Sweep & inspection
Caps & crowns
Flue relining
Masonry repair
Gas fireplace serviceLevel 1 sweep and inspection to the NFPA 211 annual standard - flue, crown, cap, and flashing checked and photographed
Chimney sweep logs do not sweep chimneys. They loosen some creosote - which then falls where a brush and vacuum still have to collect it.
Fast, Reliable Chimney Inspection Across Ives Estates
A chimney inspection in Ives Estates typically runs between $149 and $399, depending on the level of inspection your home needs. Most Level 1 inspections take under an hour and can be scheduled within a few days. If you live in a 1950s or 1960s ranch home near NE 205th Street or along Ives Dairy Road, we recommend starting with a Level 2 camera inspection because the original clay flue liners in these homes are often cracked or missing entirely. Call us at (754) 354-1451 and we’ll give you a written price before anyone steps foot in your home.
Why Ashby Chimney Fort Lauderdale Is Ives Estates’s Preferred Chimney Inspection Company
We’ve been inspecting chimneys in South Florida since 2002, and the homes in Ives Estates have a specific set of problems we know how to find. Most of the ranch houses here were built between the 1950s and 1970s, and their masonry chimneys were never engineered for South Florida’s humidity and salt air. What that means in practice: we look for corrosion behind the cap, not just creosote buildup, because that’s what actually fails first in this community.
Our technicians show up in uniform, background-checked, and carrying the right tools for the job. We don’t subcontract work out. The person you talk to on the phone is a live person, any hour of any day, and the price we quote at the door is the price on your invoice. That’s the Kingswell Way: say the price, show up in the window, leave it cleaner, put the guarantee in writing, come back if it fails. Nathan Corliss built this business on that promise, and every inspection we do in Ives Estates carries it.
When you call us about a chimney inspection near NE 10th Avenue or the Skylake area, we schedule you directly. No callback forms, no voicemail loops. And every repair we recommend gets backed by a written guarantee. If a repair fails inside the guarantee period, we return and fix it at no charge. That’s our 365-Day Done Right Promise, and it’s not an upsell. It’s just how we work.
Styles & brands we work with
Chimney Leak in Ives Estates
A Chimney Leak in Ives Estates is rarely about the bricks themselves. It’s almost always the flashing, the crown, or a cap that salt air has eaten through. The prevailing onshore breeze here means galvanized steel components corrode from the inside out, and a leak that starts small becomes spalling brick, efflorescence, and mold on the interior wall after a few thunderstorms. We trace the water entry with a camera before recommending any repair, so you can see the source with your own eyes before you spend a dollar.
Flashing and Crown Repairs
Ives Estates homes with original 1950s flashing often have failed sealant at the roof line. We price flashing repair work clearly: a typical flashing replacement runs $450 to $850 here, and a chimney crown repair or rebuild runs $600 to $1,100 depending on access. We use stainless steel flashing and proper crown sealant, not whatever was in the van. Salt air demands better materials, and we specify them for every coastal inspection.
Waterproofing for Humid Climate Exposure
Our Chimney Inspection team checks masonry absorption rates before recommending waterproofing. In Ives Estates, the combination of storm-driven rain and constant humidity means a chimney that absorbs water is a chimney that fails early. A waterproofing application on a typical ranch home chimney runs $350 to $600 and buys years of protection. We use breathable masonry sealant so moisture inside the brick can still escape.
Chimney Camera Inspection in Ives Estates
A Chimney Camera Inspection in Ives Estates is the fastest way to find out exactly what is going on inside a flue that hasn’t been opened in years. We run a high-resolution camera through the flue liner, the smoke chamber, and the damper area, and we show you the footage in real time on a screen. A Level 2 camera inspection in Ives Estates runs $249 to $399, and it’s the inspection level we recommend for any home older than 20 years or any chimney that hasn’t been used in two or more seasons.
What the Camera Finds
A camera inspection routinely uncovers cracked clay flue tile, nests in the smoke chamber, and dampers seized with rust. We recently inspected a masonry chimney on a 1960s ranch in the Skylake neighborhood after the homeowner smelled droppings in the living room. Our Level 2 camera inspection found a raccoon nest in the smoke chamber, a cracked clay flue liner, and a galvanized chimney cap so corroded by salt air that the damper was seized. We removed the nest, replaced the cap with a stainless steel Famco unit, and installed a HeatShield flue liner, resolving the odor and restoring a safe draft.
