Skip to content
Design preview. Not public yet. Still to add: Business address, Local phone number, Opening hours, Lead form inbox.
Phone line coming soon
Cottage Grove, MN 55016

A cleaner, safer chimney for your Cottage Grove home

We sweep and inspect chimneys, fix the parts that let water in, and clean dryer vents, in Cottage Grove and the river towns next door. You get a clean flue, a straight answer about its condition, and a living room that looks the way we found it.

Phone line coming soonBook online
  • Wood and gas fireplaces, inserts and stoves
  • Brick and metal chimneys
  • Dryer vent on the same visit
Know your house

An older rambler and a new build need different things

Cottage Grove grew fast. The city went from about 800 residents in 1950 to more than 13,000 by 1970, according to the Metropolitan Council. So the chimney on your street depends a lot on when it was built.

Built in the late 1950s and 1960s

The first-wave rambler

The first big neighborhoods went up west of Highway 61: Thompson Grove, Pineridge Estates and the streets around Belden Boulevard. Most are ramblers with one brick chimney that has now seen more than 60 Minnesota winters. Water gets into the crown and the mortar joints, freezes, and opens the cracks a little more every year.

Many of these homes also vent the furnace and water heater into the same chimney. When a high-efficiency furnace moves to its own plastic vent, the water heater can be left alone in a flue that is now too big for it, and a weak draft lets gases cool and condense inside.

What we look at first

  • The crown and the mortar joints
  • Cracked clay flue tiles
  • A shared furnace or water heater flue

Built in the decades since

The newer subdivision home

Newer homes in Cottage Grove more often have a factory-built fireplace, a gas insert or a metal chimney inside a siding-covered chase. Those systems need the manufacturer's parts and clearances, not brick work, and the vent has to stay clear of nests and debris even though gas burns cleaner than wood.

Newer houses also tend to put the laundry far from an outside wall, which means a long dryer vent run to the roof or the side of the house. The longer the run, the more lint it holds.

What we look at first

  • Gas fireplace and insert venting
  • The chimney cap and chase cover
  • Long dryer vent runs
Through the year

When to book what

The NFPA 211 fire code standard calls for chimneys, fireplaces and vents to be inspected at least once a year. Here is how that year tends to go in Minnesota.

  1. Spring

    The burning season is over, so it is a good time for a sweep. Leftover creosote can smell stronger in warm, humid weather.

  2. Summer

    Good months for crown, mortar and brick repairs, since masonry work needs warm, dry days to cure properly.

  3. Fall

    The busy season. Book the yearly inspection before the first cold night, not after.

    Yearly inspection: NFPA 211, as quoted by CSIA
  4. Winter

    Clothes dryer fires peak in January, and failure to clean was a factor in 34% of them. If loads take two cycles, clean the vent.

    Source: U.S. Fire Administration

What visit day looks like

Tell us what you have when you book: wood or gas, fireplace or stove, and anything odd you have noticed, like smells, smoke, drafts or water stains. We agree on a time window and call before we arrive.

While we work

  • Drop cloths from the door to the hearth
  • The fireplace opening sealed off
  • A vacuum running the whole time we brush
  • A look at the system from the firebox to the cap

Before we leave

  • We show you what we found and what it means
  • Repairs are your call, with the options explained
  • The room is left tidy
Where we work

Cottage Grove and the river towns next door

Cottage Grove sits on the north bank of the Mississippi, and the city says it has more river shoreline than any other city in Minnesota.

See the full service area

  • Cottage GroveAll of ZIP 55016, old and new neighborhoods
  • WoodburyOur neighbor to the north
  • St. Paul ParkThe river town on the west side
  • NewportAlong the river at I-494
  • HastingsAcross the Mississippi on US 61
  • Denmark, Grey Cloud Island and AftonThe townships and small towns around us
Good questions

What Cottage Grove homeowners ask us

How often should a chimney in Cottage Grove be swept?

Have it inspected once a year, which is what the NFPA 211 standard calls for, and swept when the inspection finds buildup. CSIA's guideline for a masonry fireplace is to sweep at 1/8 inch of sooty buildup, or sooner if there is any glazed creosote. A fireplace you use most weekends from November to March will usually need a sweep every year.

My house is a 1950s or 1960s rambler. What should I have checked first?

Start with the crown, the mortar joints and the flue liner. Chimneys from that era have had more than 60 winters of freeze and thaw, and cracked crowns and flue tiles are common. If your furnace was replaced with a high-efficiency model, also ask us to check the water heater flue, since it may now be oversized.

Do gas fireplaces need a chimney inspection?

Yes. NFPA 211 covers vents as well as chimneys, so a gas fireplace or insert should be looked at once a year. Gas burns cleaner than wood, but vents still get blocked by nests and debris, and caps, gaskets and liners still wear out.

How do I know my dryer vent needs cleaning?

Common signs are loads that need two cycles, a dryer that feels hot on top, a burning or musty smell, and a flap on the outside hood that barely opens. The U.S. Fire Administration found that failure to clean contributed to 34 percent of residential dryer fires, and those fires peak in January.

Do you work outside Cottage Grove?

Yes. Besides Cottage Grove (ZIP 55016), we work in Woodbury, St. Paul Park, Newport, Hastings, Denmark Township, Grey Cloud Island Township and Afton. If you are close by and not on that list, ask anyway.

Can you do the chimney and the dryer vent on one visit?

Yes. Booking both together means one appointment, one setup and one cleanup.

Let's get your chimney on the calendar

Pick a day and an arrival window right here, and we call to confirm. Rather talk first? Call us, or send a request and we call you back.

Phone line coming soon
  • Morning, midday or afternoon arrival windows
  • Monday to Saturday, up to three weeks out
  • Chimney and dryer vent on one visit if you like

Pick a day

Loading open days...

Arrival window

Phone line coming soon Book online