shipping delay from the Midwest. When we spec a Famco damper or a HeatShield flue resurfacing for a Selma home, we can usually get it done within the week.
Common Chimney Repair Problems We See in Selma Homes
- Third-degree creosote glaze in fireplaces that only get used a few weeks each winter. Selma homeowners often fire up the fireplace hard during the cold snaps, then let it sit dormant for months. A brush passes over the hard tar glaze like it isn’t there. A camera inspection finds it before it becomes fuel for a chimney fire.
- Cracked crowns on older ranch homes across the raisin belt. The 1950s and 60s brick chimneys around Floral Avenue and the older downtown grid often have crowns that cracked years ago. Water has been working into the mortar joints ever since, and the first cold morning exposes it as a draft or smoke problem, not a sweeping problem.
- Rusted-out or missing chimney caps letting birds and roof rats nest during the off-season. Selma’s long, warm months from May through October are prime nesting season. Starlings and roof rats move into an uncapped flue, and by the time you light the first fire in November, the obstruction is a full blockage. Not a cleaning, a removal and a new cap.
- Mortar joint failure and spalling brick on chimneys exposed to full Selma sun. The Central Valley’s intense summer heat bakes the south and west faces of chimneys, which accelerates mortar deterioration. Spalling brick, where the face of a brick pops off, is common on Selma chimneys that haven’t had a repointing in decades. Left alone, it becomes a structural problem.
Pricing for Chimney Repair in Selma, CA
A chimney sweep and Level 2 camera inspection in Selma runs $189 – $389, with the inspection adding the camera work and a photo report you keep. A typical crown repair runs $350 – $850. Mortar repointing or tuckpointing on a Selma chimney usually falls between $400 and $1,100 depending on how much area needs work. Flue relining with DuraFlex or HeatShield resurfacing ranges from $1,800 to $4,500, but we don’t spec a liner unless the camera footage proves you need one. A full chimney rebuild in Selma runs $4,000 and up. Every repair gets a written price before work starts, and every repair carries the 365-Day Done Right Promise. Estimates are free. Call (830) 251-4560.
We Also Serve Cities Near Selma
Our crews from the Fresno, Central Valley office cover the whole South Valley. If you live in Fowler, Parlier, Kingsburg, or Reedley, the same Chimney Repair process applies: camera inspection, written price, done right or we return at no charge. We schedule Selma-area appointments every week, and Chimney Repair in Selma is what we know best.
Serving Selma, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Selma 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 Repair in Selma
Once a year, ideally in early fall before the burning season starts. Selma sits in the heart of Fresno County’s raisin and orchard belt, so chimneys here see heavy seasonal use during winter pruning and drying months, followed by six months of total dormancy. That dormant stretch is when birds, roof rats, and paper wasps move into an uncapped flue. A fall Level 2 inspection finds the obstructions and the cracked crowns before the first cold morning reveals them as smoke rolling back into the living room. Call (830) 251-4560 to book a Selma inspection; the price is written before we arrive.
Yes, and we’ll do better than a phone estimate. For a standard chimney sweep in Selma we can give you the flat price right on the phone; $189 – $389 depending on inspection level. For repairs, the honest answer is that the exact number comes after a camera inspection shows the actual condition of the flue and masonry. What we will never do is quote low over the phone and then “discover” problems once we’re on the roof. You’ll approve a written price before any repair starts. Estimates are free, and the number on your invoice will be the number you approved.
It shows the inside of your flue, liner, smoke chamber, and damper, on a live screen, with photo documentation you get to keep. We ran one on a 1950s ranch house off Floral Avenue near the Selma raisin yards after the homeowner complained of smoke rolling back into the living room on cold mornings. The camera showed a flue liner cracked at a mortar joint and a fist-sized chunk of the chimney crown spalled loose. A brush-only sweep would have done nothing. We rebuilt the crown, ran a HeatShield resurfacing to seal the liner joint, re-set the damper, and handed over photos of the smoke chamber before and after. The draft test pulled clean the next morning. That’s the difference between a real repair and a guess.
Rarely, and we won’t tell you otherwise to rush a sale. A blocked flue from a bird nest needs removal before you burn, and a cracked liner that’s actively leaking carbon monoxide into the house is urgent. But a cracked crown found in August can usually be repaired in the weeks before burn season without risk. The real decision point in Selma is fall, not mid-burn-season panic. Book the fall inspection, see the camera evidence, and we’ll tell you plainly what can wait and what can’t. Call (830) 251-4560 to schedule; we book Selma appointments weekly, not months out.
A sweep removes what’s inside the flue, soot, creosote, debris, nests. A repair fixes what’s wrong with the chimney itself: the crown, the flashing, the mortar joints, the liner, the cap, the bricks. Selma chimneys often need both. A sweep gets the flue clean, but if the crown is cracked and water’s been wicking into the firebox for years, the draft problem will come right back. That’s why our Selma process starts with the camera inspection, not the brush. We see what’s actually wrong, write it up with photos, and let you decide with facts in hand.
Written by Hank Delano, Owner at Flint Chimney Sweep, serving Selma and the South Valley since 2002.