Local Chimney and Fireplace Service in Forest Hills

A fireplace that smells of smoke or tar when nobody has lit it is a familiar complaint, and tracking down the cause is a service we offer homeowners in Forest Hills, a neighborhood within the city of Tampa. Our family-owned team sweeps, repairs and seals chimneys, and handles gas work too. The inspection costs you nothing, and a sweep, a repair or anything else is 10% off when you book it no more than 72 hours later.

The smell usually has two ingredients, deposits in the chimney and air moving down through it. Creosote and soot give off a sharp odor, and humidity or rain soaking into them makes it stronger. On its own that smell would stay in the flue, but when the house pulls air in through the chimney, it arrives in the room.

Kitchen and bath exhaust fans, a clothes dryer or a tightly sealed house can all create that pull. Other smells point elsewhere. A musty, damp odor suggests water getting into the chimney through the cap, crown or masonry. A foul, decaying smell can mean a dead animal or nesting debris in the flue or smoke chamber.

We check for each of these, because deodorizing a chimney that is still wet or blocked only masks the problem for a few days. The fix follows the cause. Sweeping removes the deposits that carry the odor, and a cap keeps rain off what remains. A damper that seals tightly, including a top-sealing model on the chimney top, keeps the house from drawing air down the flue while the fireplace is idle.

Where the pull is strong, giving the house another source of fresh air can help as well, and we explain what we see. Each step is priced upfront, so you can start with the sweep and add the cap or damper only if needed. We protect the room during the work, clean up and haul the debris away, and leave a written record of the findings and the work.

Our workmanship warranty covers it, and our 100% satisfaction guarantee applies too. To arrange an odor visit in Forest Hills, give us your address and tell us when the smell is strongest, for example after rain, on humid days or when exhaust fans are running.