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 Margate
A chimney inspection in Margate typically costs between $189 and $429, depending on whether you need a visual Level 1 check or a camera-assisted Level 2 inspection. Most inspections take 45 to 90 minutes, and we schedule Margate appointments within a few days, not weeks. If you’re buying or selling a home in Margate, a real estate inspection with photo documentation usually runs $249 to $429. Call (754) 354-1451 and we’ll give you a written price before anyone sets foot in your house.
We know Margate’s housing stock because we’ve worked on hundreds of these homes since 2002. The single-story concrete-block ranches built from the 1960s through the 1980s along streets like SW 8th Street and near Calypso Cove don’t have the same chimneys you’d find in older northeastern cities. What you have here is mostly prefabricated metal flues, and those fail differently than brick and mortar. That’s exactly what our Chimney Inspection team looks for when we come out.
Why Ashby Chimney Fort Lauderdale Is Margate’s Preferred Chimney Inspection Company
Nathan Corliss runs our Margate inspection work the same way he’s run Ashby Chimney Fort Lauderdale for more than two decades: show up on time, explain what you’re seeing in plain English, and put the price in writing before you lift a tool. Margate homeowners tend to be skeptical of chimney companies, and frankly, they should be. This industry has a reputation for finding phantom cracks and selling liner replacements nobody can verify. We do the opposite. Nothing gets recommended unless you can see it yourself on our camera screen.
Every Ashby technician who arrives at a Margate home is background-checked, uniformed, and carrying a written price sheet. You’ll know who’s walking through your door before they knock. Our phones are answered by a live person 24 hours a day, so when you call at 9 PM with a water leak dripping through your ceiling near the fireplace, you get a real human, not a voicemail loop.
We work under the Kingswell Guarantee, which means one thing in practice: if our inspection finds a problem and we fix it, that repair carries a written guarantee. If it fails inside the guarantee period, we come back and make it right at no charge. That’s the 365-Day Done Right Promise, and it applies to every repair we complete in Margate.
Styles & brands we work with
Chimney Leak in Margate
A chimney leak in Margate is rarely about the bricks, because most Margate homes don’t have brick chimneys. What we find instead is water getting in through a rusted-out metal cap, corroded flashing where the chimney meets the roof, or a degraded chase cover on a prefabricated unit. Salt-laden air off the Atlantic works on galvanized steel year-round, even when your fireplace hasn’t been lit since January. By the time you see a water stain on the ceiling near the fireplace, the damage has usually been building for months.
What a Leak Check Covers
We inspect the cap, flashing, chase cover, and the entire flue path with a camera to find where water is entering. On a recent inspection in the Lake Margate neighborhood, we found a prefabricated metal chimney with a rusted-out cap and corroded flashing, no creosote buildup at all. The visible interior damage was minimal, but the camera showed metal deterioration that was letting water run down into the ceiling.
What It Costs
A chimney leak inspection in Margate runs $189 to $349 depending on access and whether we’re pulling a camera through the flue. If we find a cap that needs replacing, a new stainless steel Famco cap is typically $145 to $285 installed. Flashing repair usually adds $180 to $350. You’ll get the full written price at the door before we touch anything.
Chimney Camera Inspection in Margate
A chimney camera inspection in Margate is the single most useful thing we do for these homes. Prefabricated metal chimneys hide their failures. You can shine a flashlight up from the firebox and see a completely different picture than what’s actually happening 15 feet up, where rust is eating through the interior wall. A camera inspection puts a live image on our screen, and we’ll call you over to look at it. You see what we see. If there’s a problem, you’ll know it’s real. If there isn’t, we’ll tell you that too.
When a Camera Inspection Makes Sense
Buying or selling a Margate home is the most common reason. Home inspectors in Florida rarely open up chimneys, and a standard Level 1 visual check won’t find hidden rust in a prefabricated flue. A Level 2 camera inspection gives the buyer or seller documented proof of the chimney’s condition. It also makes sense after any heavy storm season, since Margate gets hard summer rains that test every flashing joint on a roof.
What We Use
Our inspection cameras are commercial-grade units designed for flue work, not the kind you can buy at a hardware store. We inspect the full liner path, the smoke chamber if one exists, the cap, and the crown. You get a written report with photo documentation, and nothing gets recommended that the photos don’t show. That’s the whole point of the camera.
