Level 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.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterFast, Reliable Chimney Sweep Across Highlands
A chimney sweep in Highlands typically costs $189 – $289 for a standard open-masonry fireplace, with Level 1 inspections included on every sweep. Most Highlands homes we visit were built between the 1940s and 1970s, and many haven’t had their flues touched since Harvey. If you’re off E. Wallisville Road, near Crosby-Lynchburg, or down by the San Jacinto River, call (336) 863-3889 for a written quote before we ever start.
We’re Chimney Sweep specialists, and we know what Highlands chimneys actually look like inside. That’s the difference between a sweep that just brushes soot and one that finds the silt-packed, rust-seized problems hiding above your firebox. Crews are dispatched from our Houston office and serve Highlands locally, so you’re never waiting on someone driving in from across the metro.
Why Alcott Chimney Sweep Is Highlands’s Preferred Chimney Sweep Company
Homeowners in Highlands call us because we show our work. Before any recommendation leaves our tech’s mouth, you’ve seen the camera footage on a monitor. No liner replacement pitch without the video. No flashing repair without the cracked mortar on screen. Ruben Castellano built the company on that standard in 2002, and it’s why people who were burned by pressure-driven upsells after Harvey stick with us.
Every Alcott technician is background-checked and identity-verified under the Threshold Standard before they ever set foot on your property. You’ll know the technician’s name and see their photo before we arrive, and they’ll show a photo ID badge at the door. When you’re home alone with young kids or it’s just you and the dog, that matters more than any coupon.
We answer the phone with a live person around the clock. If you smell smoke at 11 p.m. and aren’t sure whether to call someone, call us. A real human picks up, not a queue.
Every job includes a written price before work begins, a written guarantee on every repair, and a free return visit if a repair fails within 365 days. That’s the 365-Day Done Right Promise, and it’s not a paid add-on. It’s how we’ve done business since 2002 as part of the Threshold Group family.
Chimney Maintenance in Highlands
Chimney maintenance in Highlands means dealing with what the San Jacinto bottomland does to a firebox: long idle stretches in saturated air, mortar erosion, and animals moving into stacks nobody uses for nine months out of the year. A maintenance visit here runs $189 – $289 and includes a full sweep, damper check, and Level 1 inspection. For Highlands specifically, we always clear the smoke shelf and check for silt and debris that doesn’t belong there.
Annual Upkeep for Idle Fireplaces
Highlands homeowners use their fireplaces maybe a few weeks each winter. That’s it. The rest of the year, humidity sits in the flue while raccoons and chimney swifts look for a dry spot to nest. Annual maintenance catches mortar erosion and animal intrusions before either one becomes a structural bill.
Harvey-Related Follow-Up
If your house flooded in 2017 and you stopped using the fireplace afterward, the smart move is a maintenance visit with a camera. Floodwater left deposits most sweeps never look for because most sweeps never see them. We do, and we document everything.
Chimney Sweep Services in Highlands
Chimney sweep services in Highlands start with a full brushing of the flue, removal of creosote (the tar-like buildup that causes chimney fires) and soot, and a Level 1 inspection. Standard sweeps run $189 – $289. If we’re clearing Harvey silt or freeing a rust-fused damper, that’s quoted separately and in writing before any tool touches your chimney.
Creosote and Soot Removal
Creosote builds up every time you burn, even if it’s only a handful of fires per year. In Highlands’s humidity, that creosote absorbs moisture and turns acidic, which accelerates flue damage. We brush it out and show you the before-and-after on camera.
Fireplace Cleaning
Fireplace cleaning here often means more than ash and soot. We pull grates, clear the firebox floor, and check for the compacted river silt that Harvey left in hundreds of Highlands homes. If your damper plate is rusted into a solid block, we’ll tell you and show you, then quote the freeing job separately.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Highlands
When a Highlands chimney needs a liner or components replaced, we carry and install the same trade brands chimney professionals specify: DuraFlex liner systems, Famco components, and Copperfield products. Not box-store substitutes. Because we stock these locally for Highlands customers, we’re not waiting on a distributor in another county when your repair window is short. If your clay-tile flue is shot and a stainless liner is the real fix, you’ll get the DuraFlex recommendation with camera evidence backing it, and a written price on the spot.
