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 Sweep Across Castle Hills
A standard chimney sweep in Castle Hills typically runs between $189 and $269, and most appointments are completed in 60 to 90 minutes. The cost covers a full flue cleaning, a visual inspection of accessible components, and the clean-up before our crew leaves. If you’re calling for a fireplace that has not been swept in over two years, or if you have heard scratching sounds from the firebox in the fall, expect the visit to take a bit longer and the price to land closer to the high end of that range. Call (361) 491-3153 for an exact quote for your Castle Hills home.
Castle Hills is a city of mature oaks, winding residential streets, and large masonry chimneys that do not behave like the newer construction you see south of Loop 1604. Our crews know the difference. We arrive with the right equipment for multi-story brick and stone chimneys, we protect hardwood floors and carpeted bedrooms from the front door to the hearth, and we explain what we found in plain English before any additional work is discussed. That is how a Chimney Sweep visit should feel: clear, calm, and complete.
As part of the Cedarwell family of companies, established in 2003, Kindling Chimney San Antonio is independently owned and operated. Scheduling and dispatch are coordinated from our Dallas-Fort Worth office, and our Castle Hills technicians live and work in the greater San Antonio area. When you call, a live person answers. We do not use voicemail trees or after-hours answering services that promise a callback days later.
Why Kindling Chimney San Antonio Is Castle Hills’s Preferred Chimney Sweep Company
Castle Hills homeowners call us because our written price arrives before the work starts, every time. No one likes standing at the front door while a technician writes up an estimate on a clipboard and then adds a liner recommendation that doubles the bill. We quote the sweep upfront, we explain what the price includes, and we honor that number. The 365-Day Done Right Promise stands behind the work: if something is not right, we return and make it right. No fine print.
Our technicians are background-checked, uniformed, and trained on the C.A.R.E. values that govern every visit. C stands for Courtesy, which means shoe covers go on before we step inside and drop cloths protect the floors around the hearth. A stands for Accountability: we photograph the clean-up before we leave so you can see exactly what we did. R stands for Respect: we move nothing in your home without asking first. E stands for Excellence, which shows up in the quality of the sweep itself. Families with kids and pets notice the difference immediately, and they tell us so.
Danny Cortes leads the Kindling Chimney San Antonio team, and he has seen enough chimneys in Castle Hills to know that every street here is a little different. A home on a tree-heavy lot near the Castle Hills Forest neighborhood faces different creosote and animal nesting pressure than a home on a more open lot closer to Loop 1604. That local knowledge shapes how we inspect, what we recommend, and what we tell you can safely wait.
Styles & brands we work with





Gas Fireplace Cleaning in Castle Hills
Gas Fireplace Cleaning in Castle Hills usually runs between $149 and $199, and it involves more than vacuuming the glass and wiping the logs. Many Castle Hills homes have direct-vent or B-vent gas fireplaces that accumulate fine soot, pet hair, and dust across the burner, pilot assembly, and logs. When the gas is shut off and the unit is cool, we remove the logs or media, clean the burner ports, vacuum the firebox, clean the glass inside with a non-abrasive cleaner, and reassemble the unit to manufacturer specifications. This is the service families with younger children often schedule before burning season, because a clean gas fireplace produces less odor and fewer airborne particulates in the living room.
What We Check During the Cleaning
We inspect the pilot flame color, the log placement, and the gasket seal around the glass. A yellow, lazy flame can indicate incomplete combustion, and we flag that for you on the spot. We do not recommend parts replacement unless we can show you a photo or a live video of the issue.
When Castle Hills Homeowners Need It
If you use the fireplace weekly from November through February, an annual cleaning before the first cold snap is the right cadence. Pet owners in Castle Hills with dogs and cats that shed heavily often see faster soot accumulation around the burner, and they tend to schedule more frequently.
Chimney Maintenance in Castle Hills
Chimney Maintenance in Castle Hills is an annual habit that costs between $169 and $289 depending on what the chimney needs that year. A maintenance visit includes a visual inspection of the crown, cap, flashing, and firebox, plus a sweep when creosote or soot accumulation warrants it. The goal is to catch small problems before they become expensive ones: a hairline crack in the crown, a loose chimney cap, or a damper that no longer seals tightly.
Crown and Cap Inspection
On heavily landscaped Castle Hills lots, oak branches hang over many chimney crowns. Falling acorns, twigs, and leaves land on the crown and hold moisture against the mortar. Over time that causes crown spalling. We inspect the crown every visit, and we tell you honestly when it can be patched with a sealant versus when it needs to be rebuilt.
Damper and Flue Health
We check the damper operation and the condition of the flue liner. Original clay liners in Castle Hills homes built in the 1960s and 1970s are reaching the age where hairline cracks are common. Not every crack requires immediate relining. When we find one, we show you the video footage and explain what it means before any recommendation is made.
