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 Brooklyn
A standard chimney sweep in Brooklyn runs $189 to $319 for a single flue, and most brownstone and rowhouse appointments take 45 to 90 minutes from rooftop setup to final clean-up photo. Kindling Chimney Brooklyn works with pre-war chimney stacks, shared flues, and the coastal salt air that eats through caps and flashing faster here than almost anywhere else in the city. Call (607) 695-6218 and a live person answers, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to book a sweep or talk through what you’re seeing.
Why Kindling Chimney Brooklyn Is Brooklyn’s Preferred Chimney Sweep Company
Brooklyn chimneys present problems that a generic sweep crew never sees. We work on brownstone stacks in Park Slope and Bed-Stuy where one clogged flue sends smoke into three adjacent homes, and we understand that a corroded chimney cap near the Gowanus Canal or Red Hook waterfront fails twice as fast as one further inland. Our technicians are background-checked and uniformed on every call, and they follow the C.A.R.E. values to the letter: shoe covers and drop cloths go down on arrival, nothing is moved without asking, and we photograph every clean-up before the crew leaves. Danny Cortes runs the Brooklyn operation with a simple rule: nothing gets recommended unless the camera proves it.
Brooklyn homeowners regularly tell us the same thing about other chimney companies: a pushy estimate, a vague price, and no clear answer about whether the liner is actually safe. That’s not how we work. Every visit starts with a written price, delivered before any work begins. If the sweep isn’t done right, the 365-Day Done Right Promise means we come back and make it right: no fine print, no runaround. That promise, paired with the Cedarwell Care Promise on clean-up and communication, is why families with kids and pets in Brooklyn keep calling us back.
Styles & brands we work with





Chimney Cleaning in Brooklyn
Chimney Cleaning in Brooklyn means clearing creosote, soot, and debris from the flue of a pre-war brownstone or rowhouse chimney, most of which were built between 1880 and 1930 with clay tile or unlined brick interiors. A routine sweep here typically costs $189 to $319, depending on flue height, roof access, and how much creosote has accumulated since the last cleaning. Brooklyn’s humid summers and freeze-thaw winters push moisture into every tiny crack, and when creosote gets damp it hardens into a tar glaze that a standard brush can’t remove, which is why we run a camera inspection with every sweep rather than guessing at what’s inside.
Soot Removal
Soot is the lighter, powdery byproduct of wood fires, and in Brooklyn fireplaces it builds up faster when the flue runs cold during long stretches between burns. We remove soot with rotary brushes and HEPA-filtered vacuums that keep particles out of your living room, not just the flue. The cost is included in the standard sweep range of $189 to $319 for a single flue.
Creosote Removal
Creosote is heavier and more dangerous, especially third-degree creosote, which looks like tar and can ignite at high temperatures. On shared chimney stacks in Bed-Stuy and Park Slope, we’ve found hardened creosote glaze that formed after narrow roof parapets delayed routine sweeps for too long. Removing hardened glaze requires chemical treatments and rotary removal heads, and runs $289 to $519 depending on severity.
Fireplace Cleaning in Brooklyn
Fireplace Cleaning in Brooklyn covers the firebox, damper, smoke shelf, and hearth in addition to the flue itself, because ash and debris from a season of burning settle everywhere. A fireplace cleaning typically costs $159 to $249 when booked as part of a full sweep, or $189 to $289 as a standalone service. Families with kids and pets care about this step more than any other, because the firebox is where dust, pet hair, and ash mix together and get pulled into the room on windy days, which is why we use drop cloths and HEPA vacuums around every fireplace in Brooklyn homes.
Annual Sweep
An annual sweep is what we recommend for Brooklyn homeowners who burn wood more than twice a month during heating season. The National Fire Protection Association recommends a sweep when creosote reaches 1/8 inch, but in practice, a yearly visit catches mortar cracks, rusted dampers, and corroded caps before they turn into thousand-dollar repairs. Our annual sweep pricing matches the standard range: $189 to $319 for most single-flue chimneys in Brooklyn.
Level 1 Inspection
A Level 1 inspection is the visual check we perform during a routine sweep, confirming that the flue is clear, the damper opens and closes properly, and there’s no obvious structural damage. In Brooklyn, we always pair this with a camera pass, because pre-war flues have uneven internal dimensions after decades of repointing and partial relining, and a visual check alone misses internal gaps.
Level 2 Inspection
A Level 2 inspection uses a camera to examine the entire flue from top to bottom, and it’s what we recommend after a neighbor’s chimney fire, a lightning strike, or before buying or selling a Brooklyn brownstone. This inspection runs $399 to $649 and includes a written photo report, so you can see exactly what we see and decide for yourself whether any repair is urgent or can wait.
