Sweeping & Cleaning
Creosote removal for fireplaces, wood stoves, gas appliances, furnaces and boilers. Drop cloths down, vacuum running, home left spotless.
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(571) 436-0844
Text (540) 660-7785
Showroom · 1314 N Royal Ave, Front Royal VA
Mon–Fri 8–5 · Sat 10–4
Firefighter Owned · Licensed VA & WV
Your Chimney,
Handled ProperlyShenandoah Valley · DMV · West Virginia
Firefighter owned. CSIA-certified. We sweep it, inspect it, reline it, repair it — and we install the stove or fireplace ourselves. Free estimates, and we leave your home clean, guaranteed.
What we do
One crew for the whole chimney
From the firebox to the crown, and the appliance that sits in it.
Inspections
CSIA Level 1, 2 and 3 with video scanning. Required before a home sale — and before any new appliance goes in.
Schedule an inspection →Repair & Masonry
Crown rebuilds, repointing, flashing, chase covers, caps and waterproofing. We fix the cause, not the symptom.
Get a free estimate →Relining
Stainless steel liners with a lifetime warranty, fully insulated. Authorized HeatShield and PriorFire installer.
Talk to us about relining →Stove & Fireplace Installation
Wood, gas and pellet. We sell it, we install it, and we service it afterwards — turnkey from the measure to the final inspection.
Visit the showroom →Custom Fireplaces & Stonework
Full stone and brick fireplaces built to your drawing or ours — indoor, outdoor, single or double-sided — with the veneer, hearth and mantel to match.
See custom builds →Roofing & Hardscape
Roof repair and replacement, stonework, patios and hardscaping — the same crews and the same standard as the chimney work.
See all services →Come see it burning
The Front Royal showroom
Photographs only get you so far. Walk in, stand in front of a live burn, feel the heat come off it, and talk to the people who will actually install it.
1314 N Royal Avenue
Front Royal, VA 22630
Wood, gas and pellet, all on display — freestanding stoves, inserts and fireplaces, most of them burning live. MagraHearth mantels, Stoll glass doors, and more than 25 stone veneers to see and touch in person.
- Mon – Fri
- 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
- Saturday
- 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
- Sunday
- Closed
Outside those hours, we open by appointment on request. After-hours in-home consultations are available by special request too — just ask.
One crew, start to finish
We build the chimney and we set the fire in it
Footing to crown, firebox to flue, and the appliance that goes inside it. Masonry, sweeping, relining and installation are all things we do ourselves, every week — so the people quoting the job are the people who understand it.
The part nobody tells you
A Level 2 inspection is required before a new appliance goes in
CSIA standards require a Level 2 inspection before a new stove, insert or fireplace is installed. Most companies quietly skip it, because it is easier to sell you the appliance and move on.
We always recommend it — and we credit the cost of the inspection back against your repair or installation when you move forward.
- We inspect firstLevel 2 with video scanning, so we know what is actually behind the wall before anyone quotes you.
- You get the findingsPhotos and video of your own flue, explained in plain language. No scare tactics, no mystery line items.
- Free estimateA written estimate for whatever the chimney actually needs — and only what it needs.
- The inspection is creditedMove forward with the repair or install and the inspection fee comes straight off the price.
What you actually get
An example of one of our reports
This is the format every Level 2 inspection is written up in — your own chimney, photographed, with each finding explained and ranked. Click through the pages.
Sample
Level 2 Inspection Report · Sample
Level 2 Chimney Inspection
Sample report — illustration only. Not a record of an actual inspection.
Every report opens with the chimney as we found it.
Why a Level 2. A Level 2 goes beyond what can be seen from the hearth and the roof. It includes a camera scan of the full flue, and it is the level CSIA requires before a new appliance is installed, after a chimney fire or weather event, and at the sale or transfer of a property.
What you receive. Photographs of your own chimney — not stock pictures — with each finding written in plain language, the standard it relates to, and what we recommend doing about it.
