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 North Decatur
Fireplace repair in North Decatur usually runs $175 – $650 for common fixes like damper replacement or firebox patching, while a full gas fireplace installation typically lands between $3,200 and $6,800 depending on the venting setup. Ashby Chimney Atlanta has repaired original masonry fireplaces and modern gas units across North Decatur’s older neighborhoods since 2002. Nathan Corliss leads our repair crews, and every job starts with a written price before any work begins. If your firebox is spalling, your pilot won’t stay lit, or smoke rolls back into the living room, call (678) 263-7908 for a free estimate. We know the 1950s and 60s chimneys in this area, and we’ll tell you straight what needs fixing now and what can wait.
Why Ashby Chimney Atlanta Is North Decatur’s Preferred Fireplace Repair Company
North Decatur homeowners keep calling us back because we say the price first, show up when we said we would, and put the guarantee in writing. That’s the Kingswell Way, and it’s how we’ve done business since 2002. Our technicians are background-checked and uniformed, so when someone walks through your door in Medlock or Leafmore, you know exactly who they are and why they’re there.
We answer the phone with a live person 24 hours a day. Not a callback form, not a voicemail loop. If your fireplace stops working on a cold Tuesday night in December, a real human picks up and schedules a North Decatur visit. Nathan Corliss holds every repair to the 365-Day Done Right Promise: if it’s not done right, we make it right. That includes a free second visit if a covered repair fails inside the guarantee period.
Styles & brands we work with
Gas Fireplace Installation in North Decatur
Gas fireplace installation in North Decatur is a practical upgrade for older ranch and split-level homes where the original wood-burning fireplace has become more trouble than it’s worth. Many of these 1950s and 60s fireplaces have cracked clay tile liners, shallow smoke shelves that clog fast, and dampers that no longer seal. Converting to a gas insert or installing a direct-vent gas fireplace gives you heat without feeding a masonry chimney that’s past its service life.
Converting a Wood-Burning Fireplace
A gas insert slides into the existing firebox and vents through a new steel liner run up the old flue. North Decatur homes with original clay tile liners usually need that liner replaced or resurfaced first. We check the firebox, smoke chamber, and flue with a camera before recommending any conversion. You’ll see the photos yourself.
Direct-Vent Gas Fireplace Installation
If your home doesn’t have a usable chimney, a direct-vent gas fireplace installs on an exterior wall and vents straight out the back. This is common in North Decatur additions and finished basements. Expect the full job, including framing and finishing, to run $3,200 – $6,800. The written quote you get at the door is the price you pay. No adjustments after the fact.
Gas Fireplace Maintenance in North Decatur
Gas fireplace maintenance in North Decatur should happen once a year, ideally in early fall before the first cold snap. Burners collect dust and pet hair, thermopiles weaken, and gas pressure drifts. A unit that worked fine last March can refuse to light in November. Annual service keeps the logs burning clean and catches vent issues before carbon monoxide becomes a concern.
Annual Tune-Up and Safety Check
We clean the burner and pilot assembly, test the thermopile and thermocouple, check gas connections for leaks, and verify the venting is drafting properly. For North Decatur homeowners with original chimneys now venting gas appliances, we also inspect the liner condition. A small crack that’s harmless for a decorative log set becomes dangerous when a gas insert is exhausting through it.
Pilot Light Diagnostics and Repair
A pilot light that won’t stay lit almost always traces to a failing thermocouple or thermopile, or a clogged pilot orifice. We carry common replacement parts from Copperfield and other chimney-trade suppliers, so most pilot repairs in North Decatur are completed same-day. Call (678) 263-7908 and we’ll get a technician to your neighborhood fast.
Trusted Brands We Service in North Decatur
We repair and install equipment from HeatShield, DuraFlex, and Gelco, plus gas components from Olympia Chimney and Copperfield. That matters because cheap generic parts don’t last in North Decatur’s humid summers and hard freezes. We source materials from recognized chimney-trade brands so a repaired damper or resurfaced liner stays repaired. Since we stock common parts for the fireplaces most often found in North Decatur’s ranch and split-level homes, we can usually complete a typical repair in a single visit.
Common Fireplace Repair Problems We See in North Decatur Homes
- Spalling clay tile liners. The original 1950s-70s clay tiles in North Decatur chimneys expand during humid summers and contract in hard freezes. After 50-plus years, the tiles begin cracking and flaking. Pieces can fall and block the flue, which sends smoke back into the house.
- Clogged shallow smoke shelves. The builder-era chimney design common in Medlock and Leafmore includes a shallow smoke shelf that collects creosote quickly. By the time a homeowner notices smoke rollout, the smoke chamber is often half-blocked before the firebox is even assessed.
- Water-damaged fireboxes from uncapped flues. North Decatur’s spring storms drive rainwater into uncapped chimneys. The water pools in the smoke shelf and mixes with creosote, forming a paste that eats away at mortar joints. This is why we replace so many firebox panels and parge coats in this area.
