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 Decatur
A chimney sweep in Decatur typically costs $189 – $329 for a standard cleaning with a Level 1 inspection, and most jobs take 60 – 90 minutes from setup to final photo report. If you live in Oakhurst, Winnona Park, or anywhere near the Decatur Square, you’re dealing with an older chimney that’s been through decades of Georgia humidity, freeze-thaw cycles, and at least a few squirrel tenants. We know these homes because we work on them every week. Call (762) 320-6525 and we’ll give you a written price before anyone picks up a brush.
We’re Chimney Sweep specialists with deep roots in the Atlanta metro, and our crews serve Decatur directly. Dispatch runs from our Atlanta office, but the techs who show up at your door know Decatur’s housing stock, its tree canopy, and its particular chimney failure modes. You won’t get a generic checklist. You’ll get someone who knows what a 1920s brick cottage on a tree-lined Decatur street actually needs.
Why Hadley Chimney Atlanta Is Decatur’s Preferred Chimney Sweep Company
Hadley Chimney Sweep was founded in 2003, and in the years since, we’ve built our reputation on showing homeowners what’s actually happening inside their chimneys. In Decatur, that matters more than most places, because the majority of chimneys here are anywhere from 80 to 110 years old. Cory Mitchell leads our team with a simple rule: no repair recommendation happens without camera footage you can see with your own eyes. That’s not a sales tactic. It’s the only honest way to work on old masonry.
Every Decatur job runs under The Relay Visibility Guarantee. You get a live arrival window so you’re not stuck waiting on a four-hour guess, before-and-after photos from inside your flue, and a written price agreed before we start. The 365-Day Done Right Promise backs every repair: if it isn’t done right, we make it right, and if a repair fails within 365 days, the second visit is free. That’s written, not verbal.
Our technicians are background-checked and uniformed. Calls are answered by a live person 24/7, which means when you call at 9 p.m. on a Tuesday because you smell smoke in your living room, you’re talking to a real human who can book the visit, not a voicemail queue. Decatur homeowners appreciate that, and so do we.
Styles & brands we work with
Chimney Cleaning in Decatur
Chimney cleaning in Decatur is a different job than it is in a newer Atlanta suburb. The city’s stock of early 20th-century Craftsman bungalows and 1920s-1940s brick cottages means most flues are either unlined or have original clay tile liners that have been cracking and spalling for decades. A proper cleaning here isn’t just brushing out creosote (the flammable tar buildup that makes chimneys a fire risk). It’s also checking for leaf blockage, squirrel nests, and the hairline crown cracks that Decatur’s freeze-thaw winters open up every year.
A standard chimney cleaning in Decatur runs $189 – $289. That includes the sweep itself, a Level 1 inspection, and a photo report you can open on your phone while the tech is still at your house. If third-degree creosote glaze is present, which we see regularly in unlined fireboxes around Oakhurst and Winnona Park, chemical treatment adds $75 – $150. You’ll know before we apply anything.
What the Tech Checks
Every cleaning starts with a visual inspection of the firebox, damper, flue, and crown. Then we run the brush and follow with a camera pass to confirm the flue walls are clean. In Decatur, we also check the cap and chase cover for signs of animal entry, because uncapped flues here collect more leaves and twigs than creosote.
When to Book
The smart window is late summer to early fall, before the squirrels start looking for winter housing and before the first hard freeze. If you wait until December, you’re competing with everyone else in Decatur who just lit their first fire and discovered the flue is blocked. Book early. It’s the same price either way, but you’ll get a better appointment slot.
Fireplace Cleaning in Decatur
Fireplace cleaning in Decatur homes usually means one of two things: a masonry firebox attached to an older flue, or a prefab metal unit in a mid-century ranch. The masonry fireplaces in Decatur’s historic districts need more than an ash vacuum. They need the firebox inspected for cracked refractory panels, the damper checked for rust and misalignment, and the smoke shelf cleared of debris that’s accumulated over decades. The prefab units need their own specific maintenance, and we handle both.
