Twenty-five of the questions DFW homeowners ask us most, answered the way we'd answer them standing in your living room. No jargon, no scare tactics.
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Almost certainly. Lowes Chimney Sweep runs daily routes across 98 cities in the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex, from Plano and Frisco out to Weatherford and Greenville. Check our service areas page, or call (214) 225-8874, if you're in North Texas, the answer is usually yes.
Often the FAST scheduling. Because our crews are routed across all corners of DFW daily, calling early in the morning frequently means a trained technician at your home that afternoon. Next-day appointments are almost always available.
Our office is open seven days a week, 8 AM to 8 PM, including Saturdays and Sundays, so you can always reach us to schedule. On-site service runs Sunday through Friday. Our technicians do not run jobs on Saturdays, but a Saturday call gets you on the schedule for the next available day. Weekend appointments carry no premium pricing.
For cleaning services, pricing is priced with a clear, upfront quote after an on-site inspection and jobs carry a minimum. For repair work, we can give you a ballpark over the phone based on photos, your address, and any estimates you already have from other companies. The final price is confirmed with an on-site inspection. Request a Free Online Quote through our contact form or call (214) 225-8874.
Yes. Every Lowes technician is professionally trained, background checked, and covered by comprehensive liability insurance. The person entering your home is a vetted employee of a local Plano company, never an anonymous subcontractor.
Everything about cleaning lives on our chimney sweep service page.
Creosote is a tar-like residue left by wood smoke that coats your flue walls, and it's highly flammable. When enough accumulates, a stray spark can ignite it into a chimney fire hot enough to crack the flue and spread to your home's framing. Regular sweeping removes it before it reaches dangerous levels.
They don't build creosote like wood-burning fireplaces, but yes, gas fireplaces need annual attention. Venting can be blocked by debris or nests, burners collect dust that disrupts the flame, and small gas components wear out. The cleaning process itself is the same as for a wood fireplace: we run a brush from the bottom of the flue all the way to the top to make sure there is no blockage, and we remove everything that has collected inside, not just creosote. Because the process is the same, the price is typically the same as well. An annual gas fireplace service keeps everything safe and reliable.
Creosote keeps accumulating and eventually glazes into a hardened, highly flammable layer. Draft worsens, smoke and odors enter the home, and the fire risk climbs each season. Unswept chimneys are the leading factor in home heating fires nationwide, according to the National Fire Protection Association. The bottom line: a chimney that is never serviced is not safe to use. By code, every chimney should be inspected once a year. It does not always need cleaning, but it always needs the inspection, because the inspection is what tells you whether cleaning or repairs are needed. Handle what the inspection finds and your chimney is safe to use. Skip it, and it is not.
Physically, yes. Chimney brushes are easy to find on Amazon; just make sure the rod length is taller than your chimney so the brush reaches all the way from the bottom to the top, and be ready for the mess if you do not have HEPA containment. But here is the part that matters: cleaning is not the same as safety. The most important part of chimney service is the inspection, and that is the part you cannot do yourself. It takes trained eyes to find cracks, gaps, and hidden damage, and the skills to repair what turns up. A clean flue is not necessarily a safe flue. If you sweep it yourself, at least have it professionally inspected once a year.
Details on Level 1, 2 & 3 evaluations are on our chimney inspection page.
Level 1 is a visual check of accessible areas, appropriate for a chimney under normal use. Level 2 adds a camera scan of the flue interior and is required after any chimney fire, before property sales, or after changes to the system. Level 3 involves opening up concealed areas when serious hidden damage is suspected.
Strongly yes. A general home inspector's chimney knowledge is limited: they check only a few spots and move on. Hidden cracks, failed liners, and past chimney fires are easy to miss without a Level 1 inspection by a professional chimney sweep company, and the repairs can run into thousands of dollars. Here is the part buyers miss: whatever our inspection finds becomes negotiating leverage against the seller, so the report often pays for itself many times over before you close. While we are out there, have the dryer vent inspected too. It is one of the highest-value checks a buyer can order.
