Frequently Asked Questions

A standard sweep takes 45 to 90 minutes from setup to cleanup, depending on how much creosote has built up and how easy the roof access is. Add 20 to 30 minutes if we're also doing a camera inspection. We lay drop cloths, run a high-powered vacuum with HEPA filtration, and leave the hearth cleaner than we found it. You don't need to be home for the full appointment, but you're welcome to watch from a safe distance if you'd like to see how it's done.

We set up protection around the fireplace, then remove creosote and soot from the flue using brushes sized to your chimney's exact dimensions. The sweep happens from the roof or the firebox depending on access, and a HEPA vacuum runs throughout to capture dust. Afterward we inspect the damper, smoke chamber, and firebox, and with your permission we can run a camera up the flue to check for cracks, gaps, or liner damage. You get a photo report of anything we find.

Sometimes, but it depends on the roof and the chimney. Many single-story San Francisco homes with easy roof access allow for a top-down sweep, which is the standard. For steep roofs or difficult setups, we can often work from the firebox upward with a bottom-up system, but not every chimney allows for that. When you call, we'll ask about your roof and chimney height and tell you honestly what's possible. Either way, the flue gets brushed to the top and the job is done properly.

If you burn wood regularly through our cool, foggy winters, sweep once a year, ideally in late summer or early fall before the rainy season starts. Occasional fires for ambiance can go every two years, but if you have a gas fireplace, an annual safety check for venting and carbon monoxide is still smart. Homes near the coast in the Richmond and Sunset districts see more moisture-related creosote hardening, so we tend to advise those homeowners not to stretch intervals too far.

Yes. Gas fireplaces produce less creosote, but they still build up soot and dust, and more importantly their venting systems need to be checked for blockages, corrosion, and carbon monoxide leaks. A gas fireplace chimney inspection in San Francisco homes with older gas inserts is a genuine safety check, not a formality. We also inspect the glass, logs, and ignition components if you ask. The vent is the part we care about most because that's where a blocked flue turns dangerous.

Creosote is the black or brown residue that wood smoke leaves inside your chimney. It forms in stages and becomes harder and more flammable as it builds, especially in San Francisco's damp, cool air. Stage-one creosote is flaky and brushes out easily. Stage-three creosote is a hard, glossy glaze that can require chemical treatment or rotary tools. At its worst, creosote ignites, and a chimney fire burns hot enough to crack the liner and spread. That's the thing a sweep prevents.

We do not offer dryer vent cleaning at this time. Our focus at Alcott Chimney San Francisco is chimneys, fireplaces, and their venting, and we would rather refer you to a specialist for a dryer vent than do a job halfway. Keeping one trade sharp means we know flues, liners, dampers, and caps cold, and that's where we keep our attention.

We stock and install caps and dampers from Gelco and Olympia Chimney, both of which build parts that hold up to San Francisco's damp, salt-tinged air. Gelco makes a multi-flue cap that works well on older San Francisco rooflines with multiple flues close together. Olympia's locking top-sealing dampers are a good fit for drafty fireplaces in older Victorians. We'll talk through which one fits your chimney before we order anything, and the price is set in writing first.

Yes, Copperfield supplies some of the chimney brushes, rods, and cleaning tools we use in the field. Their equipment is durable and sized to work across the wide range of flue dimensions you see in San Francisco, from narrow Edwardian flues to wide mid-century masonry chimneys. When it comes to parts that stay on your home, like caps and dampers, we lean on Gelco and Olympia Chimney. For the gear we bring to your house, Copperfield has done well for us.

Look for rust, missing mesh, or a cap that's no longer sitting square on the flue. Rust holes let rain into the flue, and in San Francisco that rain mixes with creosote to form an acidic slurry that eats mortar. Missing mesh means birds and squirrels can get in. If a cap has been on the roof for more than 10 years in our coastal air, it's worth having us check it. Replacement caps from Gelco or Olympia typically run $150 to $400 installed depending on flue size and roof access.

