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 Marietta
A chimney inspection in Marietta typically runs $189 – $425 depending on the level, and most homeowners book one for two reasons: they’re buying or selling a house, or the flue hasn’t been looked at in years and burning season is coming. Marietta’s mix of century-old bungalows, 1960s ranch homes, and shared-wall duplexes means one inspection standard doesn’t fit every house. Our crews know the difference between a 1922 unlined brick chimney off Cherokee Street and a 1980s metal flue near Kennesaw Mountain. That local knowledge is why Marietta homeowners call us at (229) 350-8952 when they want a straight answer, not a sales pitch. We write the price down before we touch anything. You’ll know the technician’s name and see their photo before we arrive.
Why Alcott Chimney Marietta Is Marietta’s Preferred Chimney Inspection Company
Ruben Castellano has built Alcott Chimney Sweep since 2002 on one idea: a chimney company should be as verified as the inspection it performs. In Marietta, that means every technician who drives toward the Square or out to the Powder Springs Road corridor is background-checked, identity-verified, and announced to you by name and photo before they ring the bell. We call it the Threshold Standard, and it’s not an upgrade. It’s how every single visit works.
Marietta homeowners use us because the inspection comes with a written price before work begins and a written guarantee on any repair we recommend. If a repair fails within 365 days, the second visit is free. That’s the 365-Day Done Right Promise, and we put it in writing. No vague assurances, no “we stand behind our work” without a date attached. For older homeowners near the historic district who open the door to a stranger, or parents with young children at home in East Cobb, knowing the face at the door matches the photo sent earlier changes the whole experience. Our Chimney Inspection team serves all of Marietta, from Whitlock Avenue to Sandy Plains Road.
Styles & brands we work with
Chimney Fire in Marietta
Chimney Fire is the term Marietta homeowners sometimes use when they mean a chimney fire has already happened, or when they’re asking us to determine whether their flue is at risk of one. In Marietta, the risk is real but specific: historic unlined flues and shallow smoke shelves in early 20th-century homes collect creosote differently than modern lined chimneys. Short cold snaps followed by warm spells cause creosote to harden into a glaze that’s harder to remove and easier to ignite. When someone near the Square tells us they smell smoke or saw sparks from the chimney cap, they’re usually asking two things: what happened, and can this house still be used safely.
What to Expect From the Visit
The first thing we do is a full visual and camera run of the flue. We’re looking for creosote buildup, cracked flue tiles, and what technicians call a “hot spot” where the liner has separated. If there’s already been a chimney fire, the flue often shows a honeycomb pattern in the clay or metal warping. We document everything on camera so you see exactly what we see, then hand you a written price for cleaning and repair before any work starts. Nothing gets recommended without camera evidence.
What a Chimney Fire Inspection Costs
In Marietta, an inspection after a suspected chimney fire runs $225 – $425. The higher end includes a full Level 2 camera inspection and a written repair plan if the flue is damaged. A standard visual check before burning season runs $189 – $249. We do not charge to walk away if the chimney is sound, and we never recommend a liner replacement without showing you the camera footage that proves it’s needed.
Level 2 Chimney Inspection in Marietta
Level 2 Chimney Inspection in Marietta is what a homeowner needs when the house is changing hands, when the flue system has been modified, or when something happened that might have compromised it, like a chimney fire, a falling branch, or a neighbor’s renovation in a shared wall. This level includes everything in a Level 1 inspection plus camera scanning of the entire flue interior, and it’s the standard for real estate transactions in Cobb County. In Marietta’s historic district, Level 2 inspections are especially important because adjacent or shared flues and old masonry make hidden cracks more common.
When a Marietta Home Needs This Level
You need a Level 2 if you’re buying or selling a home, if you’ve switched fuel types, if a new liner or appliance was installed, or if a storm, earthquake, or fire affected the chimney. In attached historic homes around the Marietta Square, a neighbor’s flue gas can enter your home through a cracked party-wall chimney. A Level 2 inspection is the only way to identify that cross-flue damage without opening the wall.
What the Camera Reveals
Our technicians run a high-resolution camera from the top of the flue to the cleanout. In Marietta’s older homes, the camera often reveals what the eye can’t: spalling brick, missing mortar joints, cracked tiles, or nests packed into the smoke shelf. For a shared stack, the camera identifies whether interior partitions between flues are still intact. The written report includes photos and a clear recommendation, and nothing gets recommended without image evidence.
