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Chimney Inspection in Half Moon Bay, CA
Level 1 and Level 2 inspections to CSIA standard, with camera footage and a written report you can hand to an agent or an insurer.
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Chimney Inspection for Half Moon Bay homes
Half Moon Bay gets weather that the inland Peninsula never sees, and chimneys here are specified accordingly. Winter storms come in off open ocean and arrive with enough wind behind them to drive rain horizontally into the seaward face of a stack for hours at a time. Masonry that would comfortably shed the same volume of vertical rain soaks through under that, and metal components corrode on a coastal timetable rather than an inland one. The older housing along Main Street and through the original town is genuine period construction with brick that has been weathering this for a century, while Ocean Colony and the newer subdivisions bring prefabricated systems that are equally exposed. Wood heat is used seriously here, because coastal nights are cold and damp well outside the winter months.
Direct ocean exposure with sustained wind-driven storm rain, salt corrosion and cold damp nights that extend the burning season well beyond winter. Period masonry through the original town alongside prefabricated systems in the newer coastal subdivisions. Waterproofing and stainless components are specified as standard.
Included in every job
- You see what we see
- Written and defensible
- Escrow deadlines met
- Repairs quoted, not guessed
Warning signs
When Half Moon Bay homes need this service
- You are buying or selling a house with a fireplace
- The chimney has been through an earthquake or a heavy storm
- There has been a chimney fire, even a small one
- You are switching fuels or fitting a new stove or insert
- The fireplace has been unused for several years
- You can see cracks, missing mortar or a leaning stack from outside
- Water is getting in, or there are damp patches on the wall around the chimney
Chimney Inspection in Half Moon Bay
Call (209) 447-0752 for same-week availability.
Process
How the visit works
Confirm the right level
Level 1 for an annual check on a system in continued service. Level 2 for a sale, a fuel change, or after an event that could have damaged the flue.
Inspect the readily accessible
Firebox, damper, smoke chamber, hearth, the visible exterior structure and the clearances to combustible material.
Camera the full flue
A camera run of the whole liner, which is what turns a Level 1 into a Level 2 and what finds cracked tiles and open joints.
Check the exterior and roof
Crown, cap, flashing, mortar joints and the condition of the stack above the roofline.
Deliver the report
Findings, photographs, the standard applied and a clear statement of what is safe to use and what is not.
Questions
FAQs
Do you come out to the coast?
Yes. Half Moon Bay and the coastside communities are a scheduled part of our week, and we plan coast trips together so we can offer a proper appointment window rather than a vague day.
My chimney is fine all year and leaks in January. Why?
Because January storms here arrive with the rain travelling sideways. It gets pushed into the face of the masonry and the flashing rather than landing on the crown, so the entry point is somewhere a normal inspection from the ground will never find.
What is the difference between Level 1 and Level 2?
Level 1 covers the readily accessible parts of a system that is in continued service with no changes. Level 2 adds a camera scan of the full flue and is the standard required when a property is sold, when the fuel or appliance changes, or after an event such as an earthquake or a chimney fire.
I am selling my house and the buyer wants a chimney report.
That is a Level 2 inspection. We schedule around the escrow date, run the camera through the whole flue and send a written report with photographs, usually the same or next day.
Contact Alpine Chimney
Alpine Chimney Company
1080 Broadway
Millbrae, CA 94030
(209) 447-0752
info@alpinechimneycompany.com
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Fast response. No obligation.