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CO · Screened local pros
Chimney sweep in Colorado.
The highest freeze counts in the nation, hail alley, and dry air that hides the damage.
Real homeowner reviews
The Colorado datasheet
- freeze-thaw cycles a year
- 134
- Each cycle works water a little deeper into mortar joints.
- median year a home here was built
- 1987
- A mixed stock, so the flue decides the job more than the year does.
- CO ZIP codes published
- 95
- Coverage stated per ZIP, not asserted statewide.
Housing figures from the US Census ACS 2023 5-year estimates. Figures describe the state, not your building; only an inspection decides that.
Fall Special
Your chimney inspection, free.
You see what we see
Anything that needs attention is shown to you and explained in plain words.
Nothing you didn't agree to
If something needs fixing, you get the price in writing first. Saying no costs nothing.
Is this your chimney?
The problems Colorado homeowners actually call about
Not a generic list: these are what this market's weather and housing actually produce. Find yours; the fix is one tap below it.
Had a hail season? Was the top of the chimney checked with the roof?
- A hail claim on the roof this year or last
- Dents in the cap or chase cover; chips along the crown edge
- New leaks the season after a big hail year
Why it happens in Colorado: The Front Range pairs the country's highest freeze-thaw counts with its most active hail corridor. Hail splits caps and bruises crowns; the freeze works on every opening it leaves. The top of a Colorado chimney should be checked after hail season the way the roof is, often on the same claim.
What fixes it
The chimney's top takes the same hail the shingles do: dented caps, split covers, bruised crown edges, and the next storm uses every opening. We document hail damage the way roofers do, because it belongs on the same insurance conversation, and we repair crown and metalwork so the freeze that follows finds nothing open.
Rust streaks on a sided chimney, or a stain on the ceiling below it?
- Rust running down the siding from the top of the chimney
- Standing water visible on the flat metal cover after rain
- A ceiling stain one floor down, with nothing visible up top
Why it happens in Colorado: 59% of homes in Colorado went up after 1980, and at that age a great many chimneys are wood-framed chases around factory fireplaces rather than masonry. The weak point is the chase cover: most were fitted flat in galvanised steel, so they hold standing water after every storm, rust through from the top, and then drain into the wood framing below, where the damage stays invisible until a ceiling shows it, often years in.
What fixes it
A replacement cover in stainless, sloped, with a drip edge and a properly sized collar. It is inexpensive against what it prevents, and the one genuinely permanent fix on this list. If water has already been getting into the framing, that is opened and dried before the new cover goes on; covering wet wood just moves the problem indoors.
When was the flue last actually looked at?
- You cannot remember the last sweep, or there has never been one
- Black flakes in the firebox, or a smoky smell on damp days
- The fireplace gets real use every winter
Why it happens in Colorado: Colorado's heating season is long, around 5,807 degree-days a year, which means real burn hours and creosote building faster than the national maintenance advice assumes. Stage one wipes off. Stage three is a hardened glaze that a brush slides over, and it is the deposit that actually feeds chimney fires.
What fixes it
Book the inspection every year and sweep when it says to. That is the order NFPA 211 sets, and on a flue in regular use the two land on the same visit anyway. Whatever it turns up gets shown to you. Brushable deposits come off in the standard visit; glazed stage-three creosote is a separate chemical or rotary job, quoted before anyone starts, never sprung on the invoice.
Water showing up after a storm?
- A ceiling stain near the chimney that grows after heavy rain
- Water in the firebox, or a damp smell the day after a storm
- It only happens in driving rain. Ordinary showers pass without a trace
Why it happens in Colorado: Colorado takes about 13.4 inches of rain a year, and the storms that matter drive it sideways. Flashing that sheds vertical rain perfectly well lets wind-driven water past; a crown cast flush with no overhang sheds every drop straight down the masonry it was meant to protect. That is why leak calls here follow specific storms rather than a slow decline, and why the stain on the ceiling marks where the water gave up, not where it got in.
What fixes it
Finding the entry point is the job: there are five realistic ones and they are nowhere near each other in price. We hose-test one section at a time from the bottom up until the water shows itself, then fix that: rebuilt step-and-counter flashing cut into the mortar, a recast crown with a real overhang, or a cap where the flue was simply open. Sealing above the stain is the classic wasted repair, and we will not sell it to you.
Housing figures from the US Census ACS 2023 5-year estimates. Figures describe Colorado as a market, never any one building; only an inspection tells you about yours.
What we take care of
Chimney work in Colorado, done properly
Newer Colorado homes usually run a single flue, which keeps the visit quick; what it finds decides anything beyond that. Anywhere in Colorado, the price comes in writing before any work starts.
What we handle in Colorado
Every chimney service,
one front door.
Full service catalog →
Before you call
What happens when you get in touch.
