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.
Trusted Fireplace Repair for San Jose Homeowners
A fireplace that won’t light, a gas log set that clicks but never ignites, or a wood stove that pours smoke back into the living room – these aren’t problems you should live with. San Jose Fireplace Repair typically runs between $150 and $900 depending on what’s actually wrong, and most jobs take under two hours once we’re at the house. Nathan Corliss has led Ashby Chimney San Jose since 2002, building a repair team that shows up at the address on the work order, hands you a written price before touching a single tool, and backs the finished work with a written guarantee. If you’re dealing with a fireplace that’s acting up, call (669) 266-5073 and we’ll talk it through before you book anything.
What separates us from the last company you called? The Kingswell Way, which is five things we never skip: say the price, show up in the window, leave it cleaner than we found it, put the guarantee in writing, and come back if it fails. That’s it. No fine print. No “well, it turns out you also need…” phone calls after we’ve already opened up the unit. Fireplace Repair in Sunnyvale and throughout the area is all we do, and we’ve been doing it longer than most of the houses we service have had their current owners.
Gas Fireplace Repair
Gas Fireplace Repair covers everything from a pilot light that won’t stay lit to a burner that’s producing lazy yellow flames instead of a clean blue burn. Most San Jose homes with gas fireplaces are running either a direct-vent insert or a log set, and each fails differently: inserts tend to develop thermocouple and thermopile issues after five to eight years, while log sets usually need burner tube and valve work. A typical Fireplace Repair - Milpitas and San Jose area job runs between $175 and $450, with full burner replacements pushing toward $800 on units with odd firebox dimensions.
Pilot and Ignition Systems
A pilot that lights and then drops out within seconds almost always points to a failing thermocouple, a $25 part that takes about 20 minutes to swap. When the spark igniter clicks but produces no flame, we trace the wiring back to the control module before recommending any parts, because replacing modules blindly is how homeowners get stuck with $400 bills that don’t fix the problem.
Burners and Flame Quality
Soot building up on the glass or logs is a sign the air-to-gas mixture is off, often from clogged burner ports or a cracked burner pan. We clean ports, replace pans when they’ve rusted through, and adjust the venturi so the flame burns clean and blue like it should, because a lazy flame is putting carbon monoxide into your living room rather than up the flue.
Styles & brands we work with
Gas Fireplace Service
Gas Fireplace Service is the routine tune-up that catches the small stuff before it becomes a $600 repair: cleaning the burner, checking gas pressure, testing the safety shutoff, and verifying the venting is still drafting correctly. We recommend servicing gas units every two years in San Jose, not because manufacturers demand it, but because we’ve seen what happens when a gas valve sticks open after a decade without attention. A standard gas fireplace service call runs between $129 and $199 for most direct-vent and log-set units.
Full Inspection and Cleaning
We remove the logs or glass front, brush and vacuum the burner assembly, clean the pilot orifice, and inspect the ember bed for any signs of carbon buildup that would indicate incomplete combustion. Every service includes a carbon monoxide check at the firebox opening with a digital meter, not just a visual once-over.
Valve and Gas Pressure Checks
On a service visit we test the millivolt or electronic ignition system, confirm the manifold pressure matches manufacturer spec, and exercise the safety limit switches that are supposed to shut gas off if the unit overheats or vents backward. If any of those systems test weak, you’ll get a written quote for what it costs to fix it before we leave the house, not a phone call a week later.
Fireplace Insert Installation
Fireplace Insert Installation means taking a drafty, inefficient open hearth and turning it into a sealed combustion appliance that actually heats the room instead of pulling conditioned air up the chimney. San Jose homes built before the 1990s often have masonry fireboxes that leak air around the damper, which is why so many owners on the west side and in Willow Glen call us about inserts this time of year. Fireplace Repair - Santa Clara and San Jose area insert installation typically runs between $2,800 and $5,500 including the insert, liner, and labor, depending on firebox size and whether we need to run a new flue liner through an existing masonry chimney.
Sizing and Selection
We measure the firebox opening, hearth depth, and existing fluestatus before recommending an insert, because shoving a unit into a firebox that’s an inch too small is a recipe for an overheated faceplate and cracked firebrick. You’ll see the actual dimensions written on your quote, so you can verify the insert will fit before you spend a dollar.
Venting and Liner Work
Most insert jobs in San Jose require a new stainless liner, and we use DuraFlex or Olympia Chimney liners depending on the application and chimney condition. A properly insulated liner keeps the flue gases hot enough to draft correctly, which is the difference between an insert that works perfectly and one that shuts down on the first cold night.
Gas Fireplace Installation
Gas Fireplace Installation covers converting a wood-burning fireplace to gas or adding a zero-clearance gas fireplace to a room that doesn’t have a chimney at all. If you’re in an older San Jose neighborhood like Naglee Park or Japantown, your masonry chimney likely wasn’t designed for gas appliance venting, which means this is a job that requires a proper gas line run and a listed liner. A full gas fireplace installation runs between $3,200 and $6,800 in San Jose, including the gas line, appliance, venting, and finish work.