Fireplace cleaning in Decatur runs $159 – $239 when paired with a chimney sweep. A standalone fireplace cleaning without a flue sweep starts at $129. If your fireplace hasn’t been touched in years, the higher end of that range reflects the extra time to clear a packed ash bed and remove years of soot from the firebox walls.
Masonry Fireplace Care
In a 1930s brick cottage, the firebox mortar joints are often the weak point. Georgia humidity gets into the brick, and every hard freeze expands the moisture. We check for crumbling mortar and recommend repointing only when the camera shows actual gaps that compromise safety.
Prefab Fireplace Notes
Mid-century ranches in Decatur often have prefab metal fireplaces with factory-built flues. These systems have a shorter service life than masonry, and rust at the flue connection is common. We inspect for rust perforation and report exactly what we see, with photos, before recommending any replacement parts.
Trusted Brands We Service in Decatur
We work with materials that chimney professionals actually put in their own homes. That includes HeatShield for resurfacing deteriorated clay tile flues, Copperfield caps and chase covers that stand up to Georgia weather, and Gelco chimney covers for prefab systems. When a Decatur homeowner books a repair, we arrive with the right components on the truck, not a promise to order parts and come back in two weeks. This is part of why our turnaround on common repairs in Decatur is faster than what many homeowners expect from a chimney company.
Common Chimney Sweep Problems We See in Decatur Homes
- Squirrel and raccoon nests in uncapped flues. Decatur’s century-old oak and maple canopy drops branches and leaves into open flues every fall, and the animals follow. A packed nest is the leading cause of chimney failure here, not creosote, which is one reason we check animal intrusion on every single sweep.
- Spalling clay tile liners in pre-1950 chimneys. The original clay tiles in a 1920s or 1930s Decatur flue crack under decades of thermal cycling and moisture. Once they spall, gaps open up where heat and gases can reach combustible framing. This is a camera diagnosis, never a guess.
- Crown cracks behind the roofline. Decatur’s mild winters with occasional hard freezes create exactly the thermal cycling that opens hairline cracks in chimney crowns. Most homeowners never see the damage because it’s behind the roofline. Our camera pass catches it early.
- Third-degree creosote glaze in unlined fireboxes. Older Decatur fireplaces that burn regularly develop a hard, shiny creosote layer that a standard brush can’t remove. It requires chemical treatment, which cut-rate crews skip. We don’t.
Pricing for Chimney Sweep in Decatur, GA
A standard chimney sweep with Level 1 inspection in Decatur runs $189 – $329. Fireplace cleaning adds $129 – $239 depending on scope. Creosote removal with chemical treatment for glaze runs $75 – $150. If your chimney has an animal nest, removal and sanitization adds $95 – $180. A Level 2 camera inspection, which we recommend for any Decatur home that hasn’t been inspected in 5+ years or after a chimney fire, runs $249 – $399. Every quote is a written price before we start, and nothing gets added at the door. Call (762) 320-6525 for a free estimate.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterHow Decatur’s Tree Canopy Changes Chimney Sweeping
Decatur’s dense tree canopy and preservation-minded neighborhoods mean chimney cleaning here isn’t just about creosote. It’s about animal intrusions and leaf/debris blockages in older, often uncapped flues, especially in historic districts like Oakhurst and Winnona Park. The city’s mature oaks and maples drop an enormous amount of organic material onto roofs every fall. In an uncapped flue, that material forms a perfect nesting substrate. By November, a surprising number of Decatur chimneys have full squirrel nests packed tight against the smoke shelf, which is why every sweep we do includes an animal intrusion check as standard. A technician who only runs a brush and leaves would miss the actual problem, and we’d consider that an incomplete job.
