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 Smyrna
Fireplace repair in Smyrna, GA typically runs $200 – $800 for a standard firebox rebuild, and $450 – $1,000 for a damper replacement, depending on whether you’re dealing with a mid-century clay tile chimney or a newer gas insert setup. Most jobs in Smyrna are completed same week, because we schedule repair crews specifically for Cobb County routes. If your fireplace is drawing smoke into the living room, making grinding noises when you open the damper, or you’ve noticed water stains on the ceiling near the chimney, call (478) 796-8742 and we’ll give you a written price before anything gets taken apart.
We know Smyrna homes. We know the brick ranches off Atlanta Road, the split-levels in Rose Garden Hills, and the fireplace quirks that come with each era of construction. That matters when you’re trying to figure out whether a repair can wait or needs attention now.
Why Ashby Chimney Marietta Is Smyrna’s Preferred Fireplace Repair Company
Smyrna homeowners call us because the answer at the door matches the answer on the phone. Nathan Corliss built our approach around one idea: say the price, show up in the window, put the guarantee in writing. Every Fireplace Repair job in Smyrna gets a written price before work begins. Not an estimate. Not a range. The number on the invoice is the number we quoted before we touched the chimney.
We’ve been doing this since 2002. That means we’ve seen every failure mode a Smyrna fireplace can produce: spalled clay flue tiles in 1960s Forest Hills ranches, rusted dampers in Williams Park split-levels, gas log conversions off South Cobb Drive that never got the liner update they needed. The Kingswell Guarantee covers every repair we complete. If it fails inside the guarantee period, we come back and fix it at no charge. That’s the 365-Day Done Right Promise, and it’s in writing on every job.
Our technicians are background-checked and wear company uniforms. When you book with us, you know exactly who’s walking into your home. And when you call (478) 796-8742, a live person answers. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. No voicemail loops, no callback forms.
Styles & brands we work with
Fireplace Insert Installation in Smyrna
Fireplace Insert Installation in Smyrna is one of the most frequent requests we get from homeowners in older brick ranch homes who are tired of losing heat up an open flue. A fireplace insert is a sealed, high-efficiency unit that slides into your existing masonry firebox and turns a decorative wood burner into a legitimate heat source. In Smyrna, where many homes still burn oak and hickory from the mature hardwood canopy, an insert changes the equation completely: less creosote, more heat staying in the room, and a cleaner burn.
Most fireplace insert installations in Smyrna run $2,500 – $5,500, including the liner and labor. That’s the honest range for a quality unit installed correctly. You can spend less on a budget insert, but you’ll feel it in the burn quality and the liner materials.
Why Smyrna Ranches Need a Liner With the Insert
Here’s what most people don’t know: your 1950s masonry chimney was built with clay tile liners sized for an open fireplace, not for the concentrated exhaust of a wood or gas insert. When you drop an insert in without addressing the liner, you’re pushing hot gases through a clay flue that was never designed for that temperature profile. We install DuraFlex stainless liners with every insert job in Smyrna. It’s not an upsell. It’s the difference between a safe installation and one that spalls the original clay within a few seasons.
Gas Inserts and Existing Fireboxes
If you’ve already converted to gas logs but want better heat output, a direct-vent gas insert fits into the same firebox. In Smyrna’s split-level homes, where the fireplace often sits on an interior wall, direct-vent units work well because they draw combustion air from outside and vent through a coaxial pipe. That means you don’t need a massive masonry flue to safely run a gas insert. Most gas insert installations in Smyrna run $3,000 – $6,000.
Gas Fireplace Installation in Smyrna
Gas Fireplace Installation in Smyrna covers everything from replacing an aging gas log set to installing a complete direct-vent gas fireplace where no fireplace existed before. In the 1950s and 60s, Smyrna builders put wood-burning masonry fireplaces in nearly every brick ranch. Many of those original fireplaces have since been converted to gas logs, but the conversion was often done without a proper liner update. That’s the root of a lot of what we repair.
A new gas fireplace installation in Smyrna typically runs $1,800 – $4,500 for a quality gas log set with proper venting, and $4,000 – $8,000 for a full direct-vent fireplace with framing and finishing. The bigger variable is whether your existing flue is in good enough shape to reuse, or whether you need a HeatShield resurfacing or a new liner first.
Gas Logs in an Old Masonry Chimney
When you put gas logs into a chimney built for wood, the combustion profile changes. Gas burns cooler and wetter than wood. The moisture and acidic condensate hang around inside the old clay flue instead of getting carried out by a hot wood fire. Over a few years, that eats away at the clay tiles. In Smyrna’s mid-century homes, we regularly see gas log conversions where the original flue is now spalling from the inside, even though the homeowner hasn’t burned wood in years.
Making a New Gas Fireplace Work in a Mid-Century Layout
Direct-vent gas fireplaces are versatile, which helps in Smyrna’s split-level layouts where traditional vertical chimney runs aren’t always possible. A direct-vent unit can vent horizontally through an exterior wall, which means you can put a fireplace in a den, a finished basement, or a converted garage without rebuilding a full chimney. We install brands like Copperfield and Olympia Chimney for gas fireplace projects because they hold up in humid climates like Smyrna’s, where condensation and moisture management matter.