- Backdrafting from undersized wood-stove liners. Older ranches that were retrofitted with wood stoves often bypass the original damper or use a liner that’s too small for the stove. Backdrafting fills the house with smoke and builds creosote faster than any other setup we see in North Decatur.
See the difference
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AfterPricing for Fireplace Repair in North Decatur, GA
A standard damper repair or replacement in North Decatur costs $175 – $475. Firebox repointing or panel replacement runs $400 – $900 depending on how much of the firebrick is spalled. Resurfacing a clay tile flue with HeatShield typically runs $1,500 – $3,000, which is usually less than half the cost of a full liner replacement. Gas fireplace installation runs $3,200 – $6,800. Gas fireplace maintenance and tune-ups run $129 – $229. Every quote is written before work starts, and the invoice matches the quote. We don’t do surprise add-ons. Call (678) 263-7908 and we’ll walk through your fireplace’s symptoms and give you a straight price range over the phone.
We Also Serve Cities Near North Decatur
Ashby Chimney Atlanta serves North Decatur and the surrounding communities. If you’re in Atlanta, Dunwoody, North Atlanta, or East Point, our Fireplace Repair team covers those areas too. Scheduling is coordinated through our Atlanta office, and crews serve North Decatur locally. Same written pricing, same guarantee, same live person on the phone 24/7.
Serving North Decatur, GA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the North Decatur 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 North Decatur
Even with light use, an original 1960s masonry fireplace in North Decatur should be inspected every year. The reason is the chimney itself, not how often you burn. Clay tile liners from that era are now 50 to 70 years old, and North Decatur’s humid-summer, hard-freeze cycle puts constant stress on them. Cracks can develop whether you burn two fires a year or two hundred. A camera inspection costs $150 – $300 and shows you exactly what’s happening inside the flue. That’s cheap compared to a $3,000 liner repair you could have caught early. Call (678) 263-7908 to schedule.
You should expect two things: first, a thorough removal of the creosote packed into that shallow smoke shelf, and second, an honest assessment of whether the firebox and liner are worth repairing or whether a gas insert makes more sense. The shared builder-era chimney design in Medlock and Leafmore uses a shallower smoke shelf than modern code requires, so creosote accumulates faster and rollout happens sooner. We often start by clearing a smoke chamber that’s already half-blocked before we even assess the firebox. After cleaning, we may recommend a parge coat rebuild or a HeatShield resurfacing. You’ll see camera photos before anyone recommends spending a dollar.
Yes, and it’s one of the most common jobs we do in North Decatur’s ranch homes. The original masonry chimney becomes the venting chase for a new gas insert. But first we have to verify the flue can handle it. If the clay tile liner is spalled from decades of thermal cycling, we’ll run a new DuraFlex liner or resurface the existing one before the gas unit goes in. Most conversions run $3,200 – $6,800 all-in, depending on the insert and liner work. The written quote covers everything. If the number changes, we tell you before any work starts, and you sign off on it.
Smoke rollout in a Leafmore split-level with a clean flue usually means one of three things: a clogged shallow smoke shelf, a damper that’s stuck partially closed, or a chimney that’s too short for proper draft in that particular house design. In the split-levels we service around Leafmore, the original builder-era chimney often sits below the ridge line of the upper roof, which weakens draft. Our techs addressed exactly this in a 1960s split-level where spalling clay tiles and a dented damper had caused two winters of smoke rollout. We installed HeatShield to seal the liner, rebuilt the parge coat, and replaced the damper with a top-sealing cap. The draft returned, and the rollout stopped. Call (678) 263-7908 and we’ll diagnose your exact setup on-site.
North Decatur fireplaces primarily build up second-degree creosote, the flaky, tar-heavy kind that forms when burning temperatures are too low. It’s different from the cornflake-textured first-degree creosote you see in cleaner burns, and it’s much harder to remove than third-degree glaze, which is actually less common here outside of wood-stove retrofits with undersized liners. Second-degree creosote requires mechanical removal with rotary loops and specialized brushes. We never promise to eliminate it with chemical logs alone; those don’t work on tar-heavy buildup. After mechanical cleaning, we discuss burn practices that reduce creosote formation, like smaller hotter fires instead of long smoldering ones. A standard sweep and inspection in North Decatur runs $175 – $300. Call (678) 263-7908 for an exact quote.
Ready to Get Your Fireplace Working Again?
Whether you’re in Medlock, Leafmore, or anywhere else in North Decatur, Ashby Chimney Atlanta is ready to repair your fireplace the right way. Written price before work starts. Written guarantee on every repair. Free second visit if a covered repair fails. Nathan Corliss and our crew stand behind the work. Call (678) 263-7908 now for a free estimate, and get your fireplace back to what it’s supposed to do: keep your home warm without smoke, leaks, or worry.
Written by Nathan Corliss, Owner at Ashby Chimney Atlanta, serving North Decatur since 2002.