Chimney Inspection in Calabasas, CA

What a chimney inspection actually turns up here

Smoke rolling into the room usually isn't soot. Tight newer windows plus a strong range hood pull the house negative. The fireplace becomes the makeup air inlet. So we run the hood and bath fans, then watch the throat with smoke. That test settles the argument in minutes.

Up the flue, we read mortar between clay tiles. Washed-out joints show as dark horizontal seams. Smoke chambers get the same look. Many were left as raw corbelled brick, never parged smooth. Those brick steps snag smoke and build creosote fast.

Orphaned water heaters come up constantly. The furnace got replaced and vented out a sidewall. The water heater kept the old masonry flue by itself. Too much flue, not enough heat. Condensation builds inside. Tiles flake and the joints give up.

Outside we read the crown and the cover. Mortar crowns troweled flush to the brick dump water straight down the face. A cast crown overhangs and carries a drip edge. Flat sheet metal chase covers pond water and rust through. Look for a rust streak on stucco or siding. That one you can spot from the driveway.

Firewood changes everything we find. Eucalyptus sold cheap is often green and heavy. It smolders and glazes the flue. Split oak, stacked a season, keeps the camera footage boring.