Before & After Gallery - Ashby Chimney Atlanta

Chimney Cleaning Before & After in Atlanta, GA

We could tell you we’re thorough, but that word gets thrown around a lot in this trade. What actually matters is what the flue looks like when we arrive versus what it looks like when we leave. The transformations below are representative of the sweeps we do in Atlanta every week, from Inman Park bungalows to Buckhead estates. Some chimneys just need a routine cleaning. Others reveal problems the homeowner never knew were there. The photos, once added to each project, will show the difference. The descriptions tell you what we found and what we did about it.

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Recent Transformations

Heavy Creosote Removal in a Midtown Craftsman

BeforeAfter

The homeowner had burned unseasoned pine for two winters. When we ran the camera, the flue liner was coated in shiny, tar-like creosote about a quarter inch thick in places. That’s the kind of buildup that makes a chimney fire a real possibility with one hot fire. We swept the flue mechanically, then applied a creosote treatment to break down the remaining glaze. The after shot shows bare clay liner the entire length of the flue. The homeowner saw every frame on our camera screen before we put the brushes away.

Bird and Squirrel Debris Blockage in a Decatur Bungalow

BeforeAfter

This one came to us after the homeowner noticed a smell coming from the fireplace during a rainy week in March. The camera showed a squirrel had built a nest on the smoke shelf: twigs, leaves, and acorn shells packed into a mass the size of a basketball. The flue itself was partially blocked, which meant smoke and carbon monoxide had less room to exit the house. We removed the nest by hand, swept the flue completely, and noted the chimney lacked a proper cap. We installed one before we left. No squirrel got back in.

Stage 3 Creosote in an East Cobb Family Room Fireplace

BeforeAfter

The family used this fireplace as their primary heat source from November through February. By the time we arrived in April, the flue had what our trade calls Stage 3 creosote: hardened, shiny, and baked onto the liner. A standard wire brush won’t remove it, and any reputable sweep will tell you that. We applied a chemical treatment that breaks down those hardened deposits over a period of days, then returned to sweep the loosened material out. The difference in the before and after images is what a professional line-item job looks like versus what you’d get from a cheap flat-rate sweep that just knocks the loose stuff down.

Clay Liner Crack Discovery in a Roswell Colonial

This project started as a standard sweep. The homeowner had no complaints beyond wanting the fireplace cleaned before the burning season in Atlanta picks up again in October. During the sweep, our camera revealed a vertical crack in the clay liner that ran almost three feet. That’s the kind of thing you can’t see from the ground, and it means combustion gases can escape into the wall cavity rather than out the top of the chimney. We showed the homeowner the footage on our screen, gave them a written price for the repair, and completed the liner repair using HeatShield, a ceramic sealant made for exactly this condition. The fireplace burns safely now, and the homeowner kept the before and after photos for their home records.

Twenty Years of Neglect in a Grant Park Victorian

The house changed hands twice in twenty years, and neither previous owner ever had the chimney swept. When we arrived, the flue looked like the inside of a barbeque pit: matte black soot caked an inch deep on every surface. The damper barely moved. We swept the full length, removed enough debris to fill two contractor bags, and replaced the damper assembly, which was corroded beyond use. The homeowner told us the fireplace had never drawn properly in the five years they’d lived there. After the sweep, it drew correctly for the first time. Ask us about the squirrel that had to be re-homed from behind the damper frame, too.

Smoke Chamber Buildup in a Sandy Springs Two-Story

Most sweeps clean the flue above the damper and call it done. The smoke chamber, the sloping area between the firebox and the flue, gets ignored by a lot of crews because it’s awkward to reach and built with corbelled brick that catches creosote in every ledge. This Sandy Springs chimney had a smoke chamber with significant accumulation. We cleaned it properly with specialized brushes, then applied a parge coat to smooth the chamber’s walls, which improves draft and gives creosote fewer places to cling to in the future. The result is a chimney that draws better and stays cleaner longer between visits.

Want Results Like These?

Every one of these projects started with a simple call. We gave a written price before any work started, and each homeowner saw the flue condition on our camera before and after we cleaned it. If you’ve been putting off a sweep in Atlanta, don’t wait until the first cold snap when everyone else calls. Phone is answered live by a real person, any hour. Call (678) 263-7908 and we’ll book a time that works for you.

Written by Nathan Corliss, Owner at Ashby Chimney Atlanta, serving Atlanta since 2002.