About 503 Chimney Sweep

Who we are and what we do

We sweep, inspect and repair residential chimneys, and that is the center of the business. The truck, the camera, the rods and the price board are all set up around one kind of work.

In practice that means open fireplaces, wood stoves, inserts and pellet stoves, the flues that serve furnaces and water heaters, and the caps, crowns, dampers, liners, flashing and brick that keep a chimney dry and drawing. Dryer vents and air ducts are on the list because the same vacuum and the same visit cover them.

We are a mobile service with no showroom and no retail counter. What would go into a storefront goes into the camera gear and the time to photograph every flue, and that is a large part of what lets us post prices in the first place.

How our pricing works

Every job on this site has a posted starting price, and that one figure covers the labor and the standard parts together. You hear the number for your chimney on the phone, before anyone drives out.

Each starting price assumes a standard setup: a single flue, a single-story roof, an appliance we can reach and buildup a brush can handle. Taller chimneys, second flues, glazed creosote and inserts that have to come out cost more, and the note under each line of the price board says which ones move.

Booking the work means paying no separate trip charge. An inspection is billed as its own line because it is its own job, and if the camera finds something during a sweep, the added work is priced and approved before it starts.

How a visit with us goes

Every job follows the same four steps, from the first text to the photos at the end.

1. You tell us what the fireplace is doing

   Call or text with the symptom. A photo of the fireplace or stove opening and one of the chimney from the yard usually lets us name the job on the spot.

2. You hear the price before we drive

   We give you the job and its posted price on the phone. If the photo leaves a question open, we tell you what might change the job before you book, not after we arrive.

3. We protect the room and do the work

   Drop cloths and a running vacuum come first, then the brush, then the camera. Anything the brush turns up that the quote did not cover is shown to you on the screen before it is touched.

4. You see the flue, before and after

   Before we pack up you get the photos, a plain word on whether the system is ready for a fire, and a written note of anything that should be done next with its posted price. The report follows by text or email.

What we bring to every visit

The truck is set up for the chimneys Portland homes have most, so a typical visit finishes without a second trip.

• Rods, brushes and whips sized for clay tile flues, stainless liners and stove pipe
• A HEPA vacuum and drop cloths, so the room looks the way it did when we arrived
• A flue camera and the screen to show you what it sees, plus the gear to photograph and send it
• Stainless caps and spark arrestor screens in the common sizes, with fasteners for brick and metal flues
• Firebrick, refractory mortar, crown coat and flashing sealant for the repairs that can be done on the first visit
• Dryer vent rods and the negative-pressure equipment for ducts, when they are booked with the sweep

Where we work

Our routes cover Portland and the suburbs of Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties, and run north to Scappoose in Columbia County, all in Oregon. Every neighborhood and city with its own page is listed below by county.

The list shows the places on our regular routes. A street just past them is often still within reach, so send the nearest intersection with your photos and we will check the drive before we quote.

Multnomah County, OR

• Alameda
• Alberta Arts District and Concordia
• Arbor Lodge and Overlook
• Beaumont-Wilshire
• Brentwood-Darlington
• Bridlemile
• Brooklyn
• Cully
• Eastmoreland and Reed
• Forest Heights and Forest Park
• Foster-Powell
• Hawthorne and Sunnyside
• Hazelwood and Mill Park
• Hillsdale
• Hollywood District and Grant Park
• Irvington
• Kenton
• Laurelhurst
• Lents
• Montavilla
• Mt. Tabor
• Multnomah Village
• Northwest District and Nob Hill
• Parkrose and Argay Terrace
• Piedmont and Humboldt
• Powellhurst-Gilbert
• Richmond and Division
• Rose City Park
• Roseway and Madison South
• Sellwood-Moreland
• Southwest Hills and Council Crest
• St. Johns
• University Park and Portsmouth
• Woodlawn
• Woodstock
• Fairview and Wood Village
• Gresham
• Troutdale

Washington County, OR

• Aloha
• Beaverton
• Cedar Mill and Bethany
• Cornelius
• Forest Grove
• Hillsboro
• King City
• Raleigh Hills and Garden Home
• Sherwood
• Tigard
• Tualatin
• West Slope and Sylvan

Clackamas County, OR

• Canby
• Clackamas
• Damascus and Boring
• Gladstone
• Happy Valley
• Lake Oswego
• Milwaukie
• Oak Grove and Jennings Lodge
• Oregon City
• Sandy
• West Linn
• Wilsonville

Columbia County, OR

• Scappoose

The rules we hold ourselves to

These are the commitments behind every visit, written down so you can hold us to them.

• The price is agreed before we drive out. If the camera changes the job, we stop and agree on the new number before any work continues.
• You see your own flue. The before and after photos are yours, and anything we recommend is backed by a frame you can look at.
• A repair, when a repair is right. Most chimneys need a cap, a crown coat or some repointing, not a liner or a rebuild, and that is what we will tell you.
• When a liner or a rebuild really is the right call, we price both paths side by side and leave the decision with you.
• We say plainly when a fireplace or stove should not be used. A flue that failed an inspection stays cold until it is fixed, and we would rather lose the job than say otherwise.
• Roof work waits for safe footing. Wet moss on a steep roof is a reason to come back on a dry day, not a reason to hurry.
• Vaux's swifts are never removed. They are a protected migratory bird, so a flue they roost or nest in stays untouched until they leave, and the sweep or the cap is booked for after.