Get in touch City of North Chicago, IL!
Winter is coming to North Chicago! 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 a North Chicago 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 North Chicago, IL
North Chicago is an older city with modest, solidly built housing and a lot of rental and multi-unit property, sitting between Waukegan and Lake Bluff on the lakefront. Most chimneys here are original masonry doing a job they were not designed for. Call 847-994-4388 or book online. We serve the 60064 zip code and the surrounding communities, including Waukegan, Lake Bluff, Great Lakes, Gurnee and Park City.
The Utility Flue Comes First
In most North Chicago houses the fireplace is not the urgent part. The masonry flue venting the furnace or water heater is, because it runs every day of the year. These chimneys were sized for a mid-century furnace and a water heater venting together, and once a high-efficiency furnace was installed and taken off the chimney, the water heater was left alone in a flue far too large for it.
The exhaust cools before it reaches the top, condenses, and the moisture works on the liner and mortar joints from the inside. We find white staining, deteriorating joints and soft mortar at the top, and in the worst cases a liner shedding into a flue venting an appliance that produces carbon monoxide. The correction is a properly sized stainless liner, and we inspect that flue at the same rate as a fireplace.
Lake Exposure and Masonry
This close to the lake, a chimney takes driven rain from directions an inland chimney never does. The windward face stays wet longer and goes through more freeze-thaw cycles than the sheltered faces, so joints open there first and the other three sides can look fine. It is the most common pattern we photograph along this stretch of shoreline.
That is why we look at the whole water path rather than the one thing you noticed: crown, cap, joints, flashing and the top course of brick. Correcting a crown while leaving open joints on the lake side means the water simply takes the second route.
Rentals, Two-Flats and Documentation
We work with owners and managers of small multi-unit buildings here. We schedule the building in one visit, inspect each unit flue separately, and provide per-unit documentation you can hand to a tenant or keep on file. Shared flues, when we find them, get flagged specifically: two appliances sharing one flue is a common finding in buildings of this age and it is not something to leave unresolved.
What We Repair and Maintain in North Chicago
- 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.
- Flashing repair and replacement — including steep-roof and slate details.
- Chimney caps and spark arrestors — stock, custom and multi-flue caps sized to the flue.
- Firebox and smoke chamber repair — parging voids and rebuilding deteriorated fireboxes.
- Chimney leak repair — finding the actual entry point before anything gets sealed.
- Gas fireplace and gas log service — valves, log sets, ignition and venting, by NFI-certified technicians.
- Dryer vent cleaning — including long and rooftop runs.
Areas We Cover
All of North Chicago, including the neighborhoods near Sheridan Road and Martin Luther King Jr Drive, the blocks around Great Lakes, and the areas bordering Waukegan, Lake Bluff, Gurnee and Park City.
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.
North Chicago Chimney Questions
We never use the fireplace. Do we still need an inspection?
The fireplace flue can wait longer between sweepings, but the furnace and water heater flue vents every day of the year regardless. That is the one we would look at first here.
One side of our chimney looks much worse than the others. Why?
That is usually exposure. The face taking driven rain off the lake stays wet longer and goes through more freeze-thaw cycles than the sheltered faces, so joints open there first. It is normal this close to the water and it tells us where to start.
Can you inspect all the units in my building at once?
Yes. We schedule the building in one visit, inspect each unit flue separately, and provide documentation per unit. Shared flues get flagged specifically.
How much does a chimney sweep cost in North Chicago, 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. Relining, tuckpointing, crowns and flashing 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.