Service area
Rolling Hills Estates chimney sweep for ranch houses along the bridle trails
AAA Chimney Sweep, family owned since 1977, sweeps and repairs chimneys in Rolling Hills Estates, the horse country city of white fences and more than 25 miles of bridle trails, where most houses passed fifty some time ago. We start with the damper. Then the crown.
What is the fireplace doing?
8am to 8pm
What wears out
Parts that give up on a fifty year old chimney
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The damper that will not budge
A cast iron damper sits just above the firebox and rusts in place over the decades. Stuck closed, it fills the room with smoke. Stuck open, the house loses warm air every night.
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A crown with hairline cracks
The crown is the concrete slab around the flue at the very top. Fifty summers of sun open fine cracks in it. Winter rain then gets into the brick below and, one wet season after another, washes the mortar out of the joints a little at a time.
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Mortar where the chimney meets the roof
Flashing and old mortar joints meet at the roofline. When they part, water runs into the attic long before a stain turns up on the ceiling.
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The screen nearest the stable
The city says any parcel touching a CAL FIRE zone takes that zone. Keep the chimney screen whole and branches ten feet back from the outlet.
Horse country without a city gate
Rolling Hills Estates became a city in 1957 to keep its rural feel and its horses. There is no citywide gate, so a visit here needs no guest list.
The city counts 30 neighborhood areas, each with its own homeowners association and style. Several joined through annexations between 1959 and 1966, and by 2018 the housing element put 80 percent of homes in Rolling Hills Estates past 50 years old, which is exactly the age when a cast iron damper seizes and a crown starts to open up. Worth a look.
Your association may have rules on exterior changes. A sweep never touches them. Check with it before a crown rebuild or a new cap in a different style.
The city runs public riding rings and the Peter Weber Equestrian Center.
Reviews from people who have booked us are on Yelp.
A few of the 30 neighborhood areas
- Montecillo
- Country Club Estates
- Masongate
- Harbor Sight
- Hillcrest Meadows
- Cresta Verdes
- Rolling Hills Park Estates
Services
Four services for the ranch house years
Fireplace repair
Rusted dampers freed up, or swapped out when the frame has gone.
Chimney repair
Crown patches or a full recast on a sixty year old top.
Chimney waterproofing
A breathable sealer on the brick once the crown is sound again.
Chimney inspection
Level I with every sweep. Level II with the camera when the house changes hands.
Questions
Rolling Hills Estates owners usually ask this
- Our damper is stuck. Repair it or replace it?
- It depends on the rust. If the plate and the frame are still sound, we clean the pivots, free it up and it opens and closes the way it did when the house was new. If the frame has rusted through, replace it.
- Does our homeowners association need to approve chimney work?
- A sweep changes nothing outside, so it rarely comes up. A rebuilt crown or a cap in a new style might. Each of the 30 neighborhood areas has its own association, so ask yours first.
- We keep horses. Is the chimney a fire risk to the barn?
- Less of one with a whole spark screen and branches ten feet back from the outlet, which the CAL FIRE guide calls for. Screens rust through, though. We check the mesh on every visit.
- Is spring a bad time to have the chimney swept?
- No, it is a good one. Winter soot comes out before warm humid days make it smell, and you miss the fall rush.
Nearby
Cities on the Rolling Hills Estates line
The city housing element lists five neighbors. We have pages for four of them.
Book a visit
Free up the damper before the first cold night
Call or use the form. Give us the street, then describe what happens when you light a fire. Sweeps are starting at $99 and inspections starting at $69. Every sweep includes a Level I inspection.
818-348-1993Open every day, 8am to 8pm, across Rolling Hills Estates.
Request a visit
We answer the same day during business hours.