Our crew pulled a raccoon nest from a 1920s brick cottage in Winnona Park last November after the homeowner reported smoke backing up. The uncapped clay-tile flue was packed with leaves and twigs, and the crown had spalled in three places. We removed the debris, sealed the cracks with a HeatShield resurfacing, and installed a Copperfield cap. The draft returned and the fireplace burned clean. That’s what a Decatur chimney sweep actually looks like when it’s done right.
The Camera Rule: Nothing Recommended Without Proof
Here’s how it works when you book with us: the tech arrives in a tracked window, you get a text with their name and ETA, and work starts with a written price already agreed. The tech sweeps the flue, runs a camera from firebox to cap, and you see the images on the spot. If the camera shows cracked clay tile, you see the crack. If the flue is clean and the crown is sound, you see that too. We won’t recommend a liner replacement, a crown rebuild, or anything else without camera evidence you can look at yourself. In a city with as many old chimneys as Decatur, that’s the only defensible way to operate.
The industry’s worst upselling happens in homes like the ones around the Decatur Square, where owners are told their clay tile flue is dangerous and needs a full stainless liner, but no footage is ever shown. We think that’s unacceptable. If a liner is genuinely needed, we’ll show you the footage. If it isn’t, we’ll tell you it can wait and what to watch for. Honesty on an old chimney builds more trust than a $3,000 liner sale, and trust is what keeps us working in Decatur year after year.
We Also Serve Cities Near Decatur
Our crews work throughout the metro, so if you’re just outside Decatur, we’ve got you covered too. We regularly serve homeowners in Atlanta, Morrow, Smyrna, and Stockbridge. If you’re unsure whether we cover your street, call (762) 320-6525 and a live person will tell you. Learn more about our work across the region at Chimney Sweep in Decatur.
Serving Decatur, GA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Decatur 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 Decatur
In Decatur, a Level 1 inspection must include a specific check for animal nests and leaf blockages, because the city’s tree canopy makes these the most common chimney hazards. A brush-only sweep often misses a nest packed above the smoke shelf. We include an intrusion check with camera documentation in every standard Level 1 inspection. Call (762) 320-6525 if your chimney has been sitting unused for a season or more.
Spalling on a 1920s Decatur chimney shows up as flaking brick faces, thin slivers of clay tile in the firebox after a fire, or white efflorescence staining on the brick exterior. You may also hear a faint rattle when the wind blows hard, which can mean loose tile fragments in the flue. If you see any of these, a camera inspection will tell us whether the flue is still safe. Call (762) 320-6525 and we’ll schedule one.
Because a liner recommendation without camera footage is a sales pitch, not a diagnosis. Cracks, gaps, and spalling are visible on a camera screen, and you should see them yourself before spending thousands. We show every homeowner the footage before any liner work is ever discussed. That’s the whole point of the Relay Visibility Guarantee.
Once a year, even if the fireplace never gets used. Decatur’s humidity and freeze-thaw cycles act on a chimney regardless of whether there’s a fire inside it. Moisture entry through an uncapped flue causes crown damage and liner deterioration that a camera inspection catches early. Annual inspections are cheaper than crown rebuilds. Call (762) 320-6525 to book yours.
It does, when it’s the right cap and it’s installed correctly. A properly fitted cap with a mesh screen keeps squirrels and raccoons out while preserving proper draft. In Decatur’s historic districts, where uncapped flues are common, a cap is one of the single best investments you can make. We install caps with stainless hardware and back every install with the 365-Day Done Right Promise.
Call Hadley Chimney Atlanta for Chimney Sweep in Decatur
If your Decatur chimney hasn’t been inspected this year, or you smell smoke in the house, or you saw a squirrel disappear behind your chimney cap, call (762) 320-6525. You’ll get a real person, a written price before work starts, and camera photos of exactly what’s going on inside your flue. That’s how we’ve worked since 2003, and it’s why Decatur homeowners keep calling us back.
Written by Cory Mitchell, Owner at Hadley Chimney Atlanta, serving Decatur since our founding in 2003.