Fireplace Inspection in Pasadena, CA

What we triage on a fireplace inspection call in Pasadena

Pasadena borders San Marino, so its brick chimneys fill a large part of our week. Homes built here from the 1920s through the 1950s often have unreinforced masonry chimneys, and that shapes how we work. Before any repointing, we check that the stack above the roofline is still tied in and standing plumb. Loose courses are reset in matching brick where we can find it. Joints are cut out with care, not ground wide, and refilled to the original profile. Where the clay tile liner has cracked, we explain the two usual fixes, a stainless reline or a cast-in-place liner, and which one suits your flue.

Dry summers and the occasional Santa Ana wind keep wildfire risk up across Pasadena, so a sound cap with spark arrestor mesh goes on every flue we restore. Heat also dries out old lime-rich mortar until it sands out of the joints. Once that happens, rain finds the gaps and works down into the brick. A yearly look at the crown and the top few courses catches this wear while the repair is still small.