How Ashford Chimney Sweep Was Born in North Hollywood
Ashford Chimney Sweep exists because we believe a chimney should be looked at honestly before anyone reaches for a quote. When we started in 2012, too many North Hollywood homeowners told us the same thing: someone came out, glanced up the flue, and handed them a bill for work they never saw and didn’t understand. That bothered us. It still does.
We set out to do this work differently. We show you what we see. Every sweep includes a camera inspection, and every recommendation comes with a photo report you can look at yourself. If the liner is fine, we say so. If it can wait a year, we say that too. Our job is not to manufacture a sale. It’s to give you a straight answer about the condition of your chimney so you can make a decision with your eyes open.
That’s what we mean by honest scope. A written estimate before any work begins, a price that covers what we agreed to, and a job that is finished before we leave. No mystery. No pressure. That’s how we’ve approached every chimney since 2012, and it’s the reason people in North Hollywood keep calling us back.
Our Founder’s Personal Connection to the Chimney Cleaning Trade
Chimney cleaning is a trade you learn with your hands and your eyes. It takes patience. Every fireplace and flue is a little different, and the older a North Hollywood home is, the more likely someone has modified it over the years. You can’t clean properly if you don’t look carefully first.
After 14 years in this work, we still treat every chimney like it’s the first one we’ve ever opened. We check the damper before we start. We check the cap. We look at how the flue tiles line up, and we note every patch of creosote, every gap, every crack. Then we clean, top to bottom, and run the camera again so we know what’s left. A good job is one where you could put your hand on any surface we touched and find it clean.
We won’t cut corners. We don’t skip the camera because it adds a few minutes. We don’t call a chimney clean because the firebox looks nice. We don’t recommend a new liner because a sales script says to. Fourteen years of doing this has taught us something simple: the homeowner deserves to know exactly what we saw, in plain English, with pictures to back it up. That is what keeps us in this trade.
Living and working in the San Fernando Valley has also taught us something about how fireplaces get used here. Winters are mild, so a chimney is often a once-a-week pleasure, not a daily necessity. That means creosote builds slowly but steadily, and a fireplace that runs fine for years can still hide a layer of flammable glaze you can’t see from the hearth. We check for it every time. Not because it’s dramatic, but because that’s the job.
Meet Our Team – The Person Behind Every Job
The person who stands for this company is the one who started it. Our Owner & Founder has spent more than 14 years in the chimney trade, learning from the ground up before starting Ashford Chimney Sweep. The work shaped a straightforward set of beliefs: be on time, be honest about what you find, and leave the home cleaner than you found it.
What separates our approach from a franchise technician with a new truck and a script is simple. We know what a real problem looks like, and we know what it costs to fix. We can tell the difference between a chimney that needs immediate attention and one that just needs a sweep, and we’ll tell you which one you have. We answer our customers like we’d answer a neighbor, because in North Hollywood, that’s usually what you are.
Our Promise to North Hollywood Homeowners
Three commitments guide every visit we make:
- Honest pricing. Estimates are free. The written estimate sets the price. If the scope changes, you approve it first, in writing. No surprises at the end.
- Quality workmanship. We use proven materials and take the time to do the job right. Every sweep ends with a camera report so you can see the result for yourself.
- Standing behind the job. If something isn’t right, call us. We’ll make it right. That’s what a neighborhood business means.
Our Credentials
- State-licensed. Every pro working under our name is required to hold the license their state requires for this trade.
- Insured & bonded. Every pro working under our name is required to carry the insurance and bond their state requires.
- More than a decade of local experience. We have served San Fernando Valley homeowners since 2012.
- Strong local reputation. Our repeat customers and word-of-mouth referrals across North Hollywood and the surrounding Valley tell the story.
A license matters because it means the person in your home has met a standard. Insurance matters because it protects you if something goes wrong. Longevity matters because you’re not hiring someone who will disappear next year. And a local reputation matters because it’s built one honest chimney at a time.
Rooted in North Hollywood
We work in the neighborhoods we know. From the NoHo Arts District to the quiet streets of Toluca Lake, Valley Glen to Sherman Oaks, Studio City to Burbank, our customers are people we pass at the hardware store. We know what a 1950s Valley ranch fireplace looks like inside. We know how a mid-century Studio City chimney was framed. That local knowledge is not something you get from a call center. It’s something you earn by showing up, year after year, and doing the work right.
Written by the team at Ashford Chimney Sweep, serving North Hollywood since 2012.
Call (833) 589-9860. We answer 24/7. Fast dispatch from 7am to 7pm, Sunday through Friday.