Masonry repair
Sweep & inspection
Caps & crowns
Flue relining
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 Fireplace Repair Across Palo Alto
Fireplace repair in Palo Alto most often comes down to water, not fire. After a wet winter or a storm off the bay, cracked crowns, lifted flashing, and rusted dampers are the usual culprits. A standard gas fireplace repair in Palo Alto runs $185 – $425, and a wood-burning firebox repair with new refractory panels typically lands between $350 and $750. If you’re seeing a ceiling stain, a smoky fire, or a damper that won’t seal, call (669) 266-5073 and we’ll send a background-checked technician with a written price before any work begins.
We serve every Palo Alto neighborhood, from Professorville to Old Palo Alto to the newer construction west of Foothill Expressway. Ashby carries ash right in the name, which fits a company whose job is cleaning out what the fire leaves behind. But repair is where we spend most of our days, and we know exactly what Palo Alto’s older chimneys do when the weather turns.
Why Ashby Chimney San Jose Is Palo Alto’s Preferred Fireplace Repair Company
We’ve been repairing fireplaces since 2002. Each Ashby location is independently owned and operated under the Kingswell Guarantee, and our Palo Alto customers get the same thing every Ashby customer gets: a written price before work starts, a written guarantee on every repair, and a 365-Day Done Right Promise. If a covered repair fails inside the guarantee period, we come back and fix it at no charge. That’s the whole promise, in writing.
Nathan Corliss leads the team, and he’s the reason our calls are answered by a live person 24/7. No voicemail loops. When a Palo Alto homeowner calls at 7 a.m. because the smell of gas is coming from the fireplace, a real person picks up and starts coordinating. Dispatch and scheduling happen through our San Francisco Bay Area office, but the crews who show up at your door are the same techs who’ve worked on Professorville chimneys and Old Palo Alto fireboxes for years.
We stock parts for Palo Alto’s most common fireplace brands, so many repairs finish same-visit. If we need a part we don’t have, we tell you exactly when it arrives and write that on the quote. No surprises, no price-switching at the door.
Styles & brands we work with
Gas Fireplace Maintenance in Palo Alto
Gas fireplace maintenance in Palo Alto keeps your unit running clean and safe through the fall and winter. The job involves cleaning the glass, checking the gas pressure, vacuuming the burner and logs, testing the pilot assembly and thermopile, and verifying the venting is clear. Most gas fireplace maintenance in Palo Alto runs $165 – $285. That’s the range we write on quotes for standard direct-vent units in this market, and it includes a camera inspection of the flue or vent run if access allows.
One thing we check that many companies skip: the gaskets and glass seal. Palo Alto’s coastal fog and winter dampness age those seals faster than you’d expect, and a failed seal changes the burn. We also test for carbon monoxide at the unit and confirm the oxygen depletion sensor works before we leave.
Pilot Light and Thermopile Checks
A pilot that won’t stay lit is usually a dirty thermopile or a weak pilot assembly, not a gas supply problem. We clean and test both, then measure millivolt output so the valve gets the signal it needs. In Palo Alto, many of the calls we get for pilot problems are in older homes where the fireplace hasn’t been used since spring and the sensor has a fine layer of sediment on it.
Pre-Season Draft and Vent Check
Before you light the first fire in October, the vent run needs eyes on it. Birds, wind-blown debris, and even wet leaves can block a direct-vent termination on a Palo Alto roof. We check the entire run and clear any restriction, then run the unit for 10 minutes to confirm it drafts properly. This visit costs the same as a standard maintenance call and prevents the carbon monoxide risk a blocked vent creates.
Wood Stove Installation in Palo Alto
Wood stove installation in Palo Alto usually means replacing an old stove or installing a new one into an existing masonry fireplace through the damper. We install stoves with stainless steel liners sized to the stove’s flue collar, and we follow the manufacturer’s clearance requirements exactly. A typical wood stove installation in Palo Alto runs $1,800 – $3,600 for the install labor and liner, depending on chimney height, access, and whether a hearth extension is needed. The stove itself is separate and priced by the retailer.
Palo Alto’s older homes, especially the pre-1940s bungalows and Spanish Colonials, often have unlined chimneys with oversized clay flues. A modern wood stove needs a properly sized liner to draft right and stay safe. We won’t install a stove into an unlined, oversized chimney without telling you the liner is required first, with a written price for that work.
Liner Sizing and Clearance Work
Getting the liner diameter right matters more than people think. Too large a flue means cool smoke, creosote buildup, and a drafty stove. Too small means smoke rollout into the room. We measure the stove’s outlet and the chimney’s dimensions before we quote, then use liner materials from brands like Olympia Chimney and Famco. Every install gets a written price and a written guarantee.