Trusted Brands We Service in Brooklyn
We install and service professional-grade chimney components from Gelco, Olympia Chimney, and Copperfield, because Brooklyn coastal air demands materials that survive salt exposure. Galvanized caps corrode in under five years near the waterfront, so we stock stainless steel and copper replacements locally and can typically schedule the repair within a week of your sweep. When a Brooklyn customer needs a new cap, crown, or flashing, we use Copperfield stainless and copper components for anything exposed to rain and salt, and Olympia Chimney or Gelco liners when a flue needs relining. These are the same materials specified for commercial buildings in the city, and they’re what we trust on our own chimneys.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterCommon Chimney Sweep Problems We See in Brooklyn Homes
- Corroded chimney caps and flashing: Salt air from the Atlantic eats through galvanized steel caps in under five years, exposing the flue to rain. We replace them with stainless steel or copper, and the difference in lifespan is measured in decades, not seasons.
- Shared flue blockages in brownstones and rowhouses: On a single chimney stack serving multiple units, one clogged flue can force smoke and carbon monoxide into neighboring homes. We’ve answered calls where a neighbor’s smoke backup was the first sign that a shared stack needed sweeping.
- Freeze-thaw damage to mortar crowns: Brooklyn’s winter temperature swings crack the mortar crown on exposed rooftops, and those cracks let water behind the flashing. The brick then spalls, and chunks break loose and block the damper, which shows up as smoke rolling back into the living room.
- Hardened creosote from delayed sweeps: Narrow parapets and rooftop decks on Park Slope and Bed-Stuy rowhouses make access slow, so homeowners put off sweeps until creosote hardens into a tar glaze. That glaze requires chemical treatment and rotary removal, and it’s far more expensive than a routine brush cleaning.
Pricing for Chimney Sweep in Brooklyn, NY
Here’s what Brooklyn homeowners actually pay. A standard chimney sweep for a single flue runs $189 to $319, and a full fireplace cleaning including firebox, damper, and hearth adds $159 to $249. Level 1 inspections are included with every sweep, while a camera-based Level 2 inspection runs $399 to $649 and includes a written photo report. Creosote removal for hardened glaze runs $289 to $519 depending on severity. The variables are flue height, roof access, and the age of the chimney, not the mood of the estimator. Every quote is written before any work begins, and every estimate is free. Call (607) 695-6218 for an exact number.
We Also Serve Cities Near Brooklyn
Beyond our Chimney Sweep in Brooklyn coverage, we serve New York, Long Island City, Middle Village, and Ozone Park, so if your rowhouse sits just outside the borough line, our Chimney Sweep team can still get to your flue. Same written pricing, same clean-up promise, same 365-Day Done Right Promise.
Serving Brooklyn, NY - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Brooklyn 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 Brooklyn
Once a year is the right interval for a Park Slope brownstone, even with light use, because the cost of catching a corroded cap or cracked crown early is a fraction of the cost of repairing the damage after a wet winter. Salt air and freeze-thaw cycles work on your chimney all year round, not just when you burn. Call (607) 695-6218 to book a sweep, and we’ll give you a written price before any work starts.
Yes, and it happens faster than most homeowners expect. Galvanized steel caps in waterfront neighborhoods like Red Hook, Bay Ridge, and Sheepshead Bay corrode through in under five years, while the same cap might last fifteen years in an inland borough. We replace them with stainless steel or Copperfield copper components, and the written price covers the cap and the installation, nothing hidden. Call (607) 695-6218 for a free estimate.
Yes, and you should get a Level 2 camera inspection rather than just a visual sweep. On a shared chimney stack, heat from a neighbor’s fire can crack the internal flue liner in your unit, creating a path for carbon monoxide into your home. A Level 2 inspection in Brooklyn runs $399 to $649 and includes a written photo report. Call (607) 695-6218 and we’ll schedule it before the next burn.
A chimney sweep removes creosote, soot, and debris from the flue, while a chimney inspection evaluates the structural condition of the chimney itself using a visual check or a camera. Every Kindling sweep in Brooklyn includes a Level 1 visual inspection, and we recommend a Level 2 camera inspection after a chimney fire, before a home purchase, or when we see signs of internal damage. The sweep runs $189 to $319, and the Level 2 runs $399 to $649. Call (607) 695-6218 to book either, or both.
The crown is the slab of mortar on top of the chimney, and in Brooklyn it cracks repeatedly because freeze-thaw cycles push water into the pores, where it expands and spalls the surface. Repointing the mortar joints doesn’t address the crown itself, which is why a crown rebuilt with a proper overhang, drip edge, and a stainless steel or copper cap is the permanent fix. We see this constantly on pre-war brownstones, and our repair includes a photo report so you can see the before and after. Call (607) 695-6218 for a written, no-pressure quote.
Written by Danny Cortes, Owner at Kindling Chimney Brooklyn, serving Brooklyn since the Cedarwell founding year of 2003.