Before the First Fire of the Season in Arlington
Every fall the same thing happens in Arlington. The first cold front comes through in late October, someone lights the first fire of the year, and within a minute the living room is full of smoke. Or the gas logs light with a whump and a smell that was not there last year. Or the glass door swings open and a chunk of firebrick is lying on the hearth. The fireplace sat untouched through a Texas summer, and nobody looked at it before lighting it.
A fireplace inspection is the look. Crownline Chimney Sweep is a local chimney and fireplace company in Arlington, TX at 700 Highlander Blvd near the Parks Mall. Our crew has inspected fireplaces in Arlington homes for more than 20 years, we are insured and bonded, and for new customers the first-visit chimney sweep with a Level 1 inspection and a photo report is $109 (regular $229). Call (817) 505-4222 any day, 7 AM to 10 PM.
What a Crownline Fireplace Inspection in Arlington Covers
A fireplace inspection looks at everything from the hearth to the top of the smoke chamber, plus a camera look up the flue. On a gas fireplace it adds the gas controls and venting. This is the checklist we work through, in the order we do it.
- Hearth and clearances. The hearth extension in front of the opening, the distance from the opening to the mantel and side trim, and anything stored too close. Arlington homes from the 1980s often have a wood mantel sitting lower than today’s rules allow.
- Firebox. Every firebrick, every mortar joint, the floor and the back wall. On a factory-built fireplace, the refractory panels: a crack you can fit a dime into means the panel is done.
- Damper. Does it open fully, close fully and seal. Is the plate rusted, warped or off its track. On a gas log set, is the damper stop in place.
- Lintel and throat. The steel bar over the opening and the narrow throat above the damper, where cracks and rust hide.
- Smoke chamber. The sloped area above the damper. We look for corbeled brick that was never parged smooth, cracks and heavy creosote.
- Flue. A camera look up the flue from the firebox for creosote, cracked or shifted tiles, nests and blockages.
- Glass doors and screen. Cracked glass, worn gaskets, doors that do not latch, screens off their track.
- Gas logs and controls, on gas units. Log placement, burner ports, pilot flame, thermocouple and thermopile readings, valve, remote, glass gasket and vent termination.
- Carbon monoxide. A reading at the hearth with the fireplace running, and a check that the home has a working CO alarm.
- Photo report. Every item photographed and rated: fix now, fix later, or fine. You see what we see, in writing, before anyone talks about repairs.
The inspection ties into the chimney above it. Crownline’s Level 1 covers the crown, cap and flashing on the roof in the same visit, so you get the whole system. For what happens above the roofline, see our chimney inspection in Arlington.
When You Need a Fireplace Inspection
- Every year before the cold season. The national standard, NFPA 211, says every chimney and fireplace gets inspected once a year. That includes gas.
- You just bought the house. Arlington’s 1950s to 1980s brick fireplaces usually have the original damper, firebrick and clay flue. A seller’s disclosure rarely says anything about the fireplace. If there is no report, book a Level 2 chimney inspection with a full video scan.
- Smoke in the room, a smell, or a fire that will not stay lit. Something has changed since last year.
- After a chimney fire, a lightning strike or hail. Tarrant County hail hits chimney crowns and caps every spring, and a cracked crown lets water down to the firebox.
- Before adding gas logs, an insert or a new unit. Gas logs do not make a bad chimney safe. The inspection comes first.
- It has not been used in years. Dampers rust shut, birds nest, and mortar crumbles whether you burn or not.
What the Inspection Finds in Arlington Fireplaces
Arlington’s housing came in waves, and each wave has its own fireplace problems.
The 1950s and 1960s brick homes around Old Arlington, UTA and Fielder Park have masonry fireboxes built with soft mortar that is now sixty years old. The usual findings: failed mortar joints between the firebrick, a rusted or warped cast-iron damper, a smoke chamber that was never smoothed, and a gas log set added in the 1980s with no damper stop.
The 1970s and 1980s ranch homes in Dalworthington Gardens, Pantego and along Pioneer Pkwy mix masonry and early factory-built fireplaces. The factory-built units from that era are the ones with cracked refractory panels and dampers that no longer seal.
The 1990s and 2000s two-story homes in Southwest Arlington, Interlochen and near Lake Arlington have factory-built fireplaces in framed chases. The findings here are cracked panels, rust on the firebox floor from a leaking chase cover, and vent-free gas logs placed out of pattern and sooting.
