Chimney Masonry From Van Nuys Across the Valley
What fails on top of the chimney changes from town to town
Each city page below says which part we end up repairing most there: the crown, the joints, the flashing or the courses above the roof.
Sherman Oaks, the first stop south of our Van Nuys base
Sherman Oaks
Part of Sherman Oaks was Van Nuys until the city moved the line in 1991, so the chimneys here look a lot like ours: postwar brick on the flats and taller stacks on the hillside lots. On the flats it is usually the crown and top joints; on the hill it is the flashing and the courses above a steep roof.
Encino, west of Sherman Oaks along Ventura Boulevard
Encino
Encino lots often have a main living room chimney and a second stack for a den or an addition, each put up by a different builder. We look at every stack on the property, because one can have a sound crown while the one beside it has split.
Studio City, southeast of our Van Nuys base along Ventura Boulevard
Studio City
Many Studio City chimneys date from the 1940s through the 1960s, and on the canyon lots they rise tall above steep roofs. That height is where the trouble collects: the top courses take the most sun and wind, and flashing on a steep pitch is the first seal to let go.
Burbank, at the eastern edge of the Valley
Burbank
Burbank grew fast after the war, and many of its brick chimneys went up quickly in that boom. When they fail it is usually at the top: a thin crown, joints laid lean, and flashing that was only ever caulked to the brick.
Woodland Hills, at the west end of the Valley
Woodland Hills
Woodland Hills gets some of the hottest afternoons in the Valley, and brick that bakes all day and then takes winter rain shows it in the joints. Sun-side joint loss is the thing we photograph most often here.
Los Angeles neighborhoods over the hill from our Van Nuys base
Los Angeles
From Van Nuys, Los Angeles proper starts over the Sepulveda and Cahuenga passes. The job is the one we do at home: get on the roof, photograph the crown, joints and flashing, explain the build, then fix what failed. A 1920s duplex stack and a hillside post-and-beam chimney need different brick and mortar, and we bring the right ones.
Agoura Hills, along the Ventura Freeway at the mountains' edge
Agoura Hills
Homes split about evenly either side of 1979, right where brick gave way to metal flues in framed chases. That split decides the whole job, so we settle which one you own before talking repairs.
Alhambra, streetcar-era suburb of the western San Gabriel Valley
Alhambra
A third of the housing predates 1950, and those streetcar-era houses usually carry brick stacks built on site. That brick wants a mortar soft enough to flex with it, which is the first thing we match.
Arcadia, on the foothill side of the San Gabriel Valley
Arcadia
Old ranch stack or brand new house next door: Arcadia has both on one block, since so many originals were replaced. About 7 in 10 homes still date from before 1980, so plenty of brick remains to care for.
Artesia, a small southeast Los Angeles Basin city
Artesia
One-story ranch houses mean a short chimney you can inspect closely without much fuss. Most of this city is well past forty years old, so even a stubby stack may have decades of weather in its mortar.
Avalon, Santa Catalina Island's lone incorporated town
Avalon
Much of this canyon town is older than 1946, packed tightly on narrow lots. Old brick and salt air are a hard pair, so any repair here is planned around access first and materials second.
Azusa, under the San Gabriel foothills
Azusa
Up in Rosedale, on the old nursery land, expect newer framed chases; lower down, houses are older and two in three predate 1980. A brick fix and a chase fix share almost nothing, so we sort that out first.
Baldwin Park, tract streets on old citrus and walnut land
Baldwin Park
Tract building after World War II filled the old walnut and citrus land fast, and half the homes went up by the mid 1960s. Those stacks now have sixty years of sun in them, and it shows at the crown.
Bell, in the dense Gateway Cities southeast of downtown
Bell
Almost 40 percent of the housing here predates 1950, and most households rent, so a chimney question often lands with a landlord. Old site-built brick on a tight lot still needs the same careful mortar match.
Bell Gardens, small homes and many rentals near the basin's center
Bell Gardens
Plenty of 1950s stacks here were later fitted with gas logs, and the brick or block above the roof kept aging anyway. A gas fire does not protect a crown, so the top still deserves a look.
Bellflower, between the older bungalows and the San Gabriel River
Bellflower
Only half the housing here is detached, and houses with chimneys are usually small ranches or older bungalows, typically from before 1966. Either way, the stack is short, exposed and easy to neglect.
Beverly Hills, from the Flats up to Trousdale
Beverly Hills
A Tudor Revival chimney and a mid-century Trousdale one call for different brick, mortar and thinking. Nearly 4 in 10 homes predate 1950, so period-correct repointing often matters as much as the leak.
