Masonry repair
Sweep & inspection
Caps & crowns
Flue relining
Gas fireplace serviceLevel 1 sweep and inspection to the NFPA 211 annual standard - flue, crown, cap, and flashing checked and photographed
Chimney sweep logs do not sweep chimneys. They loosen some creosote - which then falls where a brush and vacuum still have to collect it.
Fast, Reliable Fireplace Repair Across Kendale Lakes
Fireplace repair in Kendale Lakes usually means dealing with rust, cracked crowns, and corroded dampers, not creosote buildup. Most homes here are 1970s and 80s concrete-block ranches, and the fireplaces are either prefabricated metal units or simple masonry boxes that were never built for heavy use. The real enemy is the salt-laden air that blows across this part of Miami-Dade. It eats galvanized steel in five to seven years and turns a decorative fireplace into a water leak. If your cap is crumbling or your damper won’t close, call (850) 787-8597 and we’ll get a technician to your Kendale Lakes home with a written price before any work starts.
Why Ashby Chimney Miami Is Kendale Lakes’s Preferred Fireplace Repair Company
Nathan Corliss has built Ashby Chimney Miami around a simple rule: show the customer the problem, explain what it costs to fix, and put the promise in writing. We have been at this since 2002, and the Kendale Lakes calls we take tend to follow a pattern. A homeowner opens the flue for the first time in two years, hears rust flakes drop, and realizes the rain cap is more hole than metal. Or they notice a chalky white stain spreading across the chimney chase and want to know if it is structural. We know these houses. The shallow-pitch roofs off SW 117th Ave, the screened pool enclosures behind them, the prefabricated fireboxes that rust around the damper even when nobody burns a single log. That local familiarity means we diagnose faster and quote more accurately.
Our Fireplace Repair team arrives in uniform, background-checked, and with parts sourced from the brands that hold up in this climate: HeatShield, DuraFlex, and Copperfield. Every repair gets a written guarantee, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise means if it fails inside the guarantee period, we come back and fix it at no charge. No fine print. No phone tree. A live person answers 24/7.
Styles & brands we work with





Gas Fireplace Maintenance in Kendale Lakes
Gas Fireplace Maintenance in Kendale Lakes matters even when you barely use the unit, because ambient humidity and salt air work on the gas valve, pilot assembly, and burner ports all year long. A typical gas fireplace service call here runs $129 – $199, which includes cleaning the burner and logs, testing the pilot and thermopile, checking the venting, and making sure the unit is not producing carbon monoxide. If parts need replacing, like a corroded thermocouple or a sticking gas valve, expect to add $75 – $250 depending on the component. Most Kendale Lakes gas fireplaces get serviced once every two to three years, but if you smell gas or the pilot light will not stay lit, do not wait: call us at (850) 787-8597 and shut the gas off at the appliance valve until a technician arrives.
Pilot Light and Ignition Repairs
A pilot light that sputters or goes out is the most common gas fireplace complaint we hear from Kendale Lakes homeowners, and it is usually traced to a dirty orifice or a failing thermopile. The fix typically runs $85 – $180. We clean the pilot assembly, test millivolt output, and replace the thermopile if it has drifted out of spec.
Venting and Glass Seal Checks
Direct-vent units need their glass gaskets and vent terminations inspected regularly in Kendale Lakes, because salt air corrodes the exterior termination cap and humidity degrades the gasket over time. Replacing a corroded vent termination runs $95 – $160. A leaking glass gasket gets replaced for about $60 – $110, and it is the difference between a sealed combustion system and one that quietly pulls carbon monoxide into the living room.
Wood Stove Installation in Kendale Lakes
Wood Stove Installation in Kendale Lakes is more common than you might expect, especially in the concrete-block ranches where homeowners want a functional heat source for the handful of genuinely cool nights between December and February. A standard wood stove installation with a stainless steel chimney liner runs $2,800 – $4,600 in this area, depending on the height of the flue and whether we need to run the liner through an existing masonry chimney or install a new through-the-wall system. We use DuraFlex and Copperfield liners almost exclusively here, because galvanized components simply do not survive the salt ridge. Every installation gets a written price, a written guarantee, and a technician who will walk you through burn practices that keep creosote low and draft strong.
Liner Sizing and Draft Calculations
Before we install a wood stove in a Kendale Lakes home, we measure the existing flue and calculate the draft the stove needs. A 1970s masonry chimney with a terracotta liner is often oversized for a modern EPA stove, which leads to weak draft and smoke rollback. We correct that with an insulated stainless liner sized to the appliance, which runs $1,100 – $1,800 of the total installation cost.
Permitting and Clearances
Kendale Lakes falls under Miami-Dade County code, and wood stove installations need proper clearances to combustibles, a listed floor protector, and an approved chimney system. We handle the permit paperwork and schedule the inspection as part of the job. If a homeowner tries to skip this, they are usually the one holding a failed inspection report six months later.
