Free written estimate before any work begins
Chimney Inspection in South San Francisco, 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 South San Francisco homes
The housing in South San Francisco splits neatly into two eras and the chimney work follows the split. The older neighborhoods below Sign Hill, laid out for workers at the steel plant and the shipyards, hold compact 1920s and 1930s homes with brick stacks that have now had a century of salt air on them. Westborough and the developments up the hill are a different proposition, built from the 1960s onward and far more likely to have a prefabricated metal firebox and a factory-built Class A chimney behind a decorative chase. Those two systems fail in completely different ways and are repaired with completely different parts, which is why the first question we ask on a South San Francisco call is which side of town the house is on.
A clear split between pre-war masonry near the older downtown and Sign Hill, and 1960s-onward hillside housing with prefabricated metal fireboxes and factory-built chimneys in decorative chases. Salt-laden air accelerates corrosion on metal systems and erodes mortar on the older brick.
Included in every job
- You see what we see
- Written and defensible
- Escrow deadlines met
- Repairs quoted, not guessed
Warning signs
When South San Francisco 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 South San Francisco
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
How do I know if I have a real masonry chimney or a metal one?
Look inside the firebox. Firebrick laid in courses with mortar joints means masonry. Smooth panels, often with a visible seam or a metal lip, mean a prefabricated unit. It matters, because a prefab firebox is a manufactured appliance with specific replacement parts rather than something that can simply be repointed.
Does the salt air really affect the chimney?
It does, particularly on the metal components. Caps, flashing, dampers and factory-built chimney sections corrode noticeably faster on this side of the Peninsula than they do inland, and a rusted-through cap is one of the more common findings here.
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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