Trusted Brands We Service in Castle Hills
We work with professional-grade chimney products from Olympia Chimney, Famco, and Copperfield because repairs should outlast the season they are installed. When a Castle Hills homeowner needs a new chimney cap, a replacement damper, or a stainless liner component, we source parts from suppliers we know and stock the most common sizes locally, which shortens the wait between diagnosis and repair. You will not find a shelf of off-brand caps on our truck. Danny Cortes is particular about that: a chimney cap that rusts through in three years is not a repair, it is a postponement.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterCommon Chimney Sweep Problems We See in Castle Hills Homes
- Raccoon and squirrel nests in the flue. The mature oak canopy gives animals a direct path from branch to roof, and fall nesting is far more common in Castle Hills than in the treeless subdivisions south of Loop 1604. We remove the nest, sweep the flue, and recommend a properly fitted cap or top-sealing damper.
- Accelerated creosote from shaded flues. Chimneys that sit in heavy shade run cooler, and cooler flues condense more creosote out of wood smoke. We see second-degree glazing on shaded Castle Hills chimneys even in homes that burn seasoned wood and have the fireplace swept annually.
- Hairline cracks in original clay liners. Castle Hills sits on expansive clay soil, and decades of subtle ground movement transfer up through the masonry chimney structure. A Level 2 video scan often reveals cracks that a visual sweep alone would miss.
- Crown mortar spalling from debris and moisture. Overhanging oaks drop organic material onto the crown, where it traps water. That moisture works into the mortar and causes the crown surface to flake and crumble. By the time it is visible from the ground, water has often already intruded into the firebox area.
Pricing for Chimney Sweep in Castle Hills, TX
A standard chimney sweep in Castle Hills costs $189 to $269. Gas fireplace cleaning runs $149 to $199. A Level 1 inspection, which accompanies every sweep at no additional charge, is included. A Level 2 inspection, which adds a video scan of the flue interior and is the right choice when buying or selling a Castle Hills home or after an animal nesting event, runs $299 to $399. The main things that move the price within these ranges are flue height, creosote severity, and the presence of animal debris or a non-standard cap. Every quote is written and delivered before work starts. Call (361) 491-3153 for a free estimate. The estimate is free, and the price does not change once you have it in writing.
We Also Serve Cities Near Castle Hills
Kindling Chimney San Antonio serves homeowners throughout Castle Hills and the surrounding communities, including San Antonio, New Braunfels, Converse, and Live Oak. If you live just outside Castle Hills and are unsure whether we service your street, call us. Dispatch and scheduling for the region are handled through our Dallas-Fort Worth office, and our local crews cover the Castle Hills area directly.
Serving Castle Hills, TX - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Castle Hills 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 Sweep in Castle Hills
Yes. A chimney that spends most of the day in shade stays cooler, and cooler flue gases condense more creosote onto the liner walls. We regularly find second-degree glazed creosote in Castle Hills chimneys surrounded by mature oaks, even when homeowners burn dry, seasoned wood. If your chimney is heavily shaded, plan on an annual sweep and ask us to check the creosote level during the visit. Call (361) 491-3153 to schedule a sweep at your Castle Hills home.
Yes, it can, especially in attached or closely-spaced custom homes where flues share a masonry wall cavity. If your neighbor has a gas appliance venting into an adjacent flue and the flue liners or the shared wall have developed gaps, combustion gases can migrate into your flue and affect your draft. A Level 2 inspection with a video scan is the only way to see what is actually happening inside that shared structure. We recommend it when a neighbor reports issues or when you notice draft problems that come and go unpredictably.
The clay soils underneath Castle Hills expand and contract with moisture and drought cycles, and that movement transmits through the foundation and into the masonry chimney. Over fifty or sixty years, that repeated micro-movement produces hairline cracks in rigid clay flue liners even with minimal fireplace use. The cracks are usually invisible from the firebox. A Level 2 video scan reveals them. Not every crack requires immediate relining, but every cracked liner should be documented and monitored. Call us to schedule a scan if your home still has its original clay liner.
A properly fitted stainless cap is usually the first and best line of defense, but given how many Castle Hills homes sit under large oaks, we often go a step further. A Gelco top-sealing damper closes the flue from the top and does double duty: it blocks animals and it reduces humid air exchange during the hot summer months. On a shaded Castle Hills chimney, that humidity control alone helps slow creosote formation and protects the liner during the cooling season. We would not recommend a top-sealing damper without first showing you why the standard cap falls short for your specific roofline.
Once a year, before the first extended cold period, is the right cadence for most gas fireplaces in Castle Hills. Homes with pets that shed heavily, or homes that run the gas fireplace as a primary heat source in the coldest weeks, may need a mid-season cleaning of the burner and glass. A clean gas fireplace burns with less odor, less soot on the glass, and fewer fine particles in the room. The service takes under an hour in most cases and runs $149 to $199. Call (361) 491-3153 to book your Castle Hills gas fireplace cleaning.
Written by Danny Cortes, Owner at Kindling Chimney San Antonio, serving Castle Hills and the surrounding communities.