Hearth and Floor Protection
Stove installs sometimes fail because the hearth isn’t deep or wide enough for the new stove’s clearance requirements. We check the floor protection dimensions against the manufacturer’s spec, and if the hearth needs extending, we quote that separately before any work starts. Nobody wants to discover a needed hearth extension after the stove is sitting in the doorway.
Trusted Brands We Service in Palo Alto
We repair and service most major fireplace brands, and we keep common replacement parts on the truck for Palo Alto jobs: thermopiles, pilot assemblies, refractory panels, glass gaskets, and damper hardware. For liner work, we use HeatShield and Gelco materials, and Olympia Chimney and Famco components are what we spec for most wood stove liners. If your unit is older or the brand is obscure, we tell you up front what it takes to source the part and how long it’ll take. Fast turnaround in Palo Alto means not waiting three weeks for a damper clamp because the supplier had to ship from Ohio.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterCommon Fireplace Repair Problems We See in Palo Alto Homes
- Cracked chimney crowns on pre-1940s masonry. Storm-driven rain pools on the crown, seeps into the brick, and freezes in winter, which spalls the brick face and leaves white efflorescence. A new poured crown stops the cycle before the firebox takes damage.
- Displaced or missing caps after wind storms. Without a cap, rain and debris drop straight down the flue, rusting the damper and causing first-degree creosote buildup from restricted draft. We replace caps with stainless models that lock onto the flue tile.
- Flashing failures that show up as ceiling stains. Wind lifts the step flashing at the chimney-roof junction, then rain follows the gap. Inside, it looks like a roof leak. It isn’t. The chimney is the source, and we address it with new flashing, not caulk.
- Rusted dampers and spalled firebox bricks. In flood-zone homes near San Francisquito Creek, past water exposure hides in places you can’t see from the hearth. We check the damper and firebox interior on every repair call, even when the exterior brick looks fine.
Pricing for Fireplace Repair in Palo Alto, CA
Here’s the plain-dollar picture for Palo Alto. A standard gas fireplace repair, like a bad thermopile or a dirty pilot assembly, runs $185 – $425. A wood-burning firebox repair with new refractory panels runs $350 – $750. A damper replacement, including a top-sealing model, runs $220 – $480. And a chimney crown repair or pour runs $650 – $1,100 depending on access and how much old crown needs to come off first. Every quote is written before work starts, and the number on the invoice matches the number on the quote. Call (669) 266-5073 for a free estimate in Palo Alto.
We Also Serve Cities Near Palo Alto
Our crews serve Fireplace Repair in Palo Alto plus the surrounding communities. We’re regularly in Stanford, Menlo Park, Atherton, and Los Altos, where the housing stock and weather patterns create many of the same fireplace problems we see in Palo Alto. If you’re in one of those cities and need a Fireplace Repair company that writes the price before starting work, call us at (669) 266-5073.
Serving Palo Alto, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Palo Alto 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 Fireplace Repair in Palo Alto
Look for rust streaks on the damper, spalled brick inside the firebox, a musty smell when the fireplace is cold, or white efflorescence on the exterior masonry. These are the signs we look for in flood-zone homes, and they’re often present even when the exterior brick looks completely fine from the ground. A camera inspection of the flue and a visual check of the damper and firebox will confirm what’s hidden. Call (669) 266-5073 and we’ll do that inspection as part of a repair quote.
You could, but waiting means every rain storm drops water straight down your flue, rusting the damper and soaking the smoke chamber. In Palo Alto, we see this exact pattern after winter wind events. The damper seizes, the firebox gets damp, and a $75 cap replacement becomes a $400 damper replacement plus firebox work. If the cap is gone, call us now: the fix is fast and the written price is small compared to what comes later.
That stain is almost always a flashing failure at the chimney-roof junction. Wind lifts the step flashing, rain gets driven under it, and the water follows the chimney chase down into the ceiling. Homeowners often call a roofer first; roofers usually find nothing because the roof deck itself is dry. We trace the stain back to the chimney, replace the flashing, and confirm the water path is closed with a water test. Get it done before the stain spreads to the drywall.
Most do. Many Professorville and Old Palo Alto chimneys are pre-1940, built with unlined brick or a clay flue that’s cracked, spalled, or simply missing in sections. Burning wood in that condition risks heat transfer to the framing and carbon monoxide entry. A stainless liner from Olympia Chimney or Famco solves the problem and usually runs $1,200 – $2,800 installed in Palo Alto, depending on height and access. We’ll write the exact price before starting.
Not until the unit and vent run have been inspected. Flood water corrodes gas valves, shorts the wiring, and leaves sediment in the burner ports. Even if it lights, a firebox that sat in flood water can harbor debris that restricts the vent and pushes carbon monoxide into the living space. This is a genuine safety issue, not a warranty fine-print concern. Call (669) 266-5073 and we’ll check the whole system before you light it again.
Written by Nathan Corliss, Owner at Ashby Chimney San Jose, serving Palo Alto since 2002.