Yes, and dampers are one of the things we replace most often on older San Francisco fireplaces. A broken or missing damper lets heated air escape in winter and lets fog and cold air pour down in summer. We install both traditional throat dampers and top-sealing dampers, and we'll recommend one based on your fireplace and how you use it. The written quote you get before the job covers the damper, the install, and any adjustment to the handle or cable.

Every pro working under the Alcott name is required to hold the license and insurance their state requires. When we book your sweep, you'll know who is coming and you'll be able to see their badge with a photo ID at the door before they step inside. That's the Threshold Standard, and it's the reason a lot of San Francisco homeowners who are home alone, or have young kids, or are older choose us: we prove who we are before we walk in.

The Threshold Standard is the five-point code every Alcott location is held to: background-check and identity-verify every technician, send the tech's name and photo before the visit, show a photo ID badge at the door every time, arrive in a clean marked uniform, and put the price in writing before any work starts. Every Alcott chimney sweep in San Francisco works under this code. If anyone shows up who you weren't told to expect, that visit is on us and we make it right.

Yes. Before your sweep, we send the name and photo of the technician coming to your home, along with the scheduled time. When they arrive, they show a photo ID badge at the door. You never open the door to a stranger without knowing who to expect. That's the part of our process we hear the most gratitude for from San Francisco customers, especially older homeowners and parents with young kids at home during the day.

Your technician arrives in a clean, marked uniform with a photo ID badge, and their name and photo were sent to you before the visit. If the person at the door doesn't match the person we told you to expect, don't open it. Call (831) 534-3789 and we'll sort it out. The promise behind the Threshold Standard is that if anyone arrives who you weren't told to expect, that visit is on us and we make it right.

Get everyone out of the house and call 911 first. A chimney fire sounds like a freight train roaring up the flue, and you can sometimes see flames or dense smoke from the chimney top. Do not try to put water in the firebox, because the rapid temperature change can crack the masonry and make things worse. Once the fire department has cleared the scene, call us to inspect the flue for damage before you burn again.

Not necessarily an emergency, but it's worth a call. A smoky smell in warm weather usually means a drafting problem, a dirty flue, or negative air pressure in the house. In San Francisco, houses built tight against the wind can pull air down the chimney instead of letting it rise. Sometimes the fix is a cleaning to remove creosote that holds odor. Sometimes it's a cap or damper issue. Call (831) 534-3789 and we'll troubleshoot it by phone, then book a visit if needed. Our hours are Monday through Friday 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM and Sunday 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM.

We do not promise same-day service. A sweep is booked in advance, and honestly, a good chimney company should be booked ahead in the fall anyway. Late summer and early fall are our busiest times in San Francisco as homeowners prep for the rainy and burning season. If you call in the spring or summer, you'll usually get a slot within a few days. Our scheduling hours are Monday through Friday 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM and Sunday 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM.

Our guarantee is simple: the chimney gets swept properly, the price you were quoted in writing is the price you pay, and the person we sent is the person who arrives. If anything about the job isn't right, we come back and fix it at no charge. Homeowners in San Francisco choose Alcott not because we're the cheapest, but because the vetting and the written price remove the anxiety of letting a stranger into their home.

Yes. Parts we install, like Gelco and Olympia caps and dampers, carry their manufacturer warranties, and our workmanship is covered as well. If a cap we installed comes loose or a damper we set doesn't operate properly, we return and correct it. Alcott Chimney Sweep is part of the Threshold Group family, and Threshold Verified means every job is vetted from the first call to the final walk-through. The details of any warranty are in writing before work starts.

Call us. We'll come back and re-sweep at no charge. If you requested a camera inspection and the flue wasn't fully cleaned, the footage will show it, and we'll make it right. The San Francisco market has enough fly-by-night chimney companies that we don't need to compete on promises alone. The Threshold Standard means we put everything in writing, we show you exactly who is coming, and we stand behind the work. If something's not right, you call, we fix it.