Conversions and Gas Line Work
We work with licensed plumbers for the gas supply line and handle the appliance side ourselves, so the permit-covered work and the appliance work are both done by people who do their piece every week. You’ll get a written scope of work before scheduling, including whether the gas line needs to be upsized and what that costs.
Zero-Clearance Units
Rooms without an existing masonry chimney can still have a gas fireplace, using a zero-clearance unit vented horizontally through an exterior wall. We install, frame, and finish these units so they look like they’ve been there since the house was built, and every installation includes a post-install draft test and carbon monoxide verification.
Gas Fireplace Maintenance
Gas Fireplace Maintenance is the annual or biannual upkeep that prevents the most common failure points: dusty fans, corroded thermocouples, yellowing glass, and remote controls that stop talking to the receiver. In San Jose, where gas fireplaces often sit unused from April through October, a September maintenance call catches what the summer silence hid. Most gas fireplace maintenance visits run between $129 and $199, and for that price you get a clean burner, a fresh set of embers where needed, and a written list of anything that’s likely to fail in the next 12 months.
Glass and Ember Bed Refreshing
The white haze on your glass is mineral deposits from combustion, and it’s removable with the right cleaner and a careful hand, not permanently etched in most cases. We remove, clean, and re-seat the glass, and replace ember wool or ceramic embers that have broken down, which restores the look and prevents debris from blocking burner ports.
Remote and Control System Checks
A remote that only works from three feet away usually has a dying receiver battery or an antenna that’s been pinched during a previous service. We test the full control loop, replace receiver batteries, and re-pair remotes so you don’t find out the hard way on the first cold night of winter.
Wood Stove Installation
Wood Stove Installation means putting in a stove that meets current EPA emissions standards and connecting it to a flue that will draft properly in San Jose’s mild climate. Because a wood stove fire in a 55-degree December evening behaves differently than one in a Minnesota January, we pay close attention to draft calculations and chimney height on every install. A wood stove installation in San Jose typically runs between $3,000 and $6,500 including the stove, hearth pad, and chimney connection, depending on brand and whether new chimney pipe is required.
Clearances and Hearth Pads
Most wood stove fires in older homes come from stoves installed too close to a wall, which is why every installation we do starts with measuring clearances and building or placing a code-compliant hearth pad. We’ll show you the clearance numbers we’re working from, in writing, before the first hole is drilled.
Chimney and Liner Connections
Connecting a wood stove to an existing masonry chimney usually means running an insulated stainless liner, and we stock Olympia Chimney and DuraFlex liner kits to match the stove outlet and chimney dimensions. If your chimney has an old unlined tile flue with degraded mortar joints, we’ll show you the camera footage so you can see why the liner work is needed before you approve a dime.
Brands We Service
We service the major gas and wood brands you’ll find in San Jose homes every week, and we keep common parts on the truck so most repairs go from diagnosis to working in a single visit. HeatShield and Gelco are the two brands we use most often for flue resurfacing and smoke chamber parging, especially in older San Jose masonry fireplaces where the clay tiles have started to spall. We’ve done hundreds of HeatShield applications in chimneys across Santa Clara County, and we trust its 20-year track record on freeze-thaw cycles in our coastal climate.
For venting components, we source Olympia Chimney and Famco connectors and caps, because cheap press-fit connectors from big-box stores are the number one source of draft problems we see in mid-century San Jose chimneys. Whether you have a high-end gas insert, a builder-grade log set, or a wood stove that predates EPA rules, we can get it running right and keep it running.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterSigns You Need a Pro Right Now
- Smoke comes back into the room. This means the flue isn’t drawing, and the causes range from a blocked damper to a collapsed flue liner. Smoke in the house means carbon monoxide and particulates in the house, and it’s not something to “watch.”
- You smell gas when the unit is on. A faint smell at startup is normal; a persistent gas odor while burning is not. A small leak at a fitting can become a bigger one, and it’s never safe to wait and see.
- The glass is black or sooty after a burn. Soot means incomplete combustion, which means the unit isn’t getting the right air mixture and is putting out carbon monoxide. It also means something is wrong that cleaning the glass won’t fix.
- The pilot light won’t stay lit. This is usually a thermocouple, a minor repair, but it can also be a failing gas valve. If the valve goes, you’re looking at a much more expensive job, and early repair is cheaper than valve replacement.
- You hear crackling or popping from the chimney. In a masonry chimney this often means moisture is turning to steam inside the brickwork, which means water is getting in somewhere. Left alone, it damages the liner and the structure around it.
Our Process, Step by Step
- 1
Book the call and get a real window. When you call (669) 266-5073, a live person answers and schedules the visit with an arrival window, not “sometime between 8 and 5.” We also send a text when the technician is on the way.
- 2
We diagnose first, quote second. The technician inspects the unit, runs the diagnostic checks, and then hands you a written price for the repair before any work starts. That number matches the invoice, every time.
