Free written estimate before any work begins
Chimney Repair in San Mateo, CA
From a cracked crown to a full rebuild, with the scope and the price agreed in writing before anyone picks up a tool.
Licensed & insured · 134 reviews
Get a Free Quote
Fast response. No obligation.
Chimney Repair for San Mateo homes
San Mateo covers more ground and more decades than any of its neighbors, and the chimney work is correspondingly varied. San Mateo Park and Baywood hold substantial pre-war homes with tall, well-built masonry stacks and often more than one fireplace. Move east into North Central and the housing gets older, denser and considerably more mixed. Head south to Shoreview and the Hillsdale area and the stock is largely 1950s and 1960s, with lighter masonry and a growing share of prefabricated units. Because the city runs from the bay margin up into the hills, the exposure changes as much as the construction does, and two houses a few miles apart in the same city can present entirely different problems in the same rainy week.
The widest span of housing stock on this stretch of the Peninsula: substantial pre-war masonry in San Mateo Park and Baywood, dense older mixed housing in North Central, and 1950s-1960s construction with lighter masonry and prefabricated units toward Shoreview and Hillsdale. Exposure varies sharply between the bay margin and the hills.
Included in every job
- The cause fixed, not the symptom
- Written scope, fixed price
- Matched materials
- Work that suits the structure
Warning signs
When San Mateo homes need this service
- Pieces of mortar or brick in the firebox or on the roof
- Damp patches on the ceiling or wall next to the chimney breast
- A white powdery bloom on the outside brickwork
- The crown at the top is cracked, spalled or missing
- The stack leans, bows, or has a visible gap where it meets the roof
- Rusted or missing flashing at the roofline
- Cracked or displaced flue tiles found during an inspection
- Damage after an earthquake or a major storm
Chimney Repair in San Mateo
Call (209) 447-0752 for same-week availability.
Process
How the visit works
Diagnose the cause
Inspection first, including the roof and the flue, so the quote addresses the reason and not just the visible damage.
Scope and quote in writing
What we will do, the materials, the access needed and the price. Free, and yours to compare.
Protect the site
Roof and grounds protected before the work starts, and access arranged so nothing is dropped where it should not be.
Carry out the repair
Repointing, crown rebuilding, liner replacement, flashing, cap fitting or a full rebuild, depending on what the diagnosis found.
Water test and photograph
Where the repair addressed a leak we test it, and you get before and after photographs on completion.
Questions
FAQs
Do you cover all of San Mateo?
Yes, from North Central and downtown through Baywood and San Mateo Park out to Shoreview and Hillsdale. It is a short drive from our Millbrae shop and it is one of the areas we are in most weeks.
Why does my neighbor's chimney need work when mine does not?
In San Mateo that is genuinely common, because the housing stock changes so much street to street. A 1920s stack in San Mateo Park and a 1960s prefab a few miles away in Shoreview are different systems with different lifespans and different failure points.
How do I know whether it needs repointing or rebuilding?
It depends on how deep the failure goes. If the mortar has eroded but the bricks are sound and the stack is straight, repointing is the answer. If bricks are spalling, the stack is leaning, or the structure has moved, rebuilding the affected section is the safer and often cheaper long-term option. The inspection tells us which.
My chimney leaks when it rains. Where is the water coming from?
Usually one of four places: a cracked crown, missing or failed flashing where the chimney meets the roof, porous or unpointed brickwork, or a missing cap letting rain straight down the flue. They present identically inside the house, which is why we diagnose before quoting.
Contact Alpine Chimney
Alpine Chimney Company
1080 Broadway
Millbrae, CA 94030
(209) 447-0752
info@alpinechimneycompany.com
Request a Free Quote
Fast response. No obligation.