Your request goes to a screened local company that covers your ZIP code.
They look at the chimney and put the price in writing before starting anything.
You approve the number, or you don't. Either way the visit costs you nothing to arrange.
What you get
The price before the work
A written estimate first, every time. Nothing starts until you have said yes to the number.
You see the reason, not just the price
Anything a pro says needs doing, they show you first: on camera where the job calls for a level 2 scan, in front of you where it does not.
Somewhere to go if it goes wrong
Tell us and it gets recorded and acted on. A company that fails the standard loses its place in the network, and that is a lever we actually hold.
Every company in the network is checked for license and insurance before it joins, and checked again if a complaint comes in. It is a check on the business, not a guarantee about the person who knocks, so ask to see both before work starts.
Two ways to book
Call us, or book online.
A call is fastest. Booking online takes about a minute.
ZIP coverage
Every ZIP code we cover in Colorado
95 ZIP codes, one price list. We do not charge more for one suburb than another. If yours is not here, call anyway: we cover the whole country and can usually still get someone to you.
802xx45 ZIP codes80201–80249
809xx50 ZIP codes80901–80951
See every ZIP codeHide the full list
802xx
802018020280203802048020580206802078020880209802108021180212802148021580216802178021880219802208022180222802238022480225802268022780228802298023080231802328023380234802358023680237802388023980241802438024480246802478024880249
809xx
8090180902809038090480905809068090780908809098091080911809128091380914809158091680917809188091980920809218092280923809248092580926809278092880929809308093180932809338093480935809368093780938809398094080941809428094380944809458094680947809498095080951
Nearby
Cities we cover in Colorado
Each one is measured at its own weather station and its own Census tables, because cities inside a state differ more than the state figure suggests.
54 more cities we cover nearby
- Fort Collins, CO
- Lakewood, CO
- Arvada, CO
- Thornton, CO
- Westminster, CO
- Pueblo, CO
- Boulder, CO
- Centennial, CO
- Longmont, CO
- Greeley, CO
- Highlands Ranch, CO
- Loveland, CO
- Broomfield, CO
- Grand Junction, CO
- Castle Rock, CO
- Parker, CO
- Commerce City, CO
- Littleton, CO
- Englewood, CO
- Wheat Ridge, CO
- Northglenn, CO
- Windsor, CO
- Ken Caryl, CO
- Brighton, CO
- Security-Widefield, CO
- Lafayette, CO
- Fountain, CO
- Montrose, CO
- Durango, CO
- Golden, CO
- Cañon City, CO
- Sterling, CO
- Fort Morgan, CO
- Trinidad, CO
- Glenwood Springs, CO
- Cortez, CO
- Delta, CO
- Lamar, CO
- La Junta, CO
- Salida, CO
- Derby, CO
- Manitou Springs, CO
- Edgewater, CO
- Monte Vista, CO
- Florence, CO
- Rocky Ford, CO
- Leadville, CO
- Arizona
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- Oklahoma
- Utah
- Wyoming
Reviews
What homeowners say.
Real homeowner reviews
“The whole process was really easy from start to finish. They showed up when they said they would, explained what they found, and didn't try to push anything I didn't need. The technician was friendly, professional, and left everything clean afterward. I'd definitely call them again.”
Ashley M.Homeowner
7 years
since 2019
Who we are
Real people, on real roofs, since 2019.
VIO CHIMNEY was founded by Ryan Carter in 2019, and 7 years later the promise has not moved: a written estimate before any work, a level 2 scan you can watch if the job calls for one, and a pro who explains what they found in plain language.
Every guide and page on this site is reviewed by Ethan Miller, our chimney specialist, so what you read here matches what the work actually involves on a roof, not marketing copy about it.
From the guides
Guides for your chimney.
All guides →
Good to know
Common questions.
How often should a chimney be swept in Colorado?
NFPA 211 sets the annual bar as an INSPECTION of every chimney regardless of use, with cleaning when the condition of the flue calls for it. In Colorado the freeze cycles make keeping that date worth it. A flue that goes into winter carrying creosote or an open joint gets the damage compounded by every freeze.
What does a chimney inspection cover in Colorado?
The full flue on camera, crown, cap, flashing and mortar joints. Colorado has real mixes of century masonry and modern factory-built units, and which one you have decides everything the quote says afterwards.
Who actually does the work in Colorado?
An independent local chimney company we match you with. VIO does not perform the work. We check business identity, any license the work requires locally, and insurance before a company joins the network, and we require a written estimate before anything starts. The company you hire sets its own price and bills you directly.
How fast can someone come out in Colorado?
Most visits are scheduled within a few days, faster for active leaks or a chimney you suspect after a fire. Scheduling is set by the local company that takes the job, so the fastest route is to say how urgent it is when you request, or call (513) 655-6702 and say it out loud.