Chimney Sweep & Repair in Highland Park, IL

Our Chimney Services in Highland Park

Wind off the lake bluffs and long freeze-thaw winters are hard on Highland Park chimneys. These are the services we provide throughout the city:

• Chimney inspection – a documented look at the flue and chimney, with a camera survey where conditions allow.
• Professional chimney sweeping – soot and creosote removal done with drop cloths and HEPA vacuums.
• Chimney leak and water damage repair – tracking down where water actually gets in, then sealing it properly.
• Masonry chimney repair – brick replacement and partial rebuilds using matched materials.
• Tuckpointing and mortar joint repair – grinding out failed mortar and repointing to stop water absorption.
• New chimney caps – a properly sized cap that keeps water and wildlife out of the flue.
• Firebox and fireplace cleaning – detailing the firebox, damper and smoke shelf so the unit looks and works right.
• Dryer vent cleaning – clearing the lint blockages that make a dryer run hot and slow.
• Water heater and furnace flue liners – liner sizing and installation for orphaned water heaters and high-efficiency furnaces.
• Custom fireplace mantel installation – mantel and surround installation, from simple shelves to full stone facades.

Chimney Repair in Highland Park

Highland Park chimneys tend to be larger and older than average, and both facts raise the cost of getting a repair wrong. Ravine-side homes and the early twentieth-century estates west of Sheridan Road were built with tall multi-flue stacks, decorative corbelling and clay pots. When those fail, the failure is high up, hard to reach and expensive to ignore.

We handle chimney repair, tuckpointing and full above-roof chimney rebuilds. We photograph the work from the staging so you can see what you are paying for.

Chimney Restoration on Older Homes

Chimney restoration keeps a period chimney’s original brick, corbel detail and clay pots while replacing only what has failed. That usually means the mortar joints, the chimney crown, the flashing and sometimes the chimney liner.

In practice, we salvage and reuse brick where possible. We also match mortar by color and hardness rather than reaching for a bag of premixed Portland cement. Masonry repair done with a hard modern mix on soft historic brick can look fine for a couple of winters and then start shedding brick faces.

Ravines, Trees and Water

Heavy tree cover along Highland Park’s ravines keeps chimneys damp and drops debris into open flues all autumn. Two things follow. First, the masonry stays saturated longer after rain, which accelerates freeze-thaw damage. Second, the flue collects leaf litter that blocks the draft.

A stainless chimney cap with mesh largely solves the second problem. It also costs a fraction of what water-damaged masonry costs to fix.

Sweeping and Inspection

Many Highland Park homes have three or four flues in one stack, serving two fireplaces, a furnace and a water heater. Each flue needs its own inspection, so a whole-house visit takes longer than a single-fireplace call. Our chimney sweep service covers all flues in one appointment.

Areas We Cover in Highland Park

We cover East Highland Park and the lakefront, Ravinia, Braeside, Sherwood Forest, Highlands, Deer Creek and the Skokie Valley corridor. We also serve neighboring Deerfield, Lake Forest and Highwood.

Booking

Call (847) 994-4388 or book online. For multi-flue stacks, tell us how many fireplaces and appliances you have so we can allow enough time.

Our Prices

Typical rates as of September 2026. Prices change, so call (847) 994-4388 to confirm current pricing.

• Chimney sweep with Level 1 inspection: $300–$350
• Level 1 inspection only (including a utility chimney serving a furnace or water heater): $200–$300
• Level 2 inspection with a camera survey of the flue: around $300
• Fireplace liner: roughly $200 per linear foot, so most complete liner jobs come in between $3,000 and $4,000

Masonry repairs are quoted in writing after the inspection.

Highland Park Chimney Questions

How much does a chimney sweep cost in Highland Park, IL?

A chimney sweep runs $300 to $350 and includes the Level 1 inspection. A Level 1 inspection on its own is $200 to $300, and a Level 2 inspection with a camera survey of the flue is around $300. These are typical rates as of September 2026.

Can you match the brick on an older Highland Park chimney?

In most cases, yes. We salvage sound brick from the section being rebuilt and source reclaimed brick of the same size and color for the balance.

Are clay chimney pots worth keeping?

Yes, if they are intact. They are part of the character of the house and are often impossible to replace. We remove, store and reset them during crown work.

How do I stop leaves and animals from getting into the flue?

Install a stainless cap with a mesh screen sized to the flue. It also keeps rain off the clay tile, which is the more expensive problem.

My chimney has four flues. Do they all need inspecting?

Yes. Each flue serves a different appliance, and each can fail independently. A blocked furnace or water heater flue is the most dangerous, because it can push combustion gases back into the house.

How long does an above-roof chimney rebuild take?

Typically two to four days for a large stack, plus staging time. We schedule around the weather, because fresh mortar cannot take a freeze.

About Highland Park, Illinois

Highland Park is a North Shore city in southeastern Lake County, about 25 miles north of downtown Chicago, with a population of 30,176 as of the 2020 census. It is known for the Ravinia Festival, the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, along with Frank Lloyd Wright architecture and the house from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Its business districts sit alongside quiet, tree-lined neighborhoods.