Common Chimney Sweep Problems We See in Highlands Homes
- Harvey silt packed on the smoke shelf. Floodwater crested into thousands of Highlands fireboxes in 2017, and many owners never cleared the dried river deposits. This sits there for years, blocking airflow and corroding the damper assembly.
- Rust-fused damper plates. Humidity does slow damage, but a submerged damper plate rusts into a solid block. When your damper won’t budge, it’s often this, not a mechanical failure from normal wear.
- Clay-tile flue joints opening up. Highlands’s original 1940s – 1970s brick ranches used clay tile liners. Half a century of bottomland moisture cycling separates those joints and lets creosote migrate into the surrounding masonry.
- Nesting raccoons and chimney swifts. Chimneys that sit idle for months in a humid, wooded area are prime real estate. We find nests, droppings, and birds trapped in dampers. The fix starts with a proper cap and a swept flue.
Pricing for Chimney Sweep in Highlands, TX
A standard sweep in Highlands runs $189 – $289, including the Level 1 inspection and a camera look at the flue if you want it. If you need Harvey silt clearing, a jammed damper freed, or animal removal, those costs are quoted separately and in writing before we begin. A Level 2 inspection (the one with the full camera scan) adds $150 – $350 depending on what we’re looking at and how many flues you have. We don’t quote “while we’re in there.” You get a number, on paper, before anything happens. Call (336) 863-3889 for a free estimate, and we’ll tell you exactly what your chimney needs without a single vague upcharge.
We Also Serve Cities Near Highlands
Our crews work throughout the San Jacinto corridor and the surrounding Harris County communities. If you’re in Chimney Sweep in Highlands territory or just across the water, we also serve Channelview, Crosby, Baytown, and La Porte. Same written pricing, same name-and-photo technician preview, same 365-day guarantee.
Serving Highlands, TX - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Highlands 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 Highlands
Yes, and even more than a home that’s been burning regularly. Floodwater leaves behind silt and debris that sits in the firebox and flue, holding moisture against the masonry and corroding every metal component. Even if you never light another fire, that trapped moisture is slowly degrading your chimney from the inside. We routinely pull dampers in Highlands homes that haven’t been touched since 2017 and find a two-inch layer of dried river silt fused to the smoke shelf. A standard sweep with a camera look costs $189 – $289, and it’s the only way to know what Harvey actually left behind. Call (336) 863-3889 to schedule.
You’ll see the camera footage yourself. Nothing gets recommended without a Level 2 inspection and a monitor in front of you showing the actual cracks, gaps, or erosion. If a liner is genuinely compromised, you’ll see it and we’ll quote DuraFlex in writing. If it’s not, we’ll tell you it’s not, and the sweep is the whole job. That’s how Ruben Castellano has run Alcott since 2002, and it’s the exact reason we have a 365-day guarantee on every repair. Get a free estimate at (336) 863-3889.
Because Highlands sits in the San Jacinto River bottomland, where ambient humidity stays higher year-round than in upland Houston suburbs. That moisture gets into mortar joints, accelerates clay-tile liner deterioration, and keeps creosote damp and acidic. Add the prolonged submersion from Harvey, and Highlands chimneys carry a failure load that drier, higher-ground communities simply don’t face. Annual inspection matters here, even if you rarely burn.
It usually means rust. In homes that flooded in Harvey, the damper plate was submerged or saturated, then sat for years in humid air, and has now fused into place. Sometimes it’s a raccoon or chimney swift nest blocking the mechanism. Either way, forcing it with a hammer risks cracking the surrounding masonry. We free it properly and tell you if the plate itself needs replacement. Call (336) 863-3889 and we’ll take a look.
Every week. The majority of Highlands’s housing stock is mid-century brick ranch built with clay-tile liners or no liner at all, and that mortar has been absorbing bottomland humidity for 50 to 80 years. Many of those flues have deteriorated joints that let creosote migrate into the masonry. We sweep them carefully, scope them with a camera, and only recommend relining when the evidence clearly shows the flue isn’t safe to burn. Estimates are free at (336) 863-3889.
If you’re ready to get your Highlands chimney swept and inspected, call us at (336) 863-3889 now. A live person answers. You’ll get a written price, a name and photo of your technician, and the only chimney sweep in Highlands built around what actually happened to this town’s chimneys after Harvey.
Written by Ruben Castellano, Owner at Alcott Chimney Sweep, serving Highlands since 2002.