Chimney service
Dryer Vent Repair
Crushed, disconnected or collapsed duct put back into service. What you need when the vent was cleaned and the dryer still takes two cycles.
If it was cleaned last month and still takes two cycles, the duct is damaged, not dirty.
Cleaning removes lint. It cannot restore a duct that has been crushed flat where it crosses a joist, reconnect a joint that has come apart inside a wall, or fix a hood whose flap has seized. Those are the four faults that make up nearly all dryer vent repair, and every one of them produces exactly the same symptom as a blockage — slow drying. That is why so many people pay for a clean, feel no difference, and assume the machine is failing. Finding out which you have takes one look at the run and costs nothing.
What a brush cannot fix
Duct crushed at a joist
A flattened section is a permanent restriction. Cleaning it changes nothing, because the obstruction is the duct itself.
On this pageSigns you need this3 sections+2
Signs you need dryer vent repair
It was cleaned recently and nothing changed
The clearest signal on this page. A clean that makes no difference means the restriction was never lint. Do not book a second clean.
Duct flattened where it crosses a joist
Common in basements and crawl spaces where something was forced through a tight gap. It is a permanent restriction and it needs replacing, not brushing.
Lint or warm air in a wall or ceiling
A joint has come