Service area
Chimney sweep in Hermosa Beach
AAA Chimney Sweep & Fire Protection Co. has been working Hermosa Beach chimneys since 1977. The Strand, the walk streets, Hermosa Valley and up into the hills. Family owned the whole time.
What is the fireplace doing?
8am to 8pm
Small city, hard conditions
Hermosa is a mile wide and packed tight, and almost every chimney here sits within a few blocks of salt water.
That does two things. It rusts metal fast, so caps and dampers fail here on a shorter cycle than anywhere inland. And it makes access half of every job, because plenty of these houses sit on lots barely wider than the house itself.
The housing runs from 1920s beach cottages that never got updated through to three storey rebuilds finished last year. Both have chimneys. The old ones have original clay tile and thin crowns. The new ones usually run gas inserts nobody has serviced since the certificate of occupancy.
Where we work in town
Every part of Hermosa Beach
- The Strand
- Hermosa Valley
- The walk streets
- Downtown and the pier
- North Hermosa
- East Hermosa
- Hermosa Hills
What we find on Hermosa Beach chimneys
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Caps rusted through
The most common repair in this city. Two blocks from the water, a galvanised cap has a few years in it. From the street it looks fine right up until it fails.
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Seized dampers
Corrosion locks the plate. Stuck open, you heat the outdoors all winter. Stuck closed, the first fire of the season fills the room with smoke.
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Thin crowns on the older cottages
A lot of the pre war housing has crowns poured thin, with no overhang. Sixty years of sun and salt later they are cracked and the water is going straight in.
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Gas inserts nobody has serviced
The rebuilds mostly run gas. Venting still fouls and burners still clog. On a gas unit, a blocked flue sends carbon monoxide into the house. That is the one that actually hurts someone.
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No van access
Walk streets and the tighter blocks mean parking on a cross street and carrying in. We know which streets those are, so everything the job needs comes in on the first trip.
What we do here
Services available in Hermosa Beach
Chimney sweeping
Drop cloths down, HEPA vacuum running, Level I inspection included.
Chimney inspection
Level I visual, or Level II camera the full length of the flue for escrow.
Chimney cap installation
Stainless caps that survive salt air. Galvanized ones do not last here.
Chimney leak repair
Ceiling stains and damp fireboxes traced back to the crown, cap or flashing.
Chimney repair
Crowns, mortar joints, spalling brick and damaged flue tile.
Gas fireplace repair
Pilots that will not hold, uneven burners, dead remotes, bad valves.
Reviews
What South Bay homeowners say
Straight from our Google and Yelp profiles. Nothing here is written by us.
Questions
Hermosa Beach chimney questions
- How soon can you get to Hermosa Beach?
- Call and we will tell you the next day we are working the beach cities. Hermosa, Manhattan and Redondo get scheduled together, so booking around one of those runs usually gets you in sooner.
- Can you park on a walk street?
- No, and we do not expect to. The van parks on the nearest cross street and the crew carries in. Give us the address when you book and we plan for it.
- How often should a Hermosa chimney be inspected?
- Once a year. The reason here is not creosote, since most of these fireplaces get lit a dozen times a winter. It is what the salt air has done to the cap, the damper and the flashing since last season.
- My place was rebuilt recently. Do I still need this?
- Yes. New construction is not a guarantee the venting was done right, and a gas insert needs annual service regardless of how new it is.
- Do you do inspections for escrow?
- Yes. A Level II camera inspection with a written report and photos is what buyers, agents and insurers ask for.
- Do you cover Manhattan Beach and Redondo too?
- Yes, along with El Segundo and Torrance, plus the whole Palos Verdes peninsula.
Nearby
Other cities we cover
Book a visit
Get on the next South Bay run
Tell us the cross street and what the fireplace is doing. If it is a cap or a damper, we usually know before we pull up.
818-348-1993Open every day, 8am to 8pm. Serving Hermosa Beach and the South Bay.
Request a visit
We answer the same day during business hours.