Santa Cruz County · CA
Chimney sweep and repair in Santa Cruz County’s San Lorenzo Valley
One crew, twenty miles from central Sunnyvale, reaching the four San Lorenzo Valley communities below.
No obligation. Someone answers every day, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The short answer
In Santa Cruz County, the twenty-mile radius Nation Wide Chimney Sweep & Repair works from central Sunnyvale reaches four unincorporated San Lorenzo Valley communities: Boulder Creek, Ben Lomond, Brookdale and Lompico. They are the part of our map where a wood fire is most often the heat, not the decoration: Census estimates count 3.8 percent of Santa Cruz County homes heating mainly with wood, against 0.2 percent in Santa Clara County. Flues that carry that much wood need sweeping on a schedule, a camera inspection that looks for creosote and cracked liners, and a cap whose spark-arrestor mesh is sound, and the same crew that works the valley floor brings the same tools and the same written scope up the hill.
Local specifics
What is true about Santa Cruz County
- 01
Santa Cruz County is not in the Bay Area Air District: its air district is the Monterey Bay Air Resources District, which serves Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties, so the Bay Area’s mandatory Spare the Air burn bans do not apply here.
- 02
The Monterey Bay district runs its own Spare the Air alerts for the San Lorenzo Valley, and they are voluntary: on an alert day it asks residents to heat with electricity, propane, natural gas or pellets instead of wood, because cold air under a temperature inversion traps wood smoke close to the ground.
- 03
The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey estimates that 3.8 percent of occupied homes in Santa Cruz County heat mainly with wood, against 0.4 percent in San Mateo County and 0.2 percent in Santa Clara County.
- 04
The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake was centered in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and the U.S. Geological Survey names Boulder Creek among the towns that took severe property damage; across the region, most of the severe damage fell on unreinforced masonry buildings.
- 05
Boulder Creek, Ben Lomond, Brookdale and Lompico are unincorporated census-designated places, so permits there are the County of Santa Cruz’s: its Planning Department keeps the building-permit records for the unincorporated area and issues fireplace-insert permits online.
Housing stock
What the housing stock means for the chimney work
Santa Cruz County is more detached and more wood-heated than the rest of the area we serve. Census estimates put 63.3 percent of its housing units in single detached houses, against 50.7 percent in Santa Clara County, 63.5 percent in buildings from before 1980, and 3.8 percent of occupied homes on wood as their main heat. In the San Lorenzo Valley that means masonry chimneys and wood stoves that see real winter use: the flue gets swept on a schedule set by how much wood goes through it, the liner gets a camera, and the cap and its spark-arrestor mesh matter as much as the brick.
Unincorporated communities: Boulder Creek · Ben Lomond · Brookdale · Lompico
Approximate coverage; call to confirm a specific address.
Services here
What we do in the San Lorenzo Valley
Reviews
What customers actually said
5.0
45 Google reviewscounted
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Kiara Harper
We recently purchased a 1920s Tudor and sought a Level 2 NFPA 211 examination. The tech didn't simply sweep he crawled into the attic to verify clearances against the roof framework, and documented everything in a crystal clear …
Tyler Warren
I was concerned about insurance requirements for the chimney. They performed a detailed inspection, provided a professional report with photos and video, cleaned the system, and made the small repairs needed. …
Jaxon Wells
The damper on our masonry fireplace became hard to open and close. During the service they lubricated the linkage, replaced the worn rope seal, adjusted the fit for tighter closure, cleaned the throat area, and polished the glass …
Maria Lear
Completed the full chimney cleaning today. Inspection revealed creosote glaze and some lint from the surrounding area. …
Communities in the county
Every community we serve in the county
Questions
What people ask about Santa Cruz County
Which Santa Cruz County communities do you cover?
Boulder Creek, Ben Lomond, Brookdale and Lompico, the San Lorenzo Valley communities inside our twenty-mile radius from central Sunnyvale. If your address is elsewhere in the county, call and we will confirm whether it is inside the radius.
Do Bay Area Spare the Air burn bans apply in Boulder Creek or Ben Lomond?
No. Santa Cruz County belongs to the Monterey Bay Air Resources District, not the Bay Area Air District. The Monterey Bay district issues its own Spare the Air alerts for the San Lorenzo Valley, and they are voluntary: on an alert day it asks residents to heat with something other than wood.
How often should a wood-heated chimney here be swept?
Often enough that creosote never builds up: the Monterey Bay Air Resources District itself advises having chimneys professionally cleaned periodically, to prevent creosote buildup and chimney fires. Tell us how much wood the stove or fireplace burns in a winter and we will suggest a schedule.
Does an older chimney in the San Lorenzo Valley need a seismic check?
It is worth one. The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake was centered in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Boulder Creek is among the towns the U.S. Geological Survey lists with severe damage, and unreinforced masonry fared worst. We check for bracing on every inspection.
Who issues the permit for chimney or fireplace work in these communities?
The County of Santa Cruz, because all four communities are unincorporated. Its Planning Department keeps the building-permit records for the unincorporated area, and a fireplace insert is one of the permits it issues online.
Book a visit in the San Lorenzo Valley
Tell us your city and what you have noticed, and we will confirm the right service.
Or call (888) 698-8416, every day, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.