Bradbury, tiny, gated and all foothill estates
Bradbury
About 350 housing units sit in this tiny city, mostly large custom homes on big lots, and many have stacks taller and more varied than any tract. Each one gets assessed by itself, since no two estates were built alike.
Calabasas, past Woodland Hills on the 101
Calabasas
Many Calabasas chimneys are framed chases clad in stucco or stone veneer rather than solid brick. The weak point is the top: a chase cover that rusts and holds water, or a stone cap with open joints. We fix the top so water stops running down inside the veneer.
Canoga Park, a west Valley Los Angeles neighborhood
Canoga Park
Just 9 miles west of our Van Nuys base, Canoga Park was Owensmouth until 1931, so a few stacks here go back well before the ranch boom. Postwar brick or block with gas logs makes up most of the rest.
Carson, South Bay tracts on old Dominguez rancho land
Carson
Roughly 3 in 4 households own, an unusual share for the South Bay, which means most decisions about the chimney sit with whoever lives under it. Close to 8 in 10 homes predate 1980, so tract brick has real age on it.
Cerritos, 1970s two-story tracts in the southeast basin
Cerritos
Homes split about evenly around 1974, the years when metal fireplaces were replacing brick in new tracts. What looks like masonry on a two-story home can be a framed box around a metal pipe, and then our work is the cover, cap and stucco.
Claremont, a foothill college town from the Village to Padua
Claremont
South of Foothill Boulevard, Village Craftsman houses carry hand-built brick old enough to need lime-friendly mortar. North of it, ranch tracts from the fifties to seventies have sturdier stacks. Same town, two entirely different repair plans.
Commerce, mostly industry with a few home pockets
Commerce
Commerce is mostly rail yards and warehouses, and its homes are few, tucked in small pockets. Those that exist are older, half built before 1957, so a brick stack there is likely well into its second lifetime of weather.
Compton, from postwar blocks to Richland Farms horse lots
Compton
Half the houses here date to before 1957, and most post-war stacks are brick or block, often with gas logs inside now. A horse lot in Richland Farms may have a roomier setup, but the crown's job stays identical.
Covina, post-war ranch streets in the inland San Gabriel Valley
Covina
Very few homes here are prewar, so old lime mortar is rarely the issue. Covina's ranch houses mostly carry 1950s and 1960s stacks, where age has reached the crown and flashing, and those repairs stay straightforward.
Cudahy, long thin lots in a very small city
Cudahy
Few households own in Cudahy, around 1 in 7, so chimney repair is usually a landlord's call. Those long narrow lots can mean awkward roof access, and we plan for that before bringing brick and mortar over.
Culver City, 1920s bungalow neighborhoods west of the studios
Culver City
Harry Culver founded the place in 1913, and bungalows filled in through the 1920s, usually with brick stacks built on site. Those are the chimneys we care most about here, since a hundred-year-old joint rewards the right mortar.
Diamond Bar, ranch land turned planned suburb
Diamond Bar
Half the homes here date to before 1980, the turn in chimney building. Earlier planned tracts may have masonry, later ones a framed chase, and a house in The Country could be a custom build altogether. So we check before anything else.
Downey, postwar neighborhoods in the southeast basin
Downey
Half the homes here were up by 1959, so the common chimney is a brick or block stack in its sixties, frequently with gas logs below. These were solidly built, and most trouble stays at the top where rain lands.
Duarte, former citrus land along the foot of the mountains
Duarte
Citrus groves became suburb here, with most building happening from the 1950s through the 1970s. That leaves mostly brick or block stacks on modest homes, about 7 in 10 of them older than 1980 and now showing it at the top.
El Monte, a mixed San Gabriel Valley city of houses and rentals
El Monte
Forty percent of households own, and small older houses sit among the apartments. A fair share of homes are prewar, so a mix of original brick and later block is likely, and each stack gets assessed for what it is.
El Segundo, a small South Bay city south of LAX
El Segundo
Small houses for refinery workers set the pattern here after Standard Oil arrived in 1911. Detached houses are a minority now, so a real brick chimney tends to sit on one of those older cottages.
Gardena, modest South Bay streets near Dominguez Channel
Gardena
A bungalow chimney from the old part of town wants softer treatment than a sixties ranch stack down the road. Sorting one from the other takes a minute on the roof, and it changes the mortar we mix.
Glendale, east past Burbank
Glendale
Glendale's prewar chimneys were laid in soft lime mortar. Repointing them with hard cement mortar traps moisture and spalls the brick face, so we mix a softer mortar for these stacks and match the joint profile so the repair moves with the old wall.
Glendora, climbing from the Village into the foothills
Glendora
Some Village homes go back to the citrus years, 1900s through the 1920s, and their brick is a different animal from the sixties tracts below. Half of everything here was up by 1964, so few stacks are young.
