Gas fireplace service
Sweep & inspection
Caps & crowns
Flue relining
Masonry repairLevel 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.
Why Marietta Homeowners Choose HeatShield Chimney Cleaning
Heatshield in Marietta chimney cleaning service means something specific at our shop: we inspect the condition of your existing HeatShield liner or coating, clean the flue thoroughly, and tell you plainly whether that liner is still doing its job. We’re an independent HeatShield service provider, not a manufacturer-authorized dealer, which means we can speak honestly about what HeatShield products do well and where we’ve seen them fail in Marietta homes. Nathan Corliss and our crew have rebuilt, coated, and cleaned HeatShield-lined flues across Cobb County for years, and we’ll apply that experience to your fireplace. Call (478) 796-8742 for a written quote before any work starts.
What actually differs with HeatShield work in this area is the humidity. Marietta’s air holds moisture that works its way into flue masonry, and that moisture has a direct effect on how HeatShield’s cerfractory coatings bond and hold up over time. We’ll explain what we find, show you the camera footage, and only recommend work the flue actually needs. No upsell, no scare pitch.
Why Trust Ashby Chimney Marietta for Your HeatShield Chimney Cleaning?
Our technicians have handled HeatShield’s ceramic and refractory products across hundreds of Marietta flues, from original cerfractory coatings on clay tile to CeCure sleeve relining systems in newer construction. That hands-on familiarity means we know the difference between a HeatShield liner that’s doing its job and one that’s quietly spalling behind the surface where a homeowner can’t see it. We look for the failure modes that generic chimney sweeps miss: bond loss at flue tile joints, thin application voids, and acid-condensate breakdown on gas flues.
The owner, Nathan Corliss, picked up his trade fundamentals at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College before chimney work pulled him into a career he’s stuck with for going on twenty-two years. His crews have covered a wide stretch of metro Atlanta, including plenty of fireplaces in homes near Kennesaw Mountain where we offer Heatshield service in Kennesaw, older houses with older flues that demand a steady hand and an honest eye. When we service a HeatShield liner, we quote a flat price before touching a brush and put the guarantee in writing so there are no surprises when the invoice lands. Tell you the price first, show you the work, put it in writing, that’s the whole job.
Styles & brands we work with
Common HeatShield Chimney Cleaning Problems We Fix in Marietta
These are the real issues we see on HeatShield products in Marietta homes. Some are installation problems, some are material wear, and some are just what Georgia humidity does to a flue over time.
- Cerfractory spalling from moisture intrusion. HeatShield’s Cerfractory Flue Sealant is a tough ceramic coating, but when water is getting through a cracked crown or failed chase cover above it, the coating can flake away in long runs. We see this often in Marietta’s 1950s-70s brick ranch homes where original clay tile liners were coated years ago and the exterior masonry has since absorbed decades of rain. The fix starts with addressing the water source, then mechanically removing loose coating and recoating the flue.
- Joint sealant cracking from thermal cycling. HeatShield’s Joint Repair System relies on a bond at the seams between clay flue tiles. North Georgia winters mean sporadic fireplace use: cold snaps that send a hot, fast fire up the flue after weeks of sitting cold. That expansion and contraction cycle eventually separates the sealant from the tile edges, leaving hairline cracks at nearly every joint. The symptom is often a faint smoky smell inside the house when the fireplace is lit, even with the damper open.
- Installation voids behind CeCure sleeves. The HeatShield CeCure Sleeve Relining System works by casting a ceramic sleeve inside the existing flue, but the system depends on even application behind and around the sleeve. We’ve found voids, air pockets left between the sleeve and the original flue wall, when we scope flues in older Marietta homes. A void lets flue gas circulate where it shouldn’t, and it will not show up on a visual inspection from the top or bottom. Only a camera finds it.
- Premature Restore 2000 breakdown on high-efficiency gas flues. HeatShield Restore 2000 is a resurfacing material, and it does well on wood-burning flues in our experience. But on flues venting high-efficiency gas appliances, acidic condensate eats at the surface over time. Marietta’s humid air makes this worse because the flue never fully dries between cycles. If you’ve got a gas furnace or water heater venting through a Restore 2000 flue and you’re seeing whitish deposits or surface softening, that’s the condensate doing its work.
- Creosote buildup on coated flues that homeowners assume need no cleaning. A HeatShield coating makes a flue surface smoother and easier to clean, but it does not make creosote go away. Humid Georgia winters mean fires are lit sporadically and burn low and smoky, which produces more creosote than a hot, clean burn. We regularly pull thick, sticky glazing from HeatShield-coated flues in East Cobb and Marietta proper where the owner skipped a sweep because the flue “looked fine” from the firebox.
HeatShield Parts & Our Repair-vs-Replace Approach
When a HeatShield flue needs a patch or recoat, we use genuine HeatShield materials so the chemistry matches the original application. Mixing a competitor’s cerfractory compound over a HeatShield base coat is asking for bond failure, and we won’t do it. We stock HeatShield Cerfractory Flue Sealant, Joint Repair System kits, and Restore 2000 locally, which keeps turnaround for common repairs down to days, not weeks.