The newer homes in Viridian and North Arlington have direct-vent gas fireplaces. The findings are almost all gas controls: a weak thermopile, a dusty pilot, a glass gasket that has failed.
North Texas clay soil moves with every wet and dry cycle and opens cracks in masonry fireboxes; summer heat bakes mortar; spring storms send water down flues. A yearly fireplace inspection in Arlington catches all three before they become a repair bill.
Our inspection services in Arlington cover every one of the city’s ZIP codes, from 76001, 76006, 76010, 76012 and 76013 to the 76016, 76017 and 76018 ZIP codes in Southwest Arlington: downtown Arlington, the homes near AT&T Stadium, North Arlington, South Arlington, East Arlington, Lake Arlington, Viridian, and the towns inside and near Arlington, Dalworthington Gardens and Pantego.
What a Fireplace Inspection Costs in Arlington, TX
For new customers, Crownline’s first-visit package is $109: a chimney sweep, a Level 1 inspection of the fireplace and chimney, and the photo report. The regular price is $229. There is no separate inspection fee on top of it.
For a yardstick, Fixr’s fireplace repair guide lists a fireplace inspection alone at $100 to $300, and HomeAdvisor’s June 2026 guide puts a combined chimney and fireplace assessment at about $450. Reddit threads from Fort Worth and Dallas homeowners describe paying $400 to $500 for a sweep and inspection. We publish our price so you do not have to guess.
What changes the price: a second flue, glazed creosote that needs a special removal, and any repair you approve after seeing the photos. Repairs are quoted in writing, estimates are free, and seniors, veterans and first responders get 10% off. One discount per job.
What the Inspection Protects You From
A fireplace inspection is about potential hazards you cannot see from the couch. Creosote buildup in the flue is the fuel for chimney fires. Soot and a blockage, a nest, a shifted flue tile, a damper stuck half shut, cut the ventilation and send carbon monoxide into the room. Structural issues in a masonry chimney, a cracked crown, failed mortar joints, a firebox pulling away from the smoke chamber, start small and turn into costly repairs after one more storm season. Regular chimney inspections and cleanings catch each of these while they are cheap to fix, which is the whole point: keep your home safe, protect your home from water and fire, and keep the fireplace running with the safety and efficiency it had when it was built. A professional chimney technician with a camera sees in ten minutes what a homeowner cannot see at all, and the chimney’s photo report goes home with you.
Inspection, Cleaning and Repair: What Comes Next
An inspection is not a cleaning and not a repair. It is the report that tells you whether you need either.
- If the flue has 1/8 inch or more of creosote, you need a chimney sweep. On the first visit, it is already included.
- If the firebox, logs or glass are sooty and smelly but sound, you need fireplace cleaning.
- If the firebrick, panels, damper or doors are damaged, you get a free written estimate for fireplace repair in Arlington, and we schedule it.
- If a gas unit will not light, the gas fireplace repair service call is free.
Most inspections in Arlington end with a short list and a clear answer. A good number end with “it is fine, light it.” We will tell you that too. For everything above the roofline, our chimney sweeps, chimney cleaning and chimney maintenance crews, chimney repairs and chimney liner installation are the same crew, and a fireplace remodeling project always starts with this inspection.
Why Arlington Homeowners Book Crownline for Fireplace Inspections
Crownline Chimney Sweep is the local chimney company Arlington homeowners trust because the inspection is honest, photographed and priced in writing.
- 20+ years inspecting Arlington fireplaces. We know the 1960s fireboxes near UTA and the 1990s prefab units near Lake Arlington.
- Insured and bonded. Proof before we start.
- Photos of everything. You see the crack, the rust or the clean flue yourself.
- No upsell. A fine fireplace gets called fine. Repairs get a free written estimate you can compare.
- Published price. $109 first visit with the sweep, regular $229, no hidden fees.
- Discounts. 10% seniors, 10% veterans and first responders, price match on written quotes. One discount per job.
A fireplace inspection is the first of the fireplace services Crownline offers in Arlington, TX, and the one that decides whether you need any of the others. The yearly inspection rule comes straight from NFPA 211, the Standard for Chimneys, Fireplaces, Vents and Solid Fuel-Burning Appliances. Call (817) 505-4222 or send the form below, and book before the first front.
The frequently asked questions below are the ones Arlington homeowners ask us most about fireplace inspections. If yours is missing, call and we will answer it on the phone.