Service area
Torrance chimney sweep, from the 1912 blocks to the Riviera
AAA Chimney Sweep is the family owned chimney business that sweeps, relines and repairs Torrance chimneys. That covers the Olmsted blocks around El Prado, the 1950s streets of Southwood, Walteria below the hills and the Hollywood Riviera. Prices: sweeps starting at $99, inspections starting at $69.
What is the fireplace doing?
8am to 8pm
Old Torrance
The first Torrance chimneys went up on the Olmsted plan
The oldest part of town is the grid the Olmsted Brothers drew in 1912, and those are the chimneys we inspect most carefully.
The plan ran to 109 blocks, with the homes set upwind of the factories and El Prado lined up so people could see Mount Baldy on a clear day. Irving Gill designed some of the first buildings. The town opened in October 1912 and became a city in 1921.
Then came the autumn of 1941. Two magnitude 4.8 quakes hit Torrance and Gardena, on October 21 and again on November 14. Both did damage. Caltech's quake records note damaged chimneys and store fronts that collapsed downtown. A chimney built before then has been through both of them.
That is why an Old Torrance flue gets a camera before we price any work. A cracked clay tile is invisible from the hearth.
Across the city
How the chimney changes from one Torrance district to the next
Torrance had 7,271 people in 1930 and 100,991 by 1960. Census counts put roughly 35,000 of today's homes in the 1950s and 1960s. Most Torrance chimneys come from that boom.
- Old Torrance
- El Prado
- Southwood
- Walteria
- Hollywood Riviera
- El Retiro
- North Torrance
- Southeast Torrance
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The Olmsted blocks
Masonry from before 1941. The camera goes up the full height, we check every tile joint, and look hard at the crown for old patch jobs.
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Southwood and the 1950s streets
Southwood's houses date from the early 1950s, like thousands more across the city. A damper from 1952 is past seventy now. Plates rust thin. Crowns crack where they meet the flue.
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The Hollywood Riviera
Clifford Reid opened the Riviera in 1928 and wanted Mediterranean cottages under red tile. Most of it was built out in the 1950s. On a tile roof the flashing at the chimney is where leaks start, and loose tile cracks under a careless boot. This is also the beach end of Torrance, so caps and damper plates take salt.
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Walteria
Walteria joined Torrance in 1928. The 1941 quake damaged its first school. Houses here span several decades, so we date the chimney on the first visit and inspect to match.
Services
Matched to the age of a Torrance house
Chimney inspection
Level II camera runs for pre-1941 flues and for any Torrance house that is changing hands.
Chimney relining
Stainless liners for Old Torrance clay tile that failed on camera.
Chimney repair
Crowns rebuilt and joints repointed on the city's 1950s and 1960s stacks.
Chimney leak repair
Reflashing where a Riviera chimney meets red roof tile.
Chimney cap installation
Stainless caps for the homes closest to Torrance Beach.
Before you book
Torrance questions, answered
- My house is in the Olmsted tract. Why do you want a camera inspection?
- It may be old enough to have lived through the 1941 Torrance-Gardena quakes, which damaged chimneys in town. Cracked flue tile hides above the damper. A Level II puts a camera on every joint and you keep the photos.
- Is the fireplace in my Southwood house still original?
- If nobody has replaced it, probably, since the Southwood homeowners association dates most of the neighbourhood's houses to the early 1950s. We check the damper, the firebox and the crown, and tell you which parts are still from the first owner.
- Do you have to pull up red roof tile to fix a leak on the Riviera?
- Only the pieces around the chimney. The leak is usually at the flashing. We lift what we need, reflash, and set the tile back.
- We are selling in Torrance. Which chimney inspection does the sale need?
- A Level II. NFPA 211 calls for one when a property changes hands. You get a written report with photos to pass to the buyer.
Close by
Beyond the Torrance city line
Redondo sits to the north and the Palos Verdes hills rise to the south. Here are the pages for the cities around you.
Book a visit
Tell us which part of Torrance you are in
Old Torrance, Southwood, Walteria or the Riviera. Give us the cross street and describe the problem, and we will have a fair idea of the chimney before we arrive. Past customers have left reviews on our Yelp page, worth reading before you ring us.
818-348-1993We pick up from 8am to 8pm, all week. Sweeps starting at $99.
Request a visit
We answer the same day during business hours.