What it costs you if you proceed. Nothing. The inspection fee is credited against the repair or installation.
Crown, wash cap and flue tiles
Exterior · observed from the roof
Repair recommended
Cracking through the crown, running to the flue tile.
What we found. The crown has cracked through and the seal around the flue tile has failed. There is no expansion joint between the tile and the crown, so movement in the tile has split the concrete.
Why it matters. The crown is the chimney’s umbrella. Once it cracks, water gets into the masonry, freezes, and lifts the brickwork apart from the inside. This is the single most common reason a chimney needs rebuilding years earlier than it should.
What we recommend. A new cast crown with an overhang and drip edge, and a proper expansion joint around each flue.
Flashing and roof intersection
Exterior · observed from the roof
Monitor · seal or replace
Counter flashing pulling away from the masonry.
What we found. The counter flashing has lifted away from the brick along the upper run and the sealant behind it has gone hard and cracked.
Why it matters. The roof and the chimney move at different rates through the seasons, so the flashing has to work as a flexible joint. Once it stops sealing, water tracks into the roof deck and the ceiling below rather than into the chimney, which is why this one is often found late.
What we recommend. Re-let the counter flashing into a mortar joint and re-seal with a non-combustible flexible sealant.
Flue liner, smoke chamber and firebox
Interior · camera scan and hearth-level inspection
Safety concern · do not use until corrected
Firebox and smoke chamber, inspected from inside.
What we found. The camera scan shows displaced and cracked flue tiles above the smoke chamber, with open joints visible on two faces.
Why it matters. A cracked liner lets heat and combustion gases reach the framing and masonry behind the flue. This is the finding that turns an inspection from paperwork into the reason we ask you not to light a fire until it is corrected.
What we recommend. A fully insulated stainless liner sized to the appliance, or a cast-in-place restoration where the structure allows it.
Summary and next steps
Everything found, in one place, ranked by urgency
- Safety concernFlue liner — cracked and displaced tiles above the smoke chamber. Do not use the fireplace until the flue is relined.
- Repair recommendedCrown and wash cap — cracked through, no expansion joint. Recast with an overhang and drip edge.
- MonitorFlashing — counter flashing lifting, sealant failed. Re-let and re-seal.
- Meets standardFirebox and hearth extension — refractory sound, clearances and extension within standard.
- Meets standardDamper and smoke shelf — operating correctly, no obstruction found.
The estimate that follows this report is free, and if you move ahead with the work, the cost of this inspection comes straight off the price.
This is a sample document created to show the format and depth of a First Response Level 2 report. The property, findings and dates are illustrative. A real report is written from your own chimney and carries the inspecting technician’s name and certification number.
First Response Chimney, Stove & Fireplace · Front Royal, VA
Our work
Chimneys we have put back together
Every photograph here is our own crew on a real job in the Valley — no stock images, nothing borrowed. Click any photo to open it full size.
Why choose us
Hear it from a customer, not from us
Daryl, on why customers choose us.
Verified on Google
What the Valley says about us
Google
Reviews
Reviews
4.8
670
Reviews
and counting
CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep®
Certification by the Chimney Safety Institute of America means testing, continuing education and a signed code of ethics — renewed, not framed once and forgotten. It is the standard your insurer and your home inspector recognise.
Verify us at csia.org →
Where we work
The Shenandoah Valley, Northern Virginia & eastern West Virginia
Front Royal
Winchester
Warren County
Frederick County
Clarke County
Shenandoah County
Page County
Rappahannock County
Fauquier County
Culpeper County
Madison County
Loudoun County
Rockingham County
Harrisonburg
Jefferson County WV
Berkeley County WV
Morgan County WV
Hampshire County WV
Hardy County WV
Berkeley Springs
Ready when you are
Book online in about ninety seconds
Pick a time that suits you, or call and talk to a person. Free estimates either way.