Real Estate Inspections
Buying a home near Ives Estates? A camera inspection is standard due diligence here. Sellers rarely know the condition of their flue, and a cracked liner or animal nest is a negotiation point you want in writing. We provide a photo report with every camera inspection, so you can show an agent or a contractor exactly what the camera saw. Real estate inspection reports from us are accepted by local inspectors and we schedule around closing timelines.
Trusted Brands We Service in Ives Estates
When we repair or replace components in Ives Estates, we use materials from manufacturers that build for coastal conditions. We stock stainless steel caps and dampers from Famco, liners from HeatShield, and flashing components from Copperfield for fast turnaround in this market. We don’t install galvanized caps on chimneys within ten miles of the Atlantic. The salt air here makes that a five-year part, and we’re not going to sell you a repair that’s doomed before it’s paid off. Ashby carries ash right in the name, fitting for the people whose job is to clean it out and keep it sound.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterCommon Chimney Inspection Problems We See in Ives Estates Homes
- Salt-air corrosion behind the cap. A Level 1 visual check often misses this because the rust is inside the cap assembly. We pull the cap on every inspection within five miles of the coast and check for hidden deterioration that will seize the damper or let rainwater in.
- Raccoon and squirrel nests in uncapped flues. The quiet, rarely-used chimneys of these ranch homes are ideal den sites, and homeowners often discover the problem only when they smell droppings in the living room. An uncapped flue in Ives Estates will eventually host a critter.
- Cracked clay flue liners from 1950s and 1960s construction. Original liners in Ives Estates ranch homes were never designed for six decades of thermal cycling. A camera inspection shows the vertical cracks that a visual check can’t see.
- Efflorescence and spalling brick below the roofline. Storm-driven rain enters through cracked crowns and failed flashing, and the salts in the brick migrate to the surface. This is the visible signature of a moisture problem that started higher up the chimney.
Pricing for Chimney Inspection in Ives Estates, FL
Here’s what a chimney inspection costs in Ives Estates, in plain dollars. A Level 1 visual inspection runs $149 to $199. A Level 2 camera inspection runs $249 to $399. A Level 3 inspection, which involves removing portions of the chimney or flue to access hidden areas, starts at $800 and is quoted after we see the Level 2 footage. What affects cost most in this market: roof pitch and access, whether we need to remove a corroded cap to inspect the damper, and whether you want a photo report included. Every job gets a written price before any work starts, so the number on your invoice matches the number we quoted at the door. Call (754) 354-1451 for a free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near Ives Estates
Our Chimney Inspection in Ives Estates crews also cover Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Pompano Beach, and Aventura. If you’re in a neighboring community and dealing with the same salt-air corrosion or a critter in the flue, we’ll come to you with the same written pricing and guarantee. Call us and we’ll schedule an inspection wherever you are.
Serving Ives Estates, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Ives Estates area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About Chimney Inspection in Ives Estates
Every two years at minimum. Even a fireplace you never light is still a hole in your roof, and in Ives Estates that hole collects salt air, rainwater, and eventually raccoons. The inspection is about the structure and the cap, not the creosote. An inspection catches a corroded cap or a cracked crown before it becomes a $3,000 masonry repair. Call (754) 354-1451 and we’ll get you on the schedule.
Salt air. Ives Estates sits about 10 miles from the Atlantic, and the prevailing onshore breeze carries salt particles that settle on metal surfaces and accelerate corrosion. Galvanized steel caps can fail within five to seven years here, while stainless steel caps from Famco typically last two decades or more. That’s why we specify stainless for every coastal inspection and replacement.
Raccoons, followed by squirrels. The ranch homes here have quiet, rarely-used chimneys that make ideal den sites, and an uncapped flue is an open invitation. The first sign is usually a smell in the living room, and by then the nest is fully established. We remove the animal humanely, clean out the debris, and cap the flue so it doesn’t happen again.
Yes. A musty smell after rain usually means water is entering the chimney and saturating the smoke chamber or deteriorating an old nest. Our camera inspection shows exactly where the water is getting in, whether it’s a cracked crown, failed flashing, or a rusted-out cap. You’ll see the footage yourself, and we’ll give you a written price to fix what the camera found.
Yes. If your home still has its original clay flue liner, there is a strong chance it’s cracked or missing in sections. A Level 2 camera inspection is the only way to see the condition of the liner, the smoke chamber, and the hidden areas a Level 1 visual check can’t reach. For a home this age, a $249 to $399 camera inspection is the difference between a $200 checkup and a $3,000 repair you discover too late. Call (754) 354-1451 for a free estimate and we’ll walk you through exactly what an inspection covers.
Written by Nathan Corliss, Owner at Ashby Chimney Fort Lauderdale, serving Ives Estates and surrounding communities since 2002.