Sweep & inspection
Caps & crowns
Flue relining
Masonry repair
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.
Gelco Chimney Cleaning in Houston, TX | Flint Chimney Co Houston
We provide independent Houston Chimney Sweep and Gelco repair across Houston, and the one factor that separates our work here from anywhere else is simple: Houston’s humidity and clay soil attack Gelco components in specific, predictable ways, and we’ve spent over a decade documenting those failure patterns. A Gelco chimney in Meyerland fails differently than one in Clear Lake, and different still from one in the Heights. We know which problems show up where, and that means our cleaning and inspection work catches issues before they turn into a four-figure repair. Call (325) 750-6259 for a free estimate, and you’ll get a written price before a single tool comes off the truck.
Why Houston Residents Choose Us for Gelco Service
Most chimney companies in Houston will say they know Gelco. Ask them which Gelco cap sizes rust first on the southeast side of town, or what the clay flue tile spacing spec was on 1970s Gelco installs in Meyerland, and you’ll get a blank look. We get it, because we work with these systems daily. Hank Delano, our owner, learned the trade at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College and has been servicing Houston homes for over a decade, including a steady run of jobs in Montrose where older masonry fireplaces keep our crew busy. He’s been known to sketch a quick diagram on a notepad to show a homeowner exactly what he found in the flue before quoting a single dollar. Every tech we send is background-checked and uniformed, and every Gelco repair carries our 365-Day Done Right Promise: a written guarantee valid for one full year. If a covered repair fails, we return at no charge. That’s how we work, and that’s why Houston homeowners who’ve been burned by no-show chimney companies call us instead. For broader coverage across the metro, see our Gelco sales & service page.
Styles & brands we work with
Common Gelco Chimney Cleaning Problems We Solve in Houston
- Creosote glazing inside Gelco stainless liners. Houston’s damp air cools flue gases faster than drier climates, so when a homeowner burns the occasional winter fire, the creosote that forms is stickier and denser. We remove it with rotary brushes and chemical treatments, and we inspect the liner for heat stress afterward.
- Rust-through at the welded collar of Gelco caps. On coastal-side neighborhoods like Clear Lake, salt-laden moisture sits on the flashing and eats through the collar welds. We replace those caps with OEM Gelco units where the size still exists, or fabricate 304 stainless equivalents when it doesn’t.
- Efflorescence and spalling on Gelco clay tile crowns. Houston’s humidity forces salts through the masonry, leaving white mineral deposits and eventually crumbling brick. A sweep alone won’t fix this, but catching it early means waterproofing can buy you years before any rebuild.
- Loose Gelco liner sections after clay soil shifts. The expansive clay under Meyerland and Braeswood Place moves with every wet-dry cycle, and that movement leans chimneys and breaks the rigid coupling at the roofline. We find this constantly during Level 1 inspections.
- Stuck Gelco top-mount dampers. Humidity corrodes the pivot hardware, and eventually the handle just spins. We replace the damper assembly with OEM Gelco parts or a better-grade stainless aftermarket when the original design was weak to begin with.
Gelco Service in Houston: What Local Conditions Mean for Your Equipment
In Meyerland, our sweep logs show Gelco clay flue liners cracking at the roofline on homes built before 1983. That’s not random, and it’s not covered in any Gelco manual. The subdivision’s expansive clay finally settled after the 1980 heat wave, and the houses built in the decade before that have been fighting their own foundations ever since. When the chimney leans even a quarter degree, the rigid clay liner sections separate at the coupling, and rainwater gets a direct path into the smoke chamber. We check for that vertical separation on every single Houston Chimney Inspection we do in Meyerland and Braeswood Place, because in our experience, a homeowner who skips that check ends up paying for a full rebuild instead of a $200 liner repair. This is the kind of thing you only learn by sweeping hundreds of chimneys in the same Houston neighborhoods year after year. If your home is in one of those areas, call us at (325) 750-6259 and we’ll tell you what we’re seeing before we quote a dollar.