No. A sweep physically cleans the flue; an inspection evaluates the system's condition and safety. Our sweeps include a visual condition check, but a formal Level 1, 2, or 3 inspection is a separate, documented service, the right choice after a fire, before a purchase, or when something seems wrong.
A written summary of the chimney's condition with photos of everything we find, flue, liner, crown, cap, flashing, firebox, and damper, plus clear explanations of any issues, their urgency, and written pricing for recommended repairs. You get documentation you can act on, keep for insurance, or share with a buyer or seller.
A real person answers our phone seven days a week, and honest answers are free.
(214) 225-8874Water problems trace back to the crown, flashing, cap, or mortar joints, here's how to tell.
The usual suspects, in order: a cracked crown letting water into the masonry, failed flashing where the chimney meets the roof, a missing or damaged cap letting rain straight down the flue, or porous brick and mortar absorbing water. Diagnosis matters, fixing the wrong one wastes money while the real leak continues.
The crown is the concrete surface sealing the top of a masonry chimney. The cap is the metal cover over the flue opening that keeps out rain and animals. A chase cover is the metal lid on a framed (prefab) chimney chase, it does the crown's job on non-masonry chimneys. All three shed water; they just belong to different chimney types.
Tuckpointing (also called repointing) is the process of grinding out deteriorated mortar joints between bricks and refilling them with fresh, color-matched mortar. It restores both the structure and the appearance of aging masonry, and it's dramatically cheaper than waiting until bricks loosen and a rebuild is needed.
Look for crumbling or recessed joints you can rake out with a key, white staining (efflorescence) on the brick, gaps where mortar has fallen away entirely, or mortar debris on the roof or ground below. Any of these means water is getting in, and North Texas freeze-thaw cycles will widen the damage every winter.
Often for sudden events, hail, storms, lightning, or a chimney fire, but rarely for gradual wear or deferred maintenance. Every policy differs, so check yours. Our photo documentation of damage and repairs gives you exactly the evidence an insurance claim needs.
Deeper answers live on our fireplace repair and gas & electric fireplace pages.
Usually a draft problem: a closed or broken damper, a blocked or dirty flue, a cold flue that hasn't been primed, negative air pressure in a tightly sealed home, or a chimney that's too short for proper draw. Some causes are simple habits; others need professional correction. If smoke appears every burn, stop using the fireplace until it's checked.
The most common culprits are a failed thermocouple or thermopile, a dirty or misaligned pilot assembly, a tripped safety switch, or gas supply issues. Some fixes are simple part replacements; all involve gas, so this isn't a DIY guessing game. Our technicians diagnose and repair most gas fireplace failures in a single visit.
Once a year, ideally before the heating season. Annual service covers burner and pilot cleaning, venting checks, safety control testing, and glass and gasket inspection. It's the difference between a fireplace that lights on the first cold night and one that doesn't.
Cracked or crumbling refractory panels, gaps in mortar joints inside the firebox, rust on metal components, or bricks that move when pressed. The firebox contains your home's most intense heat, cracks let that heat reach framing behind the walls, so damage here should be repaired before the next fire, not after.
Structural questions? Start with chimney rebuild & construction.
When damage goes structural: leaning stacks, widespread spalling brick, failed masonry below the roofline, or crowns and joints too far gone to restore. Partial rebuilds (from the roofline up) solve many cases at a fraction of full-rebuild cost. An honest assessment with photos tells you which side of the line your chimney is on.
Most single repairs, caps, crown sealing, flashing, minor tuckpointing, are done in one visit of one to four hours. Larger masonry work runs one to three days, and full rebuilds typically take several days depending on height and access. You'll get a time estimate with your written quote before anything starts.
Treat it as one. A visible lean or separation from the house means the structure is failing, and masonry collapses without much warning. Keep people, pets, and cars away from the fall zone, don't use the fireplace, and call us immediately at (214) 225-8874 for an urgent evaluation.
Still weighing your options? Seeing is believing, our before-and-after gallery shows what these repairs actually look like on real DFW homes.
Free online quotes · FAST scheduling when available · Open Sundays · Serving 98 DFW cities
(214) 225-8874📍 1008 Ridgefield Dr, Plano TX 75075 | 🕗 Open 7 days · 8AM-8PM
