Fast, Reliable Chimney Repair Across Arlington Heights
Chimney repair in Arlington Heights typically costs $180-$340 for minor mortar repointing and $2,800-$6,500 for partial rebuilding, with most jobs completed in a single visit. We’re Hearthstone Chimney Co. of Chicago, and we’ve been driving out to Arlington Heights from our Chicago base for over 42 years. If you’re in a 1950s ranch off Rand Road or a split-level near the Metra UP-NW corridor, we know your chimney. We know the original multi-flue masonry, the hard northwest-suburban winters that spall brick faces, and the Cook County inspection standards that now govern grandfathered flue setups. Call (888) 289-6055 anytime - a live person answers, 24 hours a day.
Why Hearthstone Chimney Co. of Chicago Is Arlington Heights’s Preferred Chimney Repair Company
We’ve worked on chimneys in Arlington Heights since the early 1980s, back when many of these homes were only twenty years old and their mortar was just starting to show stress. Today those same chimneys are fifty to seventy years old, and we’ve seen the full lifecycle of what happens when the northwest Cook County freeze-thaw cycle meets 1960s brickwork.
Our technicians are background-checked, uniformed, and carry professional-grade materials from DuraFlex, HeatShield, and Olympia Chimney on every truck. Most Arlington Heights jobs finish in one trip. We document every inspection with photos you can see and a plain-English verdict - no jargon, no scare tactics. Our 90-Day Done Right Promise is in writing with no arguing: if it’s not right, we come back and make it right.
Calls to (888) 289-6055 reach a live person, not a voicemail tree. That’s been true every day, every hour, for over four decades. Arlington Heights homeowners tend to call rather than click, and we answer accordingly.
Our Chimney Repair Services in Arlington Heights
Chimney Rebuilding
Arlington Heights’s 1950s-1970s housing stock is hitting a critical age for structural chimney work. The original multi-flue masonry chimneys in neighborhoods from Arlington Lakes to the areas near Route 53 were built to serve both wood-burning fireplaces and gas furnace flues simultaneously. Decades of hard freeze-thaw cycles - more severe here than in lake-moderated suburbs - have cracked crowns and spalled brick faces at scale. A full or partial chimney rebuild in Arlington Heights runs $4,200-$8,900 depending on height, accessibility, and whether we’re reconstructing one flue or two. We rebuild with matching brick where possible and always waterproof the crown before we leave.
Mortar Repointing
Repointing is the most common repair we perform in Arlington Heights, and for good reason. The original mortar in these post-war chimneys has simply reached end of life. We grind out deteriorated joints to proper depth and repoint with color-matched, professional-grade mortar formulated for Chicago-area freeze-thaw exposure. Typical repointing on a standard Arlington Heights ranch chimney runs $1,800-$3,400. We recently handled a chimney repair on a 1963 split-level near the Metra UP-NW corridor in Arlington Heights. The homeowner called for a routine cleaning, but our technician found the unlined fireplace flue sharing the same chase as a lined gas furnace flue - a code-deficient setup. We relined the fireplace flue with DuraFlex and repointed the crown, all in one trip so the homeowner could keep their wood-burning habit safe through the northwest-suburban freeze-thaw cycle.
Flashing Repair
Flashing failures around chimney shoulders are endemic in Arlington Heights’s older subdivisions. The original step flashing and counterflashing on these homes was often single-layer aluminum or galvanized steel with a 20-30 year design life. We’ve replaced flashing on homes from the Scarsdale neighborhood to properties near Euclid Avenue where water had been entering the attic chase for multiple seasons before the homeowner noticed ceiling staining. Arlington Heights flashing repair typically costs $650-$1,400. We use professional-grade materials and sealants, and we document the condition of surrounding sheathing with photos so you see what we see.
Spalling Brick Repair & Chimney Waterproofing
Spalling - the flaking and crumbling of brick faces - is accelerated in Arlington Heights by the combination of hard freeze-thaw cycling and heavy fireplace use from October through March. Many homeowners here burn wood heavily but haven’t had their chimneys cleaned since the previous decade, compounding moisture retention in the masonry. We repair spalled areas with matching brick and follow with breathable waterproofing treatment using professional-grade formulations from Gelco. Spalling repair with waterproofing runs $1,200-$2,800 in the Arlington Heights market.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Arlington Heights
We stock parts and materials from DuraFlex, HeatShield, Gelco, and Olympia Chimney on our Arlington Heights-bound trucks. No waiting for special orders on standard repairs. DuraFlex stainless relining handles the multi-flue conversions we see constantly in Arlington Heights’s grandfathered chimneys. HeatShield cerfractory resurfacing restores eroded flue interiors without full relining where appropriate. These aren’t builder-grade substitutes. They’re the materials a craftsman chooses when he plans to stand behind the job for ninety days in writing, and still be in town to honor that promise thirty years from now.
Common Chimney Repair Problems We See in Arlington Heights Homes
- Cracked crown mortar from aggressive freeze-thaw. Arlington Heights sits in northwest Cook County, away from Lake Michigan’s moderating effect. We see more hard freeze-thaw cycles per winter than lakeside suburbs, and the original 1950s-70s brick chimneys crack at the crown first. Water enters, freezes, expands, and spalls brick faces down the shoulder.