Hawaiian Gardens, small tract lots at the basin's southeast edge
Hawaiian Gardens
Rentals make up much of this small city, and landlords tend to learn about a chimney only when it leaks. Post-war stacks are usually brick or block with gas logs below, so the crack is often all that gets noticed.
Hawthorne, a rental-heavy South Bay city
Hawthorne
Only about a quarter of units here are houses, and owners are a similar minority. So a working chimney is the exception, usually on a 1950s or 1960s house, where brick or block has been aging quietly under gas logs.
Hermosa Beach, from Strand cottages to Sand Section rebuilds
Hermosa Beach
Walk streets and small lots make the Sand Section one of the trickier places to bring materials in. An old beach cottage may still have its original brick stack, and in this air that brick needs real attention.
Hidden Hills, a gated private city of ranch-style homes
Hidden Hills
Landscape architect A.E. Hanson laid this out for ranch-style living, starting around 1950, and nearly every home stands alone and is owner-occupied. Stacks from the sixties and seventies vary with each custom build, so we read each separately.
Huntington Park, an early Pacific Electric streetcar suburb
Huntington Park
Over 4 in 10 homes are prewar, from the decades when the Pacific Electric line was drawing families out here. If there is a fireplace in one of those houses, a hand-laid brick stack almost certainly sits above it.
Industry, a mainly industrial city with almost no houses
Industry
Roughly 40 homes exist in this entire city, so census percentages here mean little, and we would not pretend otherwise. If you live in one of them with a chimney, we assess it like any other, on its own build.
Inglewood, right on its namesake fault
Inglewood
Houses here from before the sixties usually have brick stacks when they have a fireplace at all, and apartments account for much of the rest. A third of the homes predate 1950, so old mortar is a live issue.
Irwindale, quarry land with very few homes
Irwindale
Quarry pits and business land fill most of the map, and under 1,400 people live here, so homes are scarce. Half of them were built after 1985, so a metal chase may be likelier than old brick.
La Canada Flintridge, up against the San Gabriels at 1,200 feet
La Canada Flintridge
Sloping lots here can stretch a brick chimney quite tall on its downhill side, and a quarter of the homes date from before 1950. Tall old masonry on a hillside rewards careful mortar work more than most.
La Habra Heights, avocado hills with steep private lots
La Habra Heights
A small but unusual share of households here, around 1.4 percent, burn wood as their main heat, and masonry fireplaces are common. A flue that gets used hard deserves a close look, and steep access means planning the visit ahead.
La Mirada, 1950s tracts on old olive and ranch land
La Mirada
Prewar houses are nearly absent, since this was olive and ranch land until the tract builders came. Most fireplaces are simple brick masonry from the fifties and sixties, and the stacks are now old enough to need upkeep at the top.
La Puente, former walnut groves below the Puente Hills
La Puente
Walnut groves gave way to houses in the fifties and sixties, and few homes are older than that. The stacks are postwar and about 4 in 5 homes predate 1980, so most need care at the top, not a rebuild.
La Verne, around D Street and up toward the foothills
La Verne
Lordsburg-era streets around D Street may still have brick stacks, while most of town went up later with factory-built units; half the homes date to after 1976. So the question in La Verne is always which you have.
Lakewood, mass-built in about three years around 1950
Lakewood
Weingart, Boyar and Taper built this city almost all at once, roughly 1950 to 1953, so its stacks are close to the same age. Some floor plans skipped the fireplace entirely, and the others usually got brick or block that is wearing evenly.
Lancaster, high desert in the Antelope Valley
Lancaster
Newer stucco tracts dominate, with half of homes built after 1986, so a framed chase is a common sight. Houses from the early aerospace boom may have masonry instead, and those stacks get a mortar check.
Lawndale, three miles in from the South Bay shore
Lawndale
Most of Lawndale was built from the forties to the seventies, and renters outnumber owners. Older houses in that span usually have brick, so a chimney is often overdue for someone simply to go up and look at it.
Lomita, former farm land below the peninsula
Lomita
Lomita began as farm land, and half its housing went up by the late sixties. A postwar house here usually has a brick stack, while later units may run a factory-built fireplace, so the plan always depends on which.
Long Beach, from Belmont Shore to California Heights
Long Beach
Rose Park, Drake Park and California Heights hold the older houses, and about a third of the city predates 1950. Brick that survived or was rebuilt after 1933 is the core job here, and old repairs are often part of it.
Lynwood, old dairy land by the Century and Long Beach Freeways
Lynwood
Almost half this housing is prewar, an old stock for this end of the county, and half were up by 1952. Those years mean real brick, and real brick this age generally needs softer repointing than people expect.