Trusted Brands We Service in Kendale Lakes
We stock and install parts from Copperfield, DuraFlex, and HeatShield because they hold up in Kendale Lakes’s salt-ridge environment better than generic alternatives. Copperfield makes the dampers and caps we use most often. DuraFlex liners are our standard for wood stove installs and flue relining. HeatShield is what we turn to when a masonry flue has spalled but the homeowner wants to avoid a full teardown. Because we serve Kendale Lakes regularly, we keep common parts on the truck, which means fewer return trips and faster repairs for homes near W Flagler St and the surrounding neighborhoods.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterCommon Fireplace Repair Problems We See in Kendale Lakes Homes
- Salt-corroded rain caps: The raised ridge that runs through Kendale Lakes catches breezes from Biscayne Bay to the east and the Everglades to the west. That double salt exposure corrodes galvanized caps in five to seven years, which is faster than most of Miami-Dade. Once the cap fails, rain and swallows get in, and the flue liner starts to degrade.
- Cracked chimney crowns: Concrete-block chases expand and contract with the humid subtropical cycle, and the mortar or concrete crown on top cracks from thermal shock. Water seeps into the block, carries salts through the masonry, and leaves white efflorescence stains on the exterior chase.
- Rusted damper frames: Even with zero fires burned in a decade, the cast-iron damper frame in an 80s prefab fireplace rusts from ambient moisture. The damper gets stuck open or stuck closed, and the homeowner discovers it when the AC bill climbs or smoke rolls back during the one fire they light all year.
- Spalled flue liners: Salt air and humidity work on the clay tiles inside masonry chimneys, breaking off flakes that fall into the smoke shelf and restrict draft. This fails even on decorative fireplaces in Kendale Lakes, because the moisture drives the damage, not the heat.
Pricing for Fireplace Repair in Kendale Lakes, FL
A standard fireplace repair visit in Kendale Lakes runs $149 – $299 depending on what we find. Replacing a corroded rain cap costs $210 – $350 installed. Rebuilding a chimney crown with a proper drip edge runs $450 – $800. Repairing or replacing a rusted damper is $180 – $400. If the flue liner needs relining, which is more common than homeowners expect with salt-driven spalling, a HeatShield resurfacing runs $2,000 – $3,200 and a full DuraFlex stainless liner install runs $2,600 – $4,200. The number on the invoice matches the number we quoted at the door, because every job starts with a written price. Call (850) 787-8597 for a free estimate on any fireplace repair in Kendale Lakes.
We Also Serve Cities Near Kendale Lakes
Ashby Chimney Miami handles fireplace repair throughout the western Miami-Dade area. If you are in Miami, Hialeah, North Miami Beach, or Hialeah Gardens, you can learn more about our work across the region on our Fireplace Repair in Kendale Lakes page or call (850) 787-8597 directly. We dispatch crews from our South Florida office and will let you know exactly when a technician can be at your home.
Serving Kendale Lakes, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Kendale Lakes 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 About Fireplace Repair in Kendale Lakes
Your chimney crown cracks because of thermal expansion from humid subtropical cycles, not from fire use. Concrete and mortar absorb moisture from the air, then expand and contract with temperature swings, and the crown on your concrete-block chase eventually fractures. Call (850) 787-8597 and we will rebuild the crown with a proper drip edge so water stops entering the block.
Yes, because a decorative fireplace still has a flue system that can leak water into your walls, and salt-driven corrosion progresses even when the fireplace is never lit. A Level 2 inspection in Kendale Lakes runs $249 – $449 and includes a camera scan of the flue. If nothing is wrong, you get photos and written documentation; if something is wrong, you will see it on the screen too.
Galvanized rain caps in Kendale Lakes typically corrode within five to seven years, which is noticeably faster than other Miami-Dade areas, because the area sits on a ridge that catches salt-laden breezes from both Biscayne Bay and the Everglades. A stainless steel cap lasts decades and costs $210 – $350 installed. It is the single smartest upgrade we recommend.
The damper frame and the metal firebox components around it fail first. Rust forms even with zero fires because ambient humidity and salt air are constant. The flue liner often has years of life left, but the damper assembly will seize or collapse, and the smoke chamber will show surface rust. We replace the damper and treat the affected metal, which runs $180 – $400.
Yes, in most cases a stainless steel liner can be dropped through the existing masonry flue without any teardown, and a through-the-wall system can bypass the chimney entirely if the flue is too far gone. A complete wood stove installation in Kendale Lakes runs $2,800 – $4,600 with liner, permits, and clearances handled. Nathan Corliss will walk you through the options and give you a written price before anything starts.
Written by Nathan Corliss, Owner at Ashby Chimney Miami, serving Kendale Lakes and nearby communities since 2002.