Trusted Brands We Service in Smyrna
We don’t stock whatever happened to be in the van. We repair and install with parts from chimney-trade brands we trust, and we keep common components on hand for faster turnaround in Smyrna. That includes HeatShield resurfacing systems for spalled clay liners, DuraFlex stainless liners for insert installations, Famco dampers and caps, and Copperfield gas log components. When a Smyrna homeowner off Windy Hill Road needs a damper replaced before the weekend cold snap, we don’t want to tell them the part is a week out. Our parts inventory is built around the failure patterns we actually see in Cobb County homes.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterCommon Fireplace Repair Problems We See in Smyrna Homes
- Spalled clay flue tiles in 1950s-60s masonry chimneys. Smyrna’s original clay liners crack after decades of heating and cooling cycles, and the damage accelerates when homeowners burn locally sourced oak and hickory, which produce hot, dense fires. Once a tile spalls, the shards fall into the smoke chamber and restrict the draft, which is dangerous for both wood and gas operation.
- Unlined gas log conversions trapping moisture. In neighborhoods like Forest Hills and Rose Garden Hills, many homeowners converted original wood fireplaces to gas logs without installing a liner. The cooler, wetter gas exhaust sits against the old clay, causing hidden deterioration and increased carbon monoxide risk during winter use.
- Freeze-thaw damage to crowns and flashing. Smyrna’s mild but wet winters put chimneys through repeated freeze-thaw cycles every season. Water seeps into small cracks in the crown or flashing, freezes and expands, and leaves you with bigger cracks, efflorescence on the brick, and musty odors in the fireplace during the damp off-season.
- Rusted or seized dampers in older homes. The original throat dampers in Smyrna’s mid-century fireplaces were basic cast iron pieces that rust and warp after decades of exposure to rain and combustion gases. A seized damper often gets left open, which means the chimney is constantly venting conditioned air out of the house.
Pricing for Fireplace Repair in Smyrna, GA
Here’s what you can expect to pay for common fireplace repairs in Smyrna. A damper replacement runs $450 – $1,000. A firebox rebuild with refractory mortar runs $200 – $800, depending on how much brick needs resetting. A heat shield resurfacing for a spalled clay liner typically runs $2,000 – $3,500. A full stainless liner replacement for an insert or gas conversion runs $1,500 – $4,000. These are the ranges we quote in Smyrna, and they align with what the market in Cobb County supports. Every job gets a written price before we start. Call (478) 796-8742 for a free estimate, and we’ll tell you exactly what we’d do and what it costs.
We Also Serve Cities Near Smyrna
Our crews serve Fireplace Repair in Smyrna and the surrounding Cobb County communities. That includes Marietta, Mableton, Austell, and Powder Springs. If you’re in one of those cities and your fireplace is acting up, the same written pricing and guarantee apply. Call us and we’ll get you on the schedule.
Serving Smyrna, GA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Smyrna 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 Smyrna
Smyrna’s mature hardwood canopy means a lot of homeowners burn locally sourced oak and hickory, which produce dense, hot fires and heavier creosote loading than the pine and gas-log setups more common in some Marietta neighborhoods. The short answer is your fuel mix and your burn habits. Oak and hickory burn beautifully, but they leave more residue in the flue, especially if you’re burning green or slightly seasoned wood. In Smyrna, we recommend having your chimney swept and inspected every year if you burn wood regularly, and every two years at minimum if you only burn occasionally. Call (478) 796-8742 if you want us to check your creosote levels before the burn season starts.
Yes, that’s a real problem, and it’s one of the most common repair situations we see in Smyrna’s older neighborhoods. When gas logs vent into an unlined or original clay-tile flue, the cooler, wetter exhaust sits against the clay and accelerates spalling from the inside. The tiles crack, drop fragments into the smoke chamber, and restrict the draft. Over time, this can allow carbon monoxide to enter the home instead of venting out the top. The fix is typically a HeatShield resurfacing system or a new stainless liner. Call (478) 796-8742 and we’ll camera-inspect the flue and show you exactly what’s going on before we recommend anything.
Smyrna’s humid subtropical climate means mild winters with a lot of moisture, and every cold snap cycles the temperature around the freezing point. Water gets into the small cracks in your chimney crown, the mortar joints, and the flashing where the chimney meets the roof. When it freezes, it expands and widens those cracks. After a few seasons, you’ve got crumbling mortar, spalling brick, and water stains inside the house. The repair sequence we recommend for Smyrna homes is: inspect and repair the crown, reseal the flashing, and repoint the mortar before it gets worse. Call (478) 796-8742 for a free assessment.
Yes, and it’s one of the main reasons we install so many inserts in Smyrna’s brick ranch homes. An open fireplace sends most of its heat up the chimney along with a lot of unburned particulates. A wood stove insert burns the wood more completely, which means less creosote forming in the flue. You’re not eliminating creosote entirely, and you should still have the liner swept and inspected annually, but you’ll see a significant reduction. Most wood stove insert installations in Smyrna run $3,000 – $6,000 including the liner. Call (478) 796-8742 and we’ll talk through what works for your specific fireplace.
If you’re calling us for a repair and not just a routine sweep, a Level 2 inspection is almost always the right call. A Level 2 inspection includes a camera scan of the entire flue, which shows us exactly what’s happening inside the clay tiles, the smoke chamber, and the damper. In Smyrna’s older homes, especially ones with converted gas logs or years of oak and hickory fires, there’s often hidden damage you’d never see with a visual check alone. It’s the difference between fixing what’s actually wrong and guessing. The inspection cost is folded into the repair quote, and we show you the camera footage. Call (478) 796-8742 to book one.
If your fireplace is giving you trouble in Smyrna, don’t wait until the smell of smoke is drifting through the house or the carbon monoxide detector starts going off. Call (478) 796-8742 and we’ll schedule a time that works. You’ll get a written price before any work starts, a written guarantee when it’s done, and a real person on the phone every time you call.
Written by Nathan Corliss, Owner at Ashby Chimney Marietta, serving Smyrna since 2002.