Trusted Brands We Service in Margate
When a Margate inspection uncovers a cap, flashing, or liner component that needs replacement, we use materials from established chimney-trade suppliers, not whatever was left in the van. We stock stainless steel caps and chase covers from Famco and Copperfield for the prefabricated units common in Margate’s ranch homes. For cast-in-place liner repairs, HeatShield is what we use. We keep common Margate replacement parts on our trucks, which means fewer follow-up visits and faster turnaround for you.
See the difference
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After
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AfterCommon Chimney Inspection Problems We See in Margate Homes
- Rusted-out metal caps on prefabricated chimneys. Salt air and high humidity eat through galvanized steel caps surprisingly fast, even on rarely used fireplaces. A rusted cap lets rain run straight down the flue.
- Corroded flashing where the chimney meets a shingle or tile roof. Margate’s heavy seasonal rains find every gap, and once flashing separates, water gets into the attic before you notice a ceiling stain.
- Appliances vented into flues that were never designed for them. Many 1960s-era Margate ranches had gas water heaters or furnaces retrofitted through old flue openings. That creates draft problems and, in a tightly sealed concrete-block home, a carbon monoxide risk worth checking.
- Creosote buildup in chimneys that haven’t been swept in years. It’s less common here than up north because Margate fireplaces burn only a few weeks a year, but when we do find it, it’s usually in a fireplace that hasn’t been inspected since the home was bought.
Pricing for Chimney Inspection in Margate, FL
Level 1 visual inspections in Margate run $189 to $229. That’s a straightforward check of the accessible portions of the fireplace and chimney, which is usually enough for a well-maintained home that’s used only occasionally. Level 2 camera inspections run $289 to $429 and include the full flue scan, photo documentation, and a written report. Real estate inspections fall in that same range. What affects the price: roof pitch and access, whether there are multiple flues, and whether the chimney has been cleaned recently. Nothing is recommended without camera evidence you can see. Call (754) 354-1451 for a free estimate, and the price we give you is the price on the invoice.
We Also Serve Cities Near Margate
Our Margate inspection crews also cover Pompano Beach, Plantation, Fort Lauderdale, and Hollywood. If you’re just outside Margate proper, give us a call and we’ll let you know about scheduling in your area.
Serving Margate, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Margate 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 Margate
Because in Margate’s climate, the damage happens when the fireplace is not being used. High humidity and salt air corrode metal caps, flashing, and prefabricated flue components continuously, whether you burn wood or not. Moisture rusts through metal, and before you know it, rainwater is running into your ceiling cavity. An annual inspection catches that rust while it’s still a cheap cap replacement, not a water damage restoration project. If you’d like us to check yours, call (754) 354-1451.
Yes, and in some ways it matters more. Prefabricated chimneys have more metal components than masonry chimneys, and metal rusts in Margate’s salt air. A factory-built chimney that looks fine from the firebox can have a rusted cap, corroded interior walls, or failed flashing that you’d never see without a camera. The inspection checks all of it.
A camera inspection sees inside the flue, where rust, cracks, separation between pipe sections, and hidden creosote accumulate. In Margate’s prefabricated systems, the failure point is often 10 to 20 feet up, invisible from the ground or through the firebox opening. The camera shows it on screen in real time, and you get photos with your written report.
Yes. Margate sits close enough to the coast that salt-laden sea breezes push inland, especially during the summer months when the ocean air is humid and persistent. Galvanized steel caps and flashing rust noticeably faster in these conditions. Stainless steel components, like the Famco caps we stock, hold up far better here.
Look for water stains on the ceiling near the fireplace, a damp or musty smell around the hearth, peeling paint or wallpaper near the chimney chase, or a visible gap where the chimney meets the roofline. All of these are signs water is getting where it shouldn’t be. A quick camera inspection identifies the exact entry point. Call us and we’ll schedule it.
If you’re in Margate and you want an honest chimney inspection backed by a written report and a guarantee, call Nathan Corliss and the Ashby team at (754) 354-1451. We’ll give you a written price before any work begins, and we’ll show you what we find on camera before we recommend a single repair.
Written by Nathan Corliss, Owner at Ashby Chimney Fort Lauderdale, serving Margate since 2002.