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 DUMBO
Most standard chimney sweeps in DUMBO run between $189 and $329, depending on the number of flues, the level of creosote buildup, and whether the chimney is a wood-burning original or a gas conversion. We schedule sweeps in DUMBO within a 3 to 5 day window, Monday through Saturday, and we’re familiar with the buildings here: converted warehouse lofts on Water Street, newer condo towers along Front Street, and the older brick walkups near York Street. If your chimney hasn’t been inspected in over a year, or if you’ve noticed a smell when the wind shifts off the East River, call us at (607) 695-6218 and a live person will answer, any hour, any day.
Why Kindling Chimney Brooklyn Is DUMBO’s Preferred Chimney Sweep Company
DUMBO’s housing stock is unlike anywhere else in Brooklyn. Our Chimney Sweep team works inside converted 19th-century factory buildings every week, and we know that a “simple sweep” here rarely is. Many of the buildings along Plymouth Street and Anchorage Place still have original masonry chimney stacks with two, three, or even five separate flues running through them. That changes the job. Before we ever put a brush in a flue, we have to seal adjacent flues so combustion gases from a neighboring loft don’t draft into yours. That’s not something a technician learns from a generic training manual. It’s something you learn by doing the work in DUMBO, on DUMBO’s buildings, year after year.
We also answer the phone differently. When you call Kindling Chimney Brooklyn, you reach a live person. Not a voicemail. Not a callback two days later while you’re at work. That matters when you have a cold fireplace on a January evening on the waterfront and you just want to know if someone can look at it this week.
Danny Cortes leads our Brooklyn team, and every sweep we schedule in DUMBO is crewed by a background-checked, uniformed technician who arrives with shoe covers and drop cloths, puts down floor protection before the ladder goes up, and takes a photo of the clean-up before walking out the door. That’s the Cedarwell Care Promise. It is written, it is specific, and we deliver it on every job in DUMBO.
Styles & brands we work with





Chimney Sweep Certified in DUMBO
Chimney Sweep Certified work in DUMBO means more than running a brush up a flue. It means we document the condition of your terra-cotta liner, measure the draft on every connected flue, remove creosote by the correct stage, and tell you, in plain English, whether your fireplace is safe to use tonight. In DUMBO’s converted factory lofts, we regularly deal with original coal-fired chimneys built for industrial smoke. Decades of coal soot, followed by years of residential wood burning or gas conversion, leaves a creosote glaze that standard brushes can’t always remove.
Most certified chimney sweeps in DUMBO run between $189 and $329 for a single flue, with a photo-documented inspection included. For a multi-flue stack, like the ones in the old warehouses near Main Street, the price increases with each additional flue because each one must be drafted and sealed independently.
Sweeping Shared Flues Safely
The biggest risk in a DUMBO loft building isn’t the creosote in your own chimney. It’s what happens when a technician sweeps your flue without isolating the others. In a shared stack, an open adjacent flue can pull combustion gases from a neighbor’s fireplace directly into your living room. Our team seals and drafts each flue before any cleaning begins. We don’t skip this step, and we don’t charge extra for it. It’s how the job has to be done here.
Annual Inspection Schedule
For a DUMBO home with one fireplace, once a year is right. For a loft building with multiple appliances running into one stack, we recommend a Level 2 inspection every year, not just every sweep. Gas inserts, wood stoves, and converted fireplaces all have different draft characteristics, and a building’s shared stack changes over time. Salt air off the East River, freeze-thaw cycles, and 150-plus years of thermal expansion all work on the mortar from the inside out. An annual sweep with a camera inspection catches cracked liners before they become a repair.
Gas Fireplace Cleaning in DUMBO
Gas Fireplace Cleaning in DUMBO is the service we perform most often in the converted loft buildings around the neighborhood. These fireplaces were built for coal, then converted to wood, then converted again to gas. The masonry and flue liner, though, are still original. That’s the part most homeowners never see, and it’s the part that matters. A gas fireplace produces little visible soot, but if the existing terra-cotta flue has hairline cracks from decades of heat and moisture, carbon monoxide can migrate into your unit or an adjacent one. Clean glass doesn’t mean a safe flue.
Gas fireplace cleaning in DUMBO typically costs between $219 and $379, and includes removal of soot and light creosote from the firebox, smoke chamber, and flue; inspection of the burner, logs, and pilot assembly; and a draft test on the flue. If we’re working in a shared stack, we’ll also seal and draft the adjacent flues before we start.
Shared Stacks and Gas Conversions
In a five-flue stack on a DUMBO factory conversion, we may only be there to clean one unit’s gas fireplace. But we treat the whole stack as the job. We test each flue for draft before we begin, seal the ones we aren’t working on, and photograph the liner condition on the one we are. If we find third-degree creosote glaze from the building’s coal-fired days, which we often do, we’ll tell you honestly whether a standard sweep will be enough or whether the flue needs relining. We never upsell. We show you the camera footage and let you decide.
Pet-Safe and Kid-Safe Products
Many DUMBO families have young children and pets. Where we have a choice of products, we choose pet-safe and low-odor. We don’t bring chemical deodorizers into your home unless you ask for them specifically. We use HEPA-filtered vacuums, we keep boots off your floors, and if a kid is napping, we let you know before any loud equipment runs. Quiet tools, clean floors, no surprise charges. That’s the standard.