Malibu, coast road homes and Santa Monica Mountain canyons
Malibu
Fire has reset many lots here, in 2018 and again in 2025, so a new chimney may stand beside an old one. Beach cottages in the Colony date back to the twenties, and each house here needs a look from scratch.
Manhattan Beach, Sand Section to the Tree Section
Manhattan Beach
Remodels and rebuilds mean most new work here involves factory-built gas units, not brick. A surviving older house may hold a masonry stack, though, and with 15 percent of homes prewar, those are worth preserving properly.
Maywood, a tight 1920s city in the Gateway corridor
Maywood
Bungalows went up on tight lots before 1950, and 44 percent of homes still date from then. Most households rent now, and extra units share many lots, so getting to the stack can take some thought.
Monrovia, Old Town and streets running up toward the canyon
Monrovia
Monrovia began in the 1880s boom, so Victorian and Craftsman brick still stands near Old Town, some of it on stacks far older than any tract. Period mortar and period detailing are what we pay closest attention to.
Montebello, oil-boom suburb by the Montebello Hills
Montebello
Farmland became suburb here during the oil years after 1917, and bungalows remain in the older parts. Half of homes date to before 1963, typically with brick stacks that are now reaching the point where tops need rebuilding.
Monterey Park, hillside streets between valley and East Los Angeles
Monterey Park
Roughly half the units are detached, and hill streets joined older blocks from the twenties once the war ended. A hillside stack gets taller on its low side, while older houses bring softer mortar to consider.
Norwalk, tract streets by the 5 and 605 freeways
Norwalk
Roughly two-thirds of households own, and houses are nearly all one-story ranches, half up by 1957. Tract builders generally used brick for the fireplace, so the chimney you have is likely short, simple and close to seventy years old.
Palmdale, Antelope Valley high desert near the San Andreas
Palmdale
Very little of this city predates 1980, because commuter and aerospace growth came late. Stucco tract houses are the norm, so a typical chimney may be a framed chase with a metal cover instead of solid brick.
Palos Verdes Estates, red tile homes above Malaga Cove
Palos Verdes Estates
Owners occupy almost every home, and early houses in Spanish and Mediterranean style wear stucco chimneys that blend with red tile. Getting that look right after a repair takes care, and old tile around the flashing needs gentle handling.
Paramount, a Zamboni's birthplace in the southeast basin
Paramount
Frank Zamboni built his machine here, and the city still has more renters than owners. Houses with chimneys are mainly single-story postwar models, half of them from before 1971, some now reaching the age when a crown lets go.
Pasadena, across the county along the Arroyo Seco
Pasadena
Pasadena chimneys are often built of clinker brick or river rock, and a repair has to match that texture or it shows from the street. We relay loose top courses with matching stone or brick and check landmark district rules before any change to the exterior.
Pico Rivera, flat stucco blocks between river and boulevards
Pico Rivera
Over 7 in 10 households own here, in plain one-story ranches that were mostly up by the late fifties. A stack on one of these is usually modest, and that means an honest repair stays modest too.
Pomona, historic districts around Lincoln Park and Wilton Heights
Pomona
Lincoln Park and Wilton Heights are the streets to watch for older brick, and just under 1 in 5 homes predates 1950. Those stacks can be fine craftsmanship with tired joints. About 40 miles from Van Nuys, they are worth the trip.
Rancho Palos Verdes, view lots on the moving peninsula
Rancho Palos Verdes
Portuguese Bend is unusual: ground movement there has already forced evacuations and cut utilities. A chimney on shifting land can crack for reasons a quake never would, and that changes how we read any crack before repairing it.
Redondo Beach, from North Redondo to Hollywood Riviera
Redondo Beach
Most condos and townhomes here run factory-built gas units, with no brick involved. Older North Redondo houses commonly have real masonry stacks, and Hollywood Riviera adds hillside chimneys with a longer exposed side and more view than shelter.
Rolling Hills, gated horse country high on the peninsula
Rolling Hills
A.E. Hanson laid this gated community out in the 1930s, it kept its rural character, and almost all its houses stand alone. Half were up by 1960. A wide ranch chimney here may be custom work with its own details.
Rolling Hills Estates, horse lots around Peninsula Center
Rolling Hills Estates
Few homes here are newer than 1980, and original ranch houses likely hold masonry stacks, even if a remodel added a gas unit nearby. Some lots still keep stables, so a look around the property can help plan the work.
Rosemead, walnut land filled in after the war
Rosemead
Walnut and farm fields filled with houses through the fifties and sixties, and most are detached. About 1 in 4 is older, though, from before 1950. That matters here, since the 1987 quake was centered in this very area.