Trusted Brands We Service in Marietta
We carry and install professional trade materials specified by chimney professionals, not box-store substitutes. For Marietta homes, that means liner systems from DuraFlex and HeatShield resurfacing when a flue needs to be restored rather than replaced. We also work with components from Gelco and Olympia Chimney. Because we stock these materials for our Marietta service routes, turnaround on a recommended repair is faster than you’d expect, especially during the pre-season rush from September through November. If your inspection turns up a cracked flue, you won’t wait weeks for a part to ship across the country.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterCommon Chimney Inspection Problems We See in Marietta Homes
- Shared-flue cross contamination in historic attached homes. A neighbor’s unlined flue or gas appliance can vent into your smoke chamber if the interior partition in the shared stack has cracked. This is a carbon monoxide risk that a basic visual check will miss.
- Shallow smoke shelves clogged with creosote and nesting debris. Marietta’s tree canopy, especially around the historic district, means squirrels and birds frequently nest in uncapped flues. Combined with a shallow shelf, this causes smoke rollout into living spaces when draft is low.
- Spalling brick from humidity and freeze-thaw cycles. Marietta’s humid summers soak into old brick, and winter cold snaps freeze the moisture. The face of the brick pops off over time, and chunks can fall into the flue and block the damper.
- Missing or deteriorated chimney caps. Many 1960s-1980s ranch homes around east and west Marietta never had a proper cap installed, or the cap has rusted through. Rain, birds, and leaves get in, accelerating liner damage.
Pricing for Chimney Inspection in Marietta, GA
We Also Serve Cities Near Marietta
Our crews regularly serve homeowners in Smyrna, Kennesaw, Powder Springs, and Mableton. If you’re just outside Marietta’s city limits, we can still schedule your inspection. For full details on our service area and what we cover in each city, see our Chimney Inspection in Marietta page.
Serving Marietta, GA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Marietta 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 Marietta
Yes. If you live in an attached or semi-attached home in Marietta’s historic district where your chimney stack is shared with another unit, a Level 2 inspection is the minimum standard. The camera run is the only way to confirm the interior partition between your flue and your neighbor’s is still intact. We recommend this before every burning season in those shared stacks. Call (229) 350-8952 to schedule one.
Every year, before the first fire of the season. Unlined brick flues in 1920s bungalows absorb moisture and deteriorate faster than lined flues, and Marietta’s humid summers accelerate the spalling. A yearly inspection by our Chimney Sweep in Marietta catches mortar loss and blockages before they become chimney fires. We recommend a Level 2 every five years for unlined flues given the age of the masonry.
Yes, and it can do worse than that. A neighbor’s gas water heater or furnace venting through a shared stack can change the draft in your flue, causing your wood-burning appliance to burn cooler and deposit more creosote. If the partition is cracked, those combustion gases can enter your home. A Level 2 camera inspection identifies the problem clearly. We’ll show you the footage before recommending any work.
A third-degree glaze is hardened, tarlike creosote that is extremely difficult to remove and ignites at a lower temperature than first-degree creosote. In an older Marietta chimney with a shallow smoke shelf, that glaze forms faster because the shelf obstructs proper draft and traps unburned particles. This is a chimney fire waiting to happen. We recommend cleaning and a Level 2 inspection before using the fireplace again.
If your inspection shows a missing or rusted cap, or a cracked crown, yes. Marietta’s heavy spring rains and humid summers make an open flue a fast route to liner damage and efflorescence in the masonry. A proper cap and a sealed crown keep water, birds, and tree debris out. We install professional-grade caps from manufacturers like Gelco in Marietta, Olympia Chimney and Famco, and the repair is covered by our 365-Day Done Right Promise.
Need a chimney inspection in Marietta that actually shows you what’s going on inside your flue? Call (229) 350-8952 for a free estimate. You’ll get a written price before any work begins, a technician whose name and photo you’ll know before arrival, and a written guarantee on any repair we recommend. Scheduling is coordinated from our metro-area office, and crews serve Marietta neighborhoods year-round.
Written by Ruben Castellano, Owner at Alcott Chimney Sweep, serving Marietta since 2002.