Gelco Models & Products We Service in Houston
We service the Gelco product lines most common in Houston homes: the 6-inch round rigid stainless steel liner, Gelco Multi-Flue chimney caps, Gelco Top-Mount dampers, and Gelco clay flue tile systems. On the parts side, we use OEM Gelco liner kits and caps where possible, because their dimensions and alloy spec match original installs. But we’re also practical about it. When a cap size has been discontinued or a top-mount damper was a weak design from the start, we fabricate quality 304 stainless aftermarket equivalents that outlast the originals. We keep common Gelco liner sections and cap components stocked locally in Houston, which means we can often complete a repair the same day we diagnose it. When a Gelco liner is kinked or rusted through in more than two spots, we recommend full replacement rather than patching. Water intrusion from Houston rains makes partial repairs false economy, and we won’t sell you a repair that won’t hold.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterGelco Service Pricing in Houston
A standard Gelco chimney cleaning in Houston typically runs $189 to $279, depending on the liner length and creosote stage. A Level 1 inspection is included with every sweep we do. Gelco cap replacement starts around $340 and runs up to $600 for custom-fabricated 304 stainless units. Full liner replacement starts at $1,800 and goes up based on height and access. Top-mount damper replacement ranges from $275 to $475 installed. Every job gets a written price before any work begins, so the number on the invoice is the number you approved. Call (325) 750-6259 for a free estimate, and we’ll put it in writing before we touch a tool.
Serving Houston, TX - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Houston 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 – Gelco Chimney Cleaning in Houston
Houston’s humidity and salt-laden coastal air sit on the cap’s welded collar, and that’s where the rust starts. Barely using the fireplace doesn’t matter because the cap sits outside in the weather 365 days a year. We replace rusted Gelco caps with OEM units where possible and 304 stainless aftermarket equivalents where the original size is discontinued. Call (325) 750-6259 for a free inspection and we’ll quote the replacement in writing.
No. A sweep removes creosote, but it does nothing for a chimney that’s separated from the house due to clay soil movement. In Meyerland, we regularly find Gelco clay liners cracked at the roofline on pre-1983 homes, and that requires structural attention before any cleaning is meaningful. We’ll tell you exactly what we see, sketch it on a notepad, and quote the repair in writing before you commit to anything.
The pivot hardware has corroded from Houston humidity, and the cable or linkage inside the damper assembly has likely snapped or stripped. It’s not a cleaning issue; it’s a replacement issue. We install OEM Gelco top-mount dampers where available and upgraded 304 stainless equivalents where the original hardware was underbuilt. Call (325) 750-6259 and we’ll tell you what it costs to fix it.
Yes, and the reason is damp air. Houston’s humidity cools flue gases more quickly, which condenses creosote on the liner walls earlier in the burn cycle. The result is a stickier, denser glaze that’s harder to remove. We recommend Gelco clay liner owners in Houston sweep at least annually if they burn more than a dozen fires a year. Call (325) 750-6259 and we’ll give you a written price for a sweep and Level 1 inspection.
We can, but we’ll tell you plainly if the crown needs waterproofing or rebuild first. A new Gelco cap won’t stop water from seeping through a cracked crown, and in Houston’s wet climate that water will keep spalling the brick. We’ll quote the cap replacement and the crown work together, with the cap installed only after the crown is sound. Call (325) 750-6259 to schedule a free inspection.
Service Areas Near Houston
We provide Gelco chimney cleaning throughout the Houston metro, including Houston service area coverage across Meyerland, Braeswood Place, the Heights, and Clear Lake. We also serve Gelco service in Humble, Gelco service in Sugar Land, Baytown, Channelview, and Deer Park. If you’re within 40 miles of downtown Houston, chances are we’ve swept a chimney on your street.
Book Your Gelco Service in Houston Today
Call (325) 750-6259 and you’ll get a live person on the phone, a written price before work begins, and a one-year guarantee on every Gelco repair. Hank and our crew will arrive inside the window we give you, and we’ll leave your chimney cleaner than we found it. “Tell me what you’re seeing, I’ll tell you what it costs to fix it.” That’s how we work.
Written by Hank Delano, Owner at Flint Chimney Co Houston, serving Houston since 2002.