San Dimas, an 1887 railroad citrus town under the foothills
San Dimas
Railroad and citrus money started the town in 1887, and Old Town around Bonita Avenue still has early houses with old brick. Half the homes date to after 1976 though, and a condo or townhome probably has no masonry to speak of.
San Fernando, a small independent city up the Valley
San Fernando
Seven miles north of our Van Nuys base, this town was founded by Charles Maclay in 1874 and filled in slowly. Older bungalows mix with stucco ranch blocks, and a third of the housing predates 1950, so soft mortar comes up often.
San Gabriel, grown up around its old mission
San Gabriel
Almost 4 in 10 homes are prewar, in a town that grew up around the mission, and many brick stacks here went up without modern seismic rules. Newer condos usually have gas or no fireplace at all, so masonry is the main concern.
San Marino, large-lot prewar streets near Lacy Park
San Marino
Close to 7 in 10 homes here are prewar, and many have more than one fireplace. Original brick or stone stacks deserve repair in kind, with mortar matched to the house rather than whatever is handy.
Santa Clarita, from Old Newhall to Valencia
Santa Clarita
Metal fireplaces took hold in tracts around the seventies, and half the homes here came after 1987, so a framed chase is the likely build. Old Newhall is where you still have a shot at real brick, on small older houses.
Santa Fe Springs, home pockets inside a warehouse city
Santa Fe Springs
Warehouses take up much of Santa Fe Springs, with homes clustered in pockets. Postwar tracts usually got one brick chimney per house, often reinforced with steel, but decades of weather have reached even the sound ones.
Santa Monica, from Ocean Park to north of Montana
Santa Monica
Few units here are detached houses, roughly one in five, and the old brick is concentrated in places such as the Third Street district in Ocean Park. Those early 1900s stacks are the ones we would most want to get right.
Sierra Madre, small streets climbing to Bailey Canyon
Sierra Madre
Small lots and steep upper streets make access part of any plan in this town. A good share of homes went up before modern seismic rules, so the brick above the roof may be lightly reinforced or not at all.
Signal Hill, old oil land above the Long Beach basin
Signal Hill
Oil drilling kept the hill off-limits to houses for decades, so half the housing came after 1980. Older small homes on the lower streets may have brick, while later ones often use factory-built metal, and those wear very differently.
South El Monte, homes near the river among industrial employers
South El Monte
Industrial employers share this city with residential blocks, built mainly in the forties through the sixties. Half the homes date from before 1959, usually with a simple stack that is in fine shape below the roof and tired above it.
South Gate, a 1923 working-class factory suburb
South Gate
Big factories brought workers here from the 1920s on, and a large share of the homes are prewar. Those bungalows may have older brick, while postwar tracts often got steel-reinforced stacks. They look alike from the sidewalk and differ on the roof.
South Pasadena, old brick along the Arroyo Seco
South Pasadena
Some of the brick here is old enough to predate standard clay liners, so what looks like a mortar job can also raise a flue question. Close to half the homes are prewar, and this town values keeping them looking right.
Temple City, Walter Temple's 1920s town, now ranch streets
Temple City
Lot by lot, older ranch houses are giving way to larger rebuilds with gas fireplaces, so one street can hold both. An original stack may be seventy years old and sound below the roof, and worn out above it.
Torrance, a 1912 Olmsted-planned industrial city
Torrance
Jared Torrance's 1912 plan brought small homes first, and then tract building filled the rest. Postwar stacks often have steel in them, and six decades on, an old crown may be letting water reach that steel and rust it from inside.
Vernon, an almost entirely industrial city with few homes
Vernon
Vernon has about 330 residents and little housing, so fireplaces are rare here and the census figures tell you little. If you do have a chimney in town, we will look at it honestly, whatever its build or age.
Walnut, a strongly residential hillside suburb
Walnut
Over 8 in 10 households own, in a city built mostly after the sixties, and metal fireplaces are likely across later tracts. Half the homes went up after 1982. A framed chase is more typical than brick, so that is where we usually begin.
West Covina, from the old orchard flats up to South Hills
West Covina
Orchards became tracts at speed after the war. Half the homes were up by 1967, and the shift to metal fireplaces began soon after, so brick and framed chases sit close together here. In the South Hills, slope adds more exposed face.
West Hollywood, courtyard buildings under the Hollywood Fault
West Hollywood
Houses are scarce here, under one unit in ten, so most chimneys belong to bungalows in the Norma Triangle or old courtyard buildings. Those are managed differently from single homes, and a shared chimney repair needs clear photos everyone can understand.