But here’s the honest part: sometimes a HeatShield repair cannot restore structural integrity. If the underlying flue tiles are badly offset, or the clay itself is crumbling, or there’s more than about 25 feet of continuous spalling, we’ll tell you straight that layering more patch isn’t the answer. In those cases we recommend a listed UL/ULC relining system, usually stainless, that will actually hold up. We’d rather lose a coating job than leave a Marietta family with a flue that’s still compromised, even if that means recommending Dallas Heatshield service for complex cases outside our range. Call (478) 796-8742 if you want a written assessment of where your flue stands.
Our HeatShield Service Process – Step by Step
- 1
Level 2 camera inspection. We run a closed-circuit camera through the full height of your flue and record what we see. Every recommendation we make after this step is backed by footage you can watch yourself. No camera, no claims.
- 2
Written diagnosis and flat price. We quote the exact work the flue needs, in writing, before any brush touches stone or any material is mixed. If you had HeatShield applied before, we’ll identify what’s still bonded and what’s failing.
- 3
Mechanical cleaning and prep. For any recoat or patch, we mechanically remove loose cerfractory and creosote until we’ve got a clean, sound surface. On a recoat job, that’s the difference between a bond that lasts and a patch that flakes off six weeks later.
- 4
HeatShield application. Patch, recoat, or joint repair using genuine HeatShield materials applied to the manufacturer’s thickness and cure specs. We don’t thin materials or skip coats.
- 5
Final camera verification. After the material cures, we re-scope the flue and show you the completed coating, joint repairs, or sleeve. You see the same view we saw on diagnosis.
- 6
Written guarantee. Every job leaves with a written guarantee covering the work we did. If a covered repair fails inside the guarantee period, we return and correct it at no charge. That’s the 365-Day Done Right Promise, and it’s included, not sold as an add-on.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterHeatShield Products We Service & Install in Marietta
We service and install the full HeatShield product family. That includes the Cerfractory Flue Sealant for coating deteriorated clay tile liners, the Joint Repair System for sealing gaps at flue tile joints, the CeCure Sleeve Relining System for structural relining of damaged flues, and Restore 2000 for resurfacing pitted or roughened flue surfaces. Our van carries the common application tools and materials for these systems, and we can order anything unusual within a couple of days. We’re also comfortable working on flues where a HeatShield system was mixed with other brands, which happens more often than most Marietta homeowners realize.
We Also Service These Brands
HeatShield is one system we know well, but it’s not the only one we work with. We also service and install DuraFlex stainless relining systems and Gelco chimney caps and chase covers across Marietta. If your flue needs something HeatShield doesn’t solve, we’ll tell you what does. Being independent means we’re not tied to any single manufacturer’s product line.
FAQs – HeatShield Chimney Cleaning Service in Marietta
A sound HeatShield repair shows no separation at the tile joints, no spalling or flaking on camera, and no smoke odor inside the home when the fireplace is lit. The only way to confirm this is a Level 2 camera inspection, which is what we do on every job. Schedule one by calling (478) 796-8742.
Yes, HeatShield’s cerfractory coating is designed to hold up under wood-burning conditions, and a properly coated flue is actually easier to sweep than raw clay tile. What it can’t do is eliminate creosote. Low, smoky fires during sporadic Georgia cold snaps still deposit creosote, and the flue still needs a yearly Chimney Sweep services regardless of the coating. Skip the sweep, and the coating eventually gets buried in glazing, which is its own problem.
In the Marietta market, a CeCure sleeve reline typically runs 30 to 50 percent less than a full stainless reline for the same flue height, depending on access and the condition of the original flue. But that price difference assumes the flue is a good candidate for a sleeve. If the original clay tile is severely offset or the flue is undersized, a stainless reline is often the better long-term answer. We write both prices out plainly and let the homeowner decide. Call (478) 796-8742 for a written estimate.
The failure is almost always acid condensate. High-efficiency gas appliances vent at lower temperatures, and that cooler exhaust produces acidic condensate inside the flue. Restore 2000 was not designed for continuous exposure to that acidic environment, and Marietta’s humid air slows the drying between cycles, making the damage worse. We’ve seen Restore 2000 surfaces soften and pit within a few years on dedicated gas flues. On gas-only flues, we generally steer homeowners toward a stainless system rated for gas appliance venting instead.
With HeatShield cerfractory coatings, you should wait at least 24 hours after application before building a fire, and longer if the weather is damp and cure time runs slow. We’ll give you the exact cure window for your specific job, in writing, before we leave.
A standard HeatShield chimney cleaning, meaning a full sweep plus a visual check of the coating’s condition, usually runs $189 to $349 in Marietta depending on flue height, creosote load, and whether the home is in an older neighborhood near the Square with a taller chimney or a newer East Cobb subdivision with a standard prefab setup. If we find coating damage during the sweep, the camera inspection tells us what it costs to fix. Estimates are free. Call (478) 796-8742 for an exact written quote.
Book Your HeatShield Service in Marietta, GA
If you’ve got a HeatShield-lined flue and want an honest read on its condition, call (478) 796-8742. We’ll schedule the camera inspection, write the price before any work starts, and stand behind what we do in writing. Marietta homeowners have been burned by enough chimney contractors. We don’t add to that list.
Written by Nathan Corliss, Owner at Ashby Chimney Marietta, serving Marietta and Cobb County since 2002.