Get in touch Village of Elmwood Park, IL!
Winter is coming to Elmwood Park! Be prepared and safe this burning season by having your chimney cleaned and inspected! Call 847 994 4388 or email today!
Helping you to safely enjoy your winter in your area by the fire is our number one priority. Fill out the form below, and we will provide you with a chimney sweep quote today!
If you are an Elmwood Park resident, you know that winters are long and nothing says coming home like an evening around the fire. Whether you gather around the fireplace alone or with your family, you are creating memories that will last forever. If you are looking for a chimney cleaning service, look no further than Chimney Monkey. You won’t be disappointed. We look forward to working with you soon! Chimney Monkey charges $300 to $350 for a chimney sweep, which includes the Level 1 inspection (typical rates as of September 2026; call 847-994-4388 to confirm).
Contact your local chimney sweep
You can call our office from Monday to Friday from 8am – 9pm at 847 994 4388
Chimney Sweep and Repair in Elmwood Park, IL
Elmwood Park is dense, brick and largely pre-war: Chicago-style bungalows, two-flats and small apartment buildings on narrow lots. Chimneys here are original masonry standing close to their neighbors, and most of them are venting appliances rather than fireplaces. Call 847-994-4388 or book online. We serve the 60707 zip code and the surrounding communities, including River Forest, River Grove, Norridge, Harwood Heights and the Galewood side of Chicago.
Bungalow and Two-Flat Masonry
The housing here was built with solid brick and lime mortar, which holds up well as long as water is kept out of it. Once the crown cracks or the joints open, the freeze-thaw cycle takes over: water soaks in, freezes, expands, and pushes the face off the brick a little more each winter. By the time brick faces are on the ground, the repair has gone from repointing to rebuilding.
On masonry of this age the mortar has to be matched to the brick rather than to modern strength standards, because hard mortar in a soft-brick chimney makes the brick face fail before the joint does. We photograph the condition and tell you whether repointing still works or whether a section needs rebuilding, and we will make reasonable efforts to match existing brick.
The Appliance Flue and Shared Flues
Most Elmwood Park calls turn on the flue venting the furnace or water heater rather than a fireplace. These chimneys were sized for a mid-century furnace and a water heater venting together, and once a high-efficiency furnace was installed and vented out a side wall, the water heater was left alone in a flue far too large for it. The exhaust cools, condenses, and works on the liner and mortar from the inside.
In two-flats and converted buildings we also find two appliances sharing one flue, or a newer appliance vented into a flue abandoned decades ago and never cleared. We check what is actually connected rather than what anyone remembers, and we flag shared or abandoned flues specifically.
Close Neighbors and Draft
When buildings sit this close together, chimney height stops being a formality. A flue has to terminate high enough above its own roof and clear of anything nearby, or it competes with wind coming off the adjacent rooflines. The symptom is a fireplace that drafts fine on some days and pushes smoke into the room on others. We measure the termination and the surrounding obstructions, and where the chimney falls short the correction is typically an extension or a different cap.
What We Repair and Maintain in Elmwood Park
- Level 1 and Level 2 chimney inspections — a documented condition report on the flue, firebox and chimney exterior, with photographs.
- Water heater and furnace chimney liners — correctly sized stainless liners for appliance flues.
- Chimney cleaning and sweeping — creosote removal and draft correction on wood-burning fireplaces and stoves.
- Chimney relining — for cracked, offset or missing clay tile.
- Brick and mortar repair and tuckpointing — repointing joints before water gets behind the brick.
- Crown repair and replacement — with a drip edge, so water leaves the chimney instead of soaking into it.
- Firebox and smoke chamber repair — parging voids and rebuilding deteriorated fireboxes.
- Chimney caps and spark arrestors — stock, custom and multi-flue caps sized to the flue.
- Gas fireplace and gas log service — valves, log sets, ignition and venting, by NFI-certified technicians.
- Chimney leak repair — finding the actual entry point before anything gets sealed.
- Dryer vent cleaning — including long and rooftop runs.
Areas We Cover
All of Elmwood Park, including the blocks around Grand and Harlem, the neighborhoods near Thatcher Woods, and the areas bordering River Forest, River Grove, Norridge and the Galewood side of Chicago.
Why Our Inspections Are Paid
We charge for inspections because the inspection is the service: we document what is actually happening with photographs and, where conditions allow, a camera survey of the flue, then explain what is urgent, what is maintenance and what can reasonably wait. A free estimate prices a known job. A diagnostic inspection determines what the job actually is. The report is yours whether or not we do the repair.
Who You Are Hiring
Chimney Monkey has been in business since 2017 and works out of Buffalo Grove. We are members and sponsors of the National Chimney Sweep Guild — our partner Brett Conklin serves on the NCSG board as an at-large director through 2027 — and we belong to the regional North Central Chimney Guild. Our technicians are NFI certified across wood-burning, gas and pellet appliances, we have SPRAT-certified technicians for rope-access work, and our crew trains through the year. One of our three partners is a U.S. military veteran. More than 1,100 Google reviews.
Elmwood Park Chimney Questions
We replaced our furnace and were told the chimney is now too big. Is that real?
Yes, and it is the most common condition we find here. A flue sized for a furnace and water heater together is oversized once the furnace vents out the side wall. The exhaust cools, condenses and damages the flue from the inside. The correction is a liner sized to the appliance.
Can you inspect both units in a two-flat in one visit?
Yes, with separate documentation for each unit. We also flag shared or abandoned flues, which are common in buildings of this age and are not something to leave unresolved.
Our chimney is original to the house. Can it be repointed rather than rebuilt?
Usually, if the brick is sound. The mortar has to be matched to the original rather than to modern strength standards. We photograph the condition and tell you what the masonry will actually support.
How much does a chimney sweep cost in Elmwood Park, IL?
A chimney sweep runs $300 to $350 and includes the Level 1 inspection. An inspection on its own is $200 to $300, and the same range covers a utility chimney serving a furnace or water heater. A Level 2 inspection with a camera survey of the flue is around $300. Typical rates as of September 2026.
Do you charge for the inspection?
Yes. You are paying for a documented answer: photographs, a camera survey of the flue where conditions allow, and a written explanation of what needs correcting now versus what can wait. That report is yours whether or not we do the repair.
Our Prices
Typical rates as of September 2026. Prices change, so call 847-994-4388 to confirm current pricing. A chimney sweep runs $300–$350 and includes the Level 1 inspection. An inspection on its own is $200–$300, and the same range covers a utility chimney serving a furnace or water heater. A Level 2 inspection with a camera survey of the flue is around $300. Fireplace liners are sized per flue, and most complete jobs land between $3,000 and $4,000; a utility flue liner for a furnace or water heater typically runs $3,000–$3,800. Tuckpointing, rebuilds, relining and crown work are quoted in writing after the inspection, because pricing an unknown condition is guessing. Call 847-994-4388 to book or to confirm current pricing.