Westlake Village, planned around its man-made lake
Westlake Village
Albertson Ranch became this planned community from the sixties on, so hardly anything predates 1970 and old lime mortar is not the issue. Your chimney is either early masonry or a later chase, and the custom lakefront homes may be neither.
Whittier, Uptown blocks up to the Puente Hills
Whittier
Almost nothing here is newer than 1980, half predates 1956, and many stacks were built before seismic rules. Chimneys here have been through a lot, and the mix of ages means the mortar question comes up at nearly every house.
Camarillo, master-planned stucco tracts in Ventura County
Camarillo
Half the homes date after 1982, so master-planned stucco defines the place, with a mix of masonry and chases. Earlier tract stacks often have steel in them, while Leisure Village and similar communities are usually a different question altogether.
Fillmore, an old Santa Clara River Valley citrus town
Fillmore
Northridge hit downtown Fillmore badly in 1994, and that damage touched homes as well as historic buildings. Any older brick that remains has been shaken or repaired already, and working out which is where we begin.
Moorpark, a younger apricot town in inland Ventura County
Moorpark
Just 1 in 5 homes predates 1980, so factory-built metal fireplaces are the most likely build. Masonry still exists on the older ones. Northridge also damaged homes here in 1994, so an older brick stack may have quiet damage to check.
Ojai, a Spanish-style town in an enclosed valley
Ojai
Downtown's Spanish rebuild around 1917 set the town's look, and many homes still follow it. About three-quarters predate 1980, and those older brick stacks often went up without seismic rules. Roughly 49 miles from Van Nuys, we plan each visit in advance.
Oxnard, sugar beet town turned big coastal plain city
Oxnard
A sugar factory in 1898 got this city going, though most of today's housing came much later. Half the homes went up after 1977, so stucco tracts and chases are common, and any earlier stack is likely postwar brick.
Port Hueneme, beachfront condos by the deep water port
Port Hueneme
Detached houses are a minority here, about one unit in three, with beachfront condo complexes taking much of the shore. If a house here has a chimney, it is likely a postwar brick stack, now decades old and sitting close to salt.
Santa Paula, a citrus and oil town of murals
Santa Paula
Citrus and oil built this town, and downtown Victorians and Craftsman bungalows still carry old brick. About 37 miles from Van Nuys, those chimneys need the same care in mortar as anywhere, and many have also weathered 1994.
Simi Valley, over the Santa Susana Pass from the west Valley
Simi Valley
Many Simi Valley chimneys came with tract houses built in the same few seasons, so neighbors often share the same weak spot. Usually it is a crown troweled thin, or a rusted chase cover on a framed chimney.
Thousand Oaks, Conejo Valley homes from tract to chase
Thousand Oaks
Tracts here straddle the shift from brick to metal: half the homes date before 1978, and either a reinforced stack or a framed chase may sit on your roof. Northridge damaged chimneys in the Conejo Valley, so a check for old harm is sensible.
Ventura, Downtown and Midtown under Grant Park
Ventura
The Mitchell Block shows how far back local housing reaches, and Downtown and Midtown still have many old stacks built before seismic rules. About 46 miles from Van Nuys, those are the houses where our mortar work matters most.
Aliso Viejo, recent homes in the San Joaquin Hills
Aliso Viejo
This is young housing: half was built after 1995, with attached homes making up much of it. Expect metal flues and factory-built units, not brick. Chimney issues here are about covers and stucco.
Anaheim, from postwar tracts to the Hills
Anaheim
The boom after 1955 filled Anaheim with tracts, usually one brick fireplace per house, often with steel in it. Anaheim Hills came later, in bigger stucco homes. Half of everything dates to before 1973, so tract stacks are hitting real age.
Brea, from older downtown to Olinda Ranch
Brea
Older small houses near downtown are where you would look for brick. Olinda Ranch and La Floresta came later with gas or factory-built units, and half of all homes predate 1978. So your street largely decides which chimney you have.
Buena Park, home of Knott's by Coyote Creek
Buena Park
Founded in the 1880s, the town has very little housing from before 1950. About 3 in 4 homes went up before 1980, in a mix of detached houses and apartments, so a typical chimney is a mid-century stack that has simply aged.
Costa Mesa, on a mesa near the coast
Costa Mesa
The town was called Harper until 1920, then took off once an army air base arrived. Most Eastside and Mesa Verde houses are mid-century, and with 4 in 10 units as houses, the stacks here are often small and worth keeping.
Cypress, the former Dairy City by the county line
Cypress
Dairy City became Cypress in 1957, and tract building came right after. These stucco houses may have a masonry stack or an early factory unit, since half of them date from before 1971. A few minutes on the roof answers that question.
