Granada Hills Chimney Sweep for Post-War Homes
A chimney sweep in Granada Hills is routine on most streets, and the real variable is condition. In Balboa Highlands, which City Planning lists as a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone, anything that changes how the chimney looks from the street can also need City Planning review, so it pays to know that before a cap or crown is replaced.
What Granada Hills does to a chimney
Granada Hills is in the north San Fernando Valley. Inland summer heat bakes the sunny face of a chimney and dries out old sealants and cement, and cool winter nights bring the fireplace back into use just as the rain arrives. The Balboa Highlands HPOZ is inside Granada Hills; City Planning describes it as the first post-World War II neighborhood in the Valley to achieve historic designation. Across the rest of the neighborhood the ordinary City of Los Angeles rules apply, with LADBS as the building authority.
Granada Hills homes and their fireplaces
Where a Granada Hills house is a post-war tract home with its original fireplace, the chimney is now several decades old, and the parts that age first are the crown, the damper and the mortar joints just above the roofline. Where the fireplace has since been rebuilt or fitted with a gas insert, the question becomes whether the flue was relined to suit the new appliance. An earlier owner may have done either without leaving records.
The work that comes up most in Granada Hills
Ordered by how often local conditions make each one the right question.
- Chimney Damper Repair
Original cast-iron dampers in post-war fireplaces are the part most likely to have warped or rusted in place.
- Chimney Crown Repair
Years of summer heat on an old cement crown open cracks that let winter rain into the stack.
- Chimney Sweep
A fireplace lit through the Valley's cool winter evenings builds deposits worth clearing before each season.
- Chimney Cap Replacement
Inside Balboa Highlands, check with City Planning before a cap that looks different from the old one goes on.
- Fireplace Restoration
Where an original mid-century surround or hearth is worth keeping, restoration repairs it without changing its character.
If the house is inside Balboa Highlands, say so when you get in touch, and include a photo of the chimney from the street if you can. Tell us what you are seeing and ask for an estimate.
Call NowChanging a chimney inside the Balboa Highlands HPOZ
An HPOZ is a local historic district. City Planning says new projects in one must complement the neighborhood's historic character, and its project review covers exterior changes, including some that do not need a building permit. A new cap, a different crown profile or a rebuilt stack is visible from the street, so ask City Planning before the work is booked rather than after.
Rule 445 treats these houses differently in one respect. The rule normally limits any permanently installed fireplace sold or installed to an EPA-certified heater, a pellet heater, a masonry heater or a dedicated gas fireplace, and it lists historic sites and contributing structures in an HPOZ among the exemptions from that limit. Whether a given house is contributing is a City Planning question, and the exemption does not touch no-burn days.
Why the damper gives out first in an older Granada Hills fireplace
A throat damper is a cast-iron plate just above the firebox. Decades of heat and rust warp it, and the result is a damper that will not seal in summer or will not open fully in winter. The first lets conditioned air escape; the second pushes smoke into the room.
Where the old plate is past adjusting, one replacement is a damper that seals at the chimney outlet and is worked by a cable from the firebox. It doubles as a cap, which brings the HPOZ question back if the house is inside Balboa Highlands.
Around Granada Hills
Granada Hills is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles. The Los Angeles overview covers the city as a whole.
Nearby neighborhoods
Neighboring cities
Background reading
Local references
- LA City Planning — Balboa Highlands HPOZ
- LA City Planning — Historic District Project Review
- South Coast AQMD Rule 445 (PDF)
Requirements and designations change, and they vary by address. These are the authorities to confirm with rather than a statement of what applies to your property.
Granada Hills chimney questions
Have a question this page does not cover? Try the chimney and fireplace FAQ.
Chimney and fireplace questions in Granada Hills
Call, or send a short description and request an estimate. Estimates cost nothing.