Trusted Brands We Service in DUMBO
We work with professional-grade chimney components and repair materials, and we stock common parts locally so a DUMBO job doesn’t stall while we wait for a shipment. We install and service liners and components from Gelco, Olympia Chimney, and Copperfield. If your building’s flue needs a stainless liner, we use DuraFlex and install it to the manufacturer’s spec. If your chimney crown needs sealing, we use products like HeatShield that are designed for masonry chimneys exposed to salt air and freeze-thaw cycles. Because so many DUMBO buildings require Landmarks Preservation Commission approval for exterior work, we spec materials that are durable, visually unobtrusive, and compliant with the city’s landmark requirements. You won’t see a shiny metal cap on a historic brick stack unless it’s the right cap for the building.
See the difference
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After
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Before
AfterCommon Chimney Sweep Problems We See in DUMBO Homes
- Third-degree creosote glaze from the coal-fired era. The original chimneys in DUMBO’s factory lofts ran on coal for decades. That leaves a hard, baked-on glaze that standard brushes can’t remove. We use rotary tools and chemical removers only as needed, and we show you what we’re dealing with before we start.
- Spalling bricks and cracked crowns from East River salt air. Winters on the waterfront are damp and windy. Salt air works into the mortar joints, water freezes, and the brick face starts to pop. We see cracked crowns and spalled brick on nearly every original chimney stack near the river.
- Cross-draft between units in shared stacks. When one flue in a multi-flue stack is open to the roof and another is sealed tight, the pressure differential can move smoke and gases sideways. We isolate and draft every flue we clean, and we tell the whole building when there’s a need for stack-wide attention.
- Gas conversions with original terra-cotta liners. A gas fireplace doesn’t produce wood smoke, but if the original terra-cotta flue is cracked, carbon monoxide can seep into adjacent loft units. We camera-inspect every liner before we sign off on a gas fireplace clean.
Pricing for Chimney Sweep in DUMBO, NY
A standard single-flue chimney sweep in DUMBO runs $189 to $329. A gas fireplace cleaning runs $219 to $379. Multi-flue stacks, like those common in the converted factory buildings around Main Street, add $75 to $125 per additional flue because each one must be sealed, drafted, and cleaned separately. A Level 2 camera inspection, which we recommend annually for DUMBO buildings with shared stacks or original liners, runs $245 to $395 depending on roof access. If your building’s roof has a water tower or parapet that requires rope access, access may be quoted separately. We give you a written price before any work begins, always. To get an exact quote for your building, call (607) 695-6218 and describe what you have. Estimates are free, and there’s no on-the-spot pressure.
We Also Serve Cities Near DUMBO
Our team covers DUMBO and the surrounding neighborhoods across the East River waterfront and beyond, including Brooklyn, New York, the Financial District, and Long Island City. If you live in a converted loft building just outside DUMBO, the same team that knows these chimney stacks can likely serve you this week.
Serving DUMBO, NY - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the DUMBO 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 DUMBO
At least once a year, and more often if any unit in the building reports a smell, smoke, or a drafting problem. Shared stacks change as each unit uses its fireplace differently, and the salt air and freeze-thaw cycles on the East River accelerate mortar deterioration. We recommend an annual Level 2 camera inspection for any DUMBO building with a shared stack, plus a sweep for each flue that’s actively used. Call (607) 695-6218 to schedule, and we’ll walk you through what’s involved.
No. A routine interior chimney sweep and flue cleaning does not require Landmarks Preservation Commission approval. But any exterior work, including chimney crown repair, masonry repointing, flashing replacement, or the installation of a new cap on an exterior chimney, does require LPC review. We know the process and can help you file the right way. Call (607) 695-6218 and we’ll tell you whether your job needs a permit before any work begins.
Yes. We isolate and draft the surrounding flues first, then sweep only the flue that serves your unit. This is standard practice for us in DUMBO’s shared stacks. Skipping this step can pull combustion gases from another loft into your space, so we never skip it. Call (607) 695-6218 to book a single-flue sweep in a shared stack.
Third-degree creosote glaze from decades of coal burning, followed by a layer of second-degree creosote from later wood use. The coal soot creates a hard, shiny glaze that standard wire brushes can’t always remove. We carry rotary cleaning tools and, when necessary, chemical removers that are safe for use in occupied homes. Call (607) 695-6218 with your building’s address and we’ll give you an honest assessment.
Because the flue is still the original chimney, and it still has to move combustion gases safely out of the building. Gas fireplaces produce moisture and acidic residue that slowly eat at terra-cotta liners. In DUMBO, where many lofts have original coal-era chimneys that have never been relined, a gas fireplace’s flue can be cracked or partially blocked without any visible smoke. An annual cleaning with a camera inspection confirms the liner is intact and drafting correctly. If you’re not sure when yours was last checked, call (607) 695-6218 and we’ll help you figure it out.
If you own or rent in a DUMBO loft with a fireplace, whether wood-burning or gas, we’re the team who knows these buildings. Call Kindling Chimney Brooklyn at (607) 695-6218 for a free estimate, and we’ll send a background-checked, uniformed technician who will show up on time, protect your floors, and hand you a written price before any work starts.
Written by Danny Cortes, Owner at Kindling Chimney Brooklyn, serving DUMBO and the surrounding neighborhoods as part of the Cedarwell family of companies, established in 2003.