- Unlined wood-burning flues sharing a chase with gas furnace flues. This grandfathered setup was standard in Arlington Heights’s post-war buildout. It’s now code-deficient and triggers mandatory remediation under current Cook County inspection standards when the chimney is serviced.
- Creosote-heavy unlined fireplaces in multi-flue chimneys. Homeowners in areas like Arlington Lakes and near the Metra corridor burn wood heavily through long northwest-suburban winters. Without regular cleaning and with unlined flues, creosote accumulation accelerates.
- Original flashing past design life. The first-generation step flashing on these homes has simply aged out. We find active leaks in attics that homeowners attributed to roof problems when the chimney shoulder was the actual entry point.
Pricing for Chimney Repair in Arlington Heights, IL
Here’s what chimney repair costs in the Arlington Heights market based on the jobs we’ve completed across 60004, 60005, and 60006:
| Service | Typical Range in Arlington Heights |
|---|---|
| Mortar repointing (standard ranch chimney) | $1,800 - $3,400 |
| Spalling brick repair with waterproofing | $1,200 - $2,800 |
| Flashing repair/replacement | $650 - $1,400 |
| Partial chimney rebuild (1-2 flues) | $2,800 - $6,500 |
| Full chimney rebuild with crown | $4,200 - $8,900 |
| DuraFlex stainless relining (per flue) | $2,400 - $4,800 |
Factors that move the number: chimney height, roof pitch and access, whether we’re matching existing brick, and the condition of hidden flue interiors that our Level-2 camera inspection reveals. We provide no-hassle upfront pricing before any work begins - the number on the estimate is the number on the invoice. Estimates are free. Call (888) 289-6055.
We Also Serve Cities Near Arlington Heights
Our Chimney Repair in Arlington Heights service extends throughout the northwest Cook County corridor. We regularly repair chimneys in Rolling Meadows, Prospect Heights, Mount Prospect, and Palatine - many with the same 1950s-1970s housing stock and identical freeze-thaw exposure patterns. If you’re in any of these communities and need our Chimney Repair team, the same live-answer phone line and same-day scheduling applies.
Serving Arlington Heights, IL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Arlington Heights area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Chimney Repair in Arlington Heights
Because the original multi-flue masonry in these homes was engineered for a fifty-year service life, and most have now exceeded that. In Arlington Heights, our Level-2 camera inspection almost always reveals mortar degradation, crown cracking, or flue lining issues that weren’t visible from the firebox. The cleaning gets done, but the structural assessment protects you from water damage and code violations you’d otherwise discover during a home sale or after a freeze-thaw winter causes sudden failure. Call (888) 289-6055 - estimates are free, and we document everything with photos you can see.
Current Cook County inspection standards require that any chimney being serviced must have properly lined flues for all active appliances. The grandfathered setups common in Arlington Heights - where a lined gas furnace flue shares a chase with an unlined wood-burning fireplace flue - no longer pass inspection once work begins on that chimney. We must remediate before completing other services. This isn’t our rule; it’s the county’s. We handle the DuraFlex relining and any associated repointing in the same visit whenever possible. Call (888) 289-6055 to discuss your specific flue configuration.
Check the mortar joints between bricks on the chimney shoulder and crown. If you can scratch out mortar crumbs with a house key, or if you see white efflorescence staining, voids, or receding joints, the mortar has failed. Arlington Lakes homes from this era are particularly susceptible because the northwest-suburban freeze-thaw hits harder than lake-moderated areas. We provide free inspections with photos, and repointing typically takes one day. Call (888) 289-6055 to schedule.
We service and adjust fireplace doors, but excessive door weight on oversized fireboxes often indicates an underlying draft problem in the flue system. In Arlington Heights’s multi-flue chimneys, an oversized fireplace connected to an unlined or partially blocked flue can create dangerous draft reversal, especially when the adjacent gas furnace flue is actively drawing. We assess the full system - door, flue, and draft - rather than treating the door as an isolated component. Most evaluations complete in one visit. Call (888) 289-6055.
Most partial rebuilds finish in two to three working days; full rebuilds with matching brick sourcing take four to six days. We complete the demolition and structural rebuild in continuous sequence to keep your home weather-protected. For a standard split-level near the Metra corridor or in the Scarsdale area, we typically schedule the Level-2 inspection one day and begin rebuild within a week if materials are in stock. The 90-Day Done Right Promise covers all work in writing. Call (888) 289-6055 for a specific timeline based on your chimney’s condition.
Ready to get your Arlington Heights chimney assessed? Call Hearthstone Chimney Co. of Chicago at (888) 289-6055. A live person will answer, 24 hours a day. We’ll schedule your free estimate, perform a documented Level-2 inspection with photos you can see, and give you no-hassle upfront pricing before any work begins. We’ve served Arlington Heights and northwest Cook County for over 42 years, and we plan to be here when your chimney needs us again.
Written by the team at Hearthstone Chimney Co., serving Arlington Heights and Chicago-area communities since 2014.