How Ashby Chimney San Jose Was Born in San Jose
We didn’t name this company. Ashby Chimney Sweep already had a name, a standard, and a guarantee long before we opened our doors in San Jose. What we did was look at this valley and realize something specific: homeowners here were being served by companies that treated chimney work as a side hustle. You’d get a sweep who couldn’t explain what he saw in the flue. Or a quote that shifted once the ladder went up. Or a crew that left soot footprints across a cream-colored living room carpet and called it done.
Nathan Corliss saw it happen enough times to know the real problem wasn’t competence. It was transparency. Too many technicians showed up, did the work, and never once showed the homeowner what they’d actually paid for. So when the opportunity came to bring the Ashby model to San Jose, the decision wasn’t hard. We’d run every job the way the brand was built to run it: a written price before the first brush goes up, and a camera view of the flue so you’re not taking anyone’s word for it. That’s what “the sweep that shows you the flue” means here. It’s not a slogan. It’s the whole job.
Nathan Corliss’s Personal Connection to the Chimney Cleaning Trade
Nathan Corliss got into this work the way a lot of people get into trades: because someone he trusted showed him the craft and he couldn’t un-see the satisfaction in it. Early on, he worked alongside a more experienced sweep who had a habit few technicians bother with. Before touching anything, the man would lay down a drop cloth, pull out a small inspection camera, and talk the homeowner through what they were both looking at. Creosote buildup, a cracked flue tile, a damper that wasn’t seating right. Nothing was hidden. The homeowner stood right there and watched.
That changed how Nathan thought about the trade. A chimney isn’t just a masonry tube. It’s the exhaust system for the fire your family sits around. When it’s ignored, the risks stack quietly: a restricted draft pushing carbon monoxide back into the living room, a creosote layer waiting for a hot spark. But when it’s maintained right, a fireplace becomes something you can actually relax in front of. The smell of seasoned oak burning on a December evening in the Rose Garden neighborhood. The low crackle that fills a quiet living room in Willow Glen. The way a properly drafting chimney makes the whole house feel warm instead of just the hearth. That’s what gets Nathan out of bed. Not the soot, though there’s plenty of that too. It’s knowing the family on the other side of the job can light a fire tonight and not think twice about whether their chimney is safe.
If he weren’t doing this, he’d probably be working with his hands somewhere else, fixing things that need fixing and showing people exactly what he found. That instinct doesn’t turn off. What the trade gave him was a place where it matters every single day.
Meet Nathan Corliss – The Person Behind Every Job
Nathan Corliss is the owner and founder of Ashby Chimney San Jose. He grew up learning that good work speaks for itself, but he also learned that in the chimney trade, good work needs to be seen, not just claimed. So he made that the foundation of how this branch operates. Every sweep here includes a camera inspection, and you’re invited to watch it. Every repair gets explained in plain language before a single part is ordered. Every job starts with a written price and ends with a clean work area, because leaving a mess isn’t just sloppy, it’s disrespectful.
When he’s not running a brush through a flue or walking a homeowner through a liner assessment, Nathan is the kind of person who likes things done right the first time. He believes a handshake still matters, a guarantee should be in writing, and a customer who sees the work is a customer who comes back. That’s not a company value. That’s who he is.
Our Promise to San Jose Homeowners
We work to the Kingswell Way, a set of values that each Ashby location agrees to follow. They’re simple enough to remember and hard enough to matter:
- Say the price before the work. You get a written quote before anything begins. Not after we’re on the roof. Not once the job’s half done. Before.
- Show up in the window we gave. If we say between nine and eleven, that’s when you’ll see the truck. We know your time isn’t a suggestion.
- Leave the place cleaner than we found it. Drop cloths down before the job starts, vacuum running during, and a walk-through after. Your carpet stays your carpet.
- Put the guarantee in writing. The Kingswell Guarantee covers the work. If a repair fails inside the guarantee period, we come back and fix it at no charge.
- Come back if it fails. We don’t hide behind fine print or phone tag. If something’s wrong with our work, we make it right.
Every one of those lines exists because a homeowner somewhere got burned by the opposite. We’re not interested in adding to that list.
Our Credentials
- State-licensed. Every pro working under our name is required to hold the license their state requires for chimney and venting work. That’s not optional, and it’s not something we’ll ever let slide.
- Insured and bonded. You’re letting someone onto your roof and into your home. Insurance and bonding protect you if something goes wrong, and we carry both as a condition of operating.
- Locally experienced. The team at this branch knows San Jose chimneys. They know how valley fog and marine air affect masonry, how older Eichler fireplaces behave differently from newer construction, and what creosote patterns look like in the wood burned here.
- Strong local reputation. We’ve built our name one chimney at a time, and the word that matters most is the one your neighbor passes along over the fence.
These credentials matter because a chimney company works in the place where your family sleeps. You should never have to wonder whether the person on your roof is qualified, covered, and accountable. With us, you won’t.
Rooted in San Jose
We work the neighborhoods you live in. Almaden Valley, Cambrian, Berryessa, Evergreen, Japantown, the Alameda, and everywhere the 280 and 101 stitch this city together. We know which homes near the Santa Cruz Mountains burn more wood and which townhouses downtown rely on gas logs. This isn’t a territory list. It’s home.
We’re proud to be part of the Kingswell family of brands, but this location is independently owned and operated. The standards come from Ashby. The hands on the ladder are from here.
Written by Nathan Corliss, Owner at Ashby Chimney San Jose, serving San Jose, CA.