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.
HeatShield Chimney Repair in Long Beach: What to Know First
We repair HeatShield chimney systems in Long Beach as an independent HeatShield service provider, and most jobs are completed in a single visit. HeatShield is a cast-in-place ceramic liner system, and when it fails, the fix is usually a sectional repair or a full reline with a product matched to the original installation. A HeatShield chimney repair in Long Beach typically runs $1,200 to $4,800 depending on flue height, access, and how much of the existing liner is still sound. If you own a HeatShield-lined chimney and you’ve been told it needs work, call (562) 317-7262 and we’ll give you a written price before anything comes off the truck.
This page is for Long Beach homeowners who already have a HeatShield system installed, or who’ve been quoted a HeatShield repair and want a second opinion from a crew that works with the product every week. We serve the full stretch of Long Beach, from Belmont Heights to Bixby Knolls to Naples Island.
How HeatShield Products Fail – and How We Fix Them
HeatShield is a good product. It’s a cerfractory material that’s pumped into the flue and cured in place, and when it’s installed correctly it lasts for years. But like every liner system, it has failure modes we see repeatedly in Long Beach homes. Here’s what we actually find on the job, and what we do about it:
- Hairline cracking at the smoke shelf in older HeatShield Cerfractory liners. The smoke shelf area takes the most thermal shock, because that’s where hot exhaust transitions into the flue. We see fine cracks form there within 8 to 12 years of installation on homes where the fireplace gets heavy seasonal use. The fix is a sectional re-coat with HeatShield’s own repair compound, applied to the crack zone and blended to original thickness. We don’t recommend a full reline for this unless the cracks run more than three feet.
- Spalling at the flue cap interface on HeatShield installations done before 2010. The older HeatShield top-seal method left a gap between the liner crown and the terra cotta, and years of salt air from the Long Beach marine layer works into that seam. You’ll see flaking at the top two feet of the liner. We grind back the loose material, re-profiler the flare with fresh HeatShield mix, and install a proper stainless cap that locks the crown down.
- Sectional joint separation where HeatShield meets the damper housing. This shows up as a draft problem: smoke that lingers instead of pulling up, or a faint smoke smell in the room after the fire’s out. The liner has pulled away from the damper frame just enough to break the seal. We open that joint, clean it, pack it, and re-coat the transition. It’s a half-day repair, and it’s one of the most common HeatShield jobs we do in Long Beach ranches and bungalows.
- Pinhole erosion in HeatShield 2000 series liners on natural gas log sets. Gas logs burn cooler but they vent constantly, and the acidic condensate they produce eats at the cerfractory surface over years. You won’t see it without a camera. We scope every HeatShield liner before quoting anything, and when we find pinholes, we do a targeted patch coat rather than recommending a full reline. Big difference between $1,200 and $4,500.
- Improper original installation with thin build-up near the tiles. Some HeatShield jobs were pumped too fast, and the material didn’t build to the designed thickness against the original clay tiles. This leaves soft spots that read as “gaps” on a Level 2 inspection. The honest repair is to open those thin sections and re-pump to spec, which we’ve done on Long Beach homes from the 1920s through the 1980s. HeatShield’s material is good. The installation is what usually tells the real story.
Styles & brands we work with
Our HeatShield Chimney Repair Process
- 1
You call, a person answers. We take your address, note what you’re seeing (smoke backup, damp smell, visible cracks at the crown), and book a service window that works. Live person, 24/7.
- 2
We scope the flue with a camera. We don’t quote a HeatShield repair without seeing the liner. The camera tells us the liner’s true condition, where the failure starts and stops, and whether we’re looking at a patch or a full reline.
- 3
We give you a written price before any work starts. That price covers the repair, the materials, the cleanup, and the follow-up inspection. The number on the invoice is the number you approved.
- 4
We decide on parts like a tradesperson, not a salesman. For sectional repairs, HeatShield’s own repair compound is the right call, because it bonds chemically with the original material. For crown repairs and caps, we’ll spec a stainless crown from Gelco or Copperfield where it outperforms the OEM part in Long Beach’s salt air. For a full liner replacement where HeatShield isn’t the best long-term answer, we’ll quote DuraFlex heavy-wall stainless and tell you why.
- 5
We do the repair, clean up, and test. Every HeatShield job ends with a cold-start smoke test and a final camera pass. You see the before and after.
- 6
You get the 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing. One full year. If the repair fails within that period, we come back at no charge. No argument, no prorating, no fine print.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterWhat HeatShield Chimney Repair Costs in Long Beach
- Smoke shelf crack repair (patch coat): $1,200 to $1,800
- Sectional joint seal and re-coat at damper: $1,400 to $2,200
- Top-flare rebuild with new stainless cap: $1,800 to $2,900
- Thin-build repair on partial flue sections: $2,200 to $3,500
- Full HeatShield reline (standard single flue, up to 25 feet): $3,800 to $4,800
What moves the price is flue height, roof access, how much surface area needs to be rebuilt, and whether the mortar joints around the crown are also failing. A two-story Long Beach Craftsman with a steep roof is a different job than a single-story ranch in Lakewood Village with a walkable pitch. Call (562) 317-7262 and we’ll give you a written quote. Estimates are free.
Why Long Beach Homeowners Call Flint Chimney Co Long Beach for HeatShield Work
Because the price is written down before the work starts, and the guarantee is written down before we leave. We’ve been at this since 2002, and Hank Delano and the crew have been running HeatShield repairs in Long Beach for years. He’ll tell you if a patch coat will do the job, and he’ll tell you if the liner is fine and you don’t need a repair at all. That’s how we’ve kept a clean name in this trade: straight answers, documented work, no inflating the scope. We also work with DuraFlex and Gelco systems, so when HeatShield isn’t the right long-term fix for your flue, we can quote the alternative with real numbers and a real warranty on each.
FAQs
HeatShield liners are sold through certified installers, and the manufacturer’s warranty typically runs 10 to 20 years depending on the year and installer. Our repair does not void the manufacturer’s warranty, but just to be clear: we’re an independent HeatShield service provider, not a factory-authorized shop. What we guarantee is our own work, under the 365-Day Done Right Promise, in writing, for a full year. If our repair fails in that window, we return at no charge. Call (562) 317-7262 if you have a warranty question and we’ll give you our honest read.
Most HeatShield problems can be patched. We open the failed section, rebuild it with HeatShield’s repair compound, and blend to the original thickness. You only need a full reline when the liner has failed across more than about a third of the flue’s surface area or when the cracks run full-height. A camera inspection tells us which one you’re looking at, and we’ll show you the footage before we quote anything.
Most sectional repairs are done in one day. A full reline is usually two days, counting the prep and the cure time. We can’t paint Long Beach County lock-tight on scheduling, because roof access and weather both play a part, but we’ll give you a straight time estimate when we come out and scope the flue.
Sometimes, honestly, yes. If your HeatShield liner is failing across most of the flue, and you’re in an older Long Beach home with an oversized terra cotta flue, a DuraFlex heavy-wall stainless liner is often the smarter long-term play. Same one-year guarantee, and the price is usually within $500 to $800 of a full HeatShield reline. We’ll show you both options with real numbers and let you decide.
We do. Mortar repointing, spalling brick repair, chimney waterproofing, flashing repair, and full chimney rebuilding are all part of our regular work in Long Beach. If your HeatShield liner is fine but your masonry or crown is the real problem, we’ll tell you that straight and quote the repair that’s actually needed.
Written by Hank Delano, Owner, Flint Chimney Co Long Beach at Flint Chimney Co Long Beach, serving Long Beach and nearby areas.