- 3
You decide, not the technician. We explain what we found, what it costs to fix, and what can wait. If a liner issue comes up, we show you the camera footage on the spot. Nothing gets recommended that you haven’t seen evidence for.
- 4
The repair is done with parts that last. We use branded components from HeatShield, Gelco, Olympia Chimney, DuraFlex, Famco, and Copperfield, not whatever the van had left over from last week. Every repair gets tested before we call it done.
- 5
You get the guarantee in writing before we leave. Every repair comes with a written Kingswell Guarantee. If a covered repair fails within the guarantee period, we return and fix it at no charge. That’s the 365-Day Done Right Promise, and it’s in writing, not a verbal promise.
How Much Does Fireplace Repair Cost in San Jose?
In San Jose, most fireplace repairs fall into a few predictable ranges. A gas log set that won’t light usually runs between $150 and $300 to diagnose and repair, with the most common culprits being thermocouples, thermopiles, and dirty pilot assemblies. A full burner replacement on a direct-vent insert runs between $400 and $800. Flue resurfacing with HeatShield, often needed on older masonry chimneys in neighborhoods like Willow Glen and the Rose Garden, runs between $1,500 and $3,500 depending on liner length and access. And full insert or stove installations start around $2,800 and climb to $6,800 for more complex jobs.
What moves the price in San Jose specifically: the age of the fireplace (pre-1990 fireboxes rarely match modern insert dimensions without modification), access to the flue (single-story ranch vs. two-story with a steep roof), and whether the existing gas line needs an upgrade. The best way to avoid overpaying is to get the diagnosis first, see the evidence (camera footage, meter readings), and get the price in writing before work starts. Our estimates don’t come with a surprise invoice later, and we don’t run “specials” that turn into bait-and-switch quotes at the door.
Our Service Area Near San Jose
Ashby Chimney San Jose serves homeowners throughout the South Bay from our base in San Jose. We’re in Santa Clara most days, Fremont two to three times a week, and we regularly take calls from Sunnyvale, Milpitas, Cupertino, Mountain View, and Palo Alto. Most of our San Jose repair calls are scheduled within one to two business days, depending on the scope. Learn more about what we do on the home page or review Fireplace Repair in San Jose for more neighborhood-specific detail. We also run service into Redwood City, Menlo Park, and Atherton for homeowners who want a written guarantee on their chimney work.
Serving San Jose, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Jose area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
Frequently Asked Questions About Fireplace Repair in San Jose
Fireplace repair is any work that restores the proper function or safety of a fireplace, including gas burner repair, flue resurfacing, damper replacement, and insert installation. In San Jose, the most common calls we get are for gas fireplaces with failed ignition systems and masonry chimneys with damaged liners. The repair itself is only part of the job; the diagnostic work that finds the real problem is what prevents paying for fixes that don’t fix anything.
Most repair jobs, like a thermocouple replacement or a burner cleaning, are finished in under two hours from the time we arrive. Liner work and insert installations take a day or more depending on the flue size and whether scaffolding is needed. We’ll give you a time estimate in writing before work starts, and if we’re going to run over, we’ll call you, not just show up late.
Fireplace repair in San Jose runs between $150 and $900 for most common repairs, with insert and liner work running from $1,500 to $6,800 depending on scope. Smaller ignition repairs fall at the low end, flue resurfacing and full installations at the high end. Call (669) 266-5073 for a free estimate with a written price before any work starts.
We work with all three brands regularly and keep their materials in stock for flue resurfacing, parging, and liner installations. HeatShield is our go-to for ceramic flue resurfacing, Gelco for smoke chamber parging, and Olympia Chimney for stainless liners and caps. If your existing setup uses any of these brands, we can repair or extend the system without replacing it entirely.
We staff phones 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and we’ll prioritize gas leaks, carbon monoxide concerns, and active smoke problems. If it’s dangerous, we’ll get a technician to you as fast as we can; if it can wait for a scheduled visit, we’ll tell you honestly. You can always reach a live person at (669) 266-5073, not an answering service.
Every repair we complete carries a written guarantee under the Kingswell Guarantee, and if a covered repair fails within the guarantee period, we return and fix it at no charge. That’s the 365-Day Done Right Promise, and it’s written on your invoice, not hidden in a brochure. You’ll know exactly what’s covered and for how long before you pay anything.
Clear a path to the fireplace and move anything fragile from the hearth, because we’ll be working right in that area. If you have pets, secure them in another room so the technician can come and go without a door dart. We bring our own drop cloths, vacuums, and tools, so the house stays clean and the work area ends cleaner than it started.
Schedule Your Fireplace Repair Service in San Jose Today
Call (669) 266-5073 to book a fireplace repair in San Jose, and you’ll get a written price before any work starts, a written guarantee when it’s done, and a live person on the phone any time you call. Nathan Corliss and the Ashby Chimney San Jose team have been fixing fireplaces since 2002, and we’re ready to show you what straight talk on a chimney looks like.
Written by Nathan Corliss, Owner at Ashby Chimney San Jose, serving San Jose since 2002.