Dana Point, bluff-top homes by the Headlands
Dana Point
Most housing here dates from the seventies on, so factory-built or gas units are likely, with masonry mainly on older custom homes. Bluff-top lots catch more wind and spray than inland streets, and the land itself has been known to slide.
Fountain Valley, former farmland near Mile Square Park
Fountain Valley
Farms became subdivisions over the sixties and seventies, and very little here is newer than 1980. Those years span the change from brick to factory-built units, so your stack's date on the block tells us much about what is up there.
Fullerton, from Hillcrest Park to Amerige Heights
Fullerton
Two chimneys, a century apart, can both be Fullerton: a 1920s brick stack on a Spanish Colonial Revival house, or a gas unit on the old Hughes land at Amerige Heights. Only about 1 home in 11 is prewar, so old brick here is worth saving.
Garden Grove, mid-basin tracts and busy boulevards
Garden Grove
Alonzo Cook started the town in 1874, yet the homes you will meet today are largely tract houses from the mid-sixties. Site-built brick is likely in those, while later homes got factory-built units. Either way, age now shows at the top.
Huntington Beach, Surf City from Main Street to Seacliff
Huntington Beach
Sixties homes here likely have masonry, and by the seventies and eighties most had moved to metal units, so your block's date tells us a lot. A few downtown cottages remain from the early 1900s, and their old brick needs softer treatment.
Irvine, planned villages from the university to Portola Springs
Irvine
Half the homes were built after 2002, and attached units outnumber houses in many villages. Fireplaces tend to be gas or factory-made, with no masonry to repoint. So what we offer here is mostly chase covers, caps and stucco seams.
La Habra, at Orange County's north edge against the hills
La Habra
Typical tract houses here are one-story stucco ranches with a brick or block fireplace, half up by 1968. The 2014 quake gave many of them a shake, and anything that was already tired at the top may have gotten worse.
La Palma, under two square miles, once called Dairyland
La Palma
Dairyland became La Palma in 1965, with nearly every house going up in a short window. Fireplaces likely include brick or block as well as later factory-built units, so two neighbors can have quite different chimneys despite similar facades.
Laguna Beach, art colony cottages and steep canyon homes
Laguna Beach
Art colony cottages from 1900 through the thirties often have brick or stone chimneys, and those are worth careful hands. Custom homes up the canyons could be masonry or gas. About 27 percent of homes are prewar, a lot for Orange County.
Laguna Hills, former Moulton Ranch ground along the 5
Laguna Hills
Moulton Ranch land became these neighborhoods in the seventies and eighties, and most fireplaces here are metal or gas. Masonry survives in some early and custom homes. Half the housing predates 1980, so your own home's year matters.
Laguna Niguel, hillside planned streets near the Ziggurat
Laguna Niguel
Master-planned since 1960, most of this city is newer, with half the homes built after 1986. Fireplaces mostly run metal or gas. Custom hillside houses are the exception, and those may hold real masonry that needs a closer look.
Laguna Woods, home of the former Leisure World
Laguna Woods
Only about 1 unit in 14 is detached here, because Ross Cortese's Leisure World from 1964 is most of the city. Fireplaces, where units have them, tend to be gas or factory-built, and exterior work runs through the community associations. We would start there, not the roof.
Lake Forest, from old El Toro up to Foothill Ranch
Lake Forest
El Toro became Lake Forest in 1991, and half the housing went up after 1984. Metal and gas are the likely systems, though older homes may have some masonry. Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills, from the nineties, are nearly all newer builds.
Los Alamitos, a small city beside the training base
Los Alamitos
The joint forces base dominates local maps, and the houses nearby are mostly fifties and sixties tracts, probably with masonry fireplaces. Attached units are the majority, which leaves real chimneys mostly on those older houses.
Mission Viejo, planned streets with views of Saddleback
Mission Viejo
Half of homes date from before 1979, with stucco and tile the rule, and almost nothing prewar. Fireplaces are mostly metal or gas, with a few masonry exceptions in early and custom homes, so old lime mortar is simply not a topic here.
Newport Beach, from Corona del Mar to Newport Coast
Newport Beach
An old Corona del Mar cottage and a Newport Coast estate may share only a zip code. The cottage may have real brick, the estate a chase in stone, and half of all homes predate 1978. Each needs a separate plan.
Orange, from Old Towne's Plaza to the east side
Orange
Old Towne, listed on the National Register in 1997, sits around its 1888 Plaza, and houses near there may carry the oldest brick in town. Postwar ranches have firmer stacks, and the east side tends toward factory-built or gas.
Placentia, citrus-era Old Town and later tracts
Placentia
Old Town has a few citrus-era homes from the early 1900s, but half the housing came after 1976. Tract fireplaces from those decades are usually brick or block, with factory-built units moving in later. We check before suggesting anything.
Rancho Santa Margarita, newer planned streets near O'Neill Park
Rancho Santa Margarita
Nothing here is old by local standards: building started in the mid-1980s, and homes from before 1980 are rare. Direct-vent gas and factory-built metal dominate, so masonry repair rarely comes up. Covers and seams do.
San Clemente, Ole Hanson's Spanish Village by the Sea
San Clemente
Ole Hanson planned this town in 1925 as a Spanish village, and Casa Romantica still shows the look above the pier. Half the homes are newer than 1983, so old stucco stacks and newer chases share the same hillsides, with differing needs.
San Juan Capistrano, adobes in Los Rios and later homes
San Juan Capistrano
Los Rios adobes rank among the state's oldest neighborhoods, and their chimneys are nothing like brick. Most of the city is far newer, half built after 1979. Tell us which part you are in, and we will come prepared for it.
Santa Ana, Floral Park and the older central city
Santa Ana
Floral Park is known for period revival homes of the twenties and thirties, and French Park, Wilshire Square and Heninger Park add more old houses. Those are the chimneys we would look at first, since the 1933 quake damaged brick here.
Seal Beach, Leisure World co-ops and Surfside Colony
Seal Beach
Most fireplaces here, where they exist at all, are gas or factory-built, since so much of town is 1960s attached housing. About 36 percent of units are detached. Surfside Colony is a separate case, private, right on the sand and tough on anything metal.
Stanton, small and mostly attached along Beach Boulevard
Stanton
Roughly one unit in four here is detached, and small stucco tract houses make up most of those. Mobile home parks and condos fill much of the rest. So real chimneys are few, and they mostly date to the fifties through the seventies.
Tustin, from Tustin Ranch to the old air station
Tustin
Half the homes date after 1983, and both newer planned areas, Tustin Ranch and the old air base, favor factory-built or gas units. Older houses elsewhere in town may still hold brick. We look at your own chimney rather than guess from the neighborhood.
Villa Park, a small residential city near the foothills
Villa Park
Nine in ten homes are owner-occupied here, and larger custom houses often have masonry built on site, in some cases two or more stacks. Half date before 1974. That makes Villa Park a rare Orange County city where real brick is the rule and worth careful repair.
Westminster, home to Little Saigon on Bolsa Avenue
Westminster
Half of Westminster was built by 1971, so a fireplace here usually means brick or block, with factory units in later homes. The area was still rural in 1933, so little here is old enough to need soft lime.
Yorba Linda, larger lots and eastern hill neighborhoods
Yorba Linda
Larger lots are the norm, and most households own. Half the homes date after 1984, so chases are common, though older houses have masonry. Bryant Ranch and Black Gold, out in the eastern hills, mean newer systems and more wind.
Riverside, the Wood Streets to Alessandro Heights
Riverside
Craftsman and period revival brick around the Wood Streets makes this a mortar town, though only 1 home in 10 is prewar. Most of Riverside is younger, so we check your stack's age before talking repairs.
Corona, the Circle City at Santa Ana Canyon
Corona
A quarter of homes predate 1980, and half came after 1991, so Corona's chimney is more likely a metal chase in a tract than old brick. The custom hillside homes near the forest are the exception, and those take a closer look.
Los Angeles County, from Malibu to Lancaster
Los Angeles County
Much of this county has no city government at all, Altadena and Topanga among those places, and buildings there run from old masonry to new gas units. We treat every house by what it actually is, wherever it stands.
Riverside County, a very large county of contrasts
Riverside County
This county runs from new tracts in Menifee and Eastvale with factory-built or gas fireplaces to Idyllwild cabins that still burn wood in masonry. The two share almost nothing, so we look at the build before suggesting any repair.
Orange County, unincorporated pockets from Rossmoor to Silverado
Orange County
Beyond its 34 cities, the county's unincorporated areas range from Rossmoor's fifties houses to Ladera Ranch from the 2000s. Masonry is more likely in the older pockets and metal in the newer. Half of all homes predate 1977, roughly the point where the switch happened.
Ventura County, from Ventura Harbor to Mount Pinos
Ventura County
Roughly 296,000 homes sit here, half of them built before 1978. Ranch and farm houses along the Santa Clara River, and older adobes in Ventura, Santa Paula, Fillmore and Ojai, bring masonry that we would like to see before suggesting any fix.
Just Past the List?
Live a street or two outside one of these cities?
Call with the address and what you see on the roof. Valley Glen and Lake Balboa border our Van Nuys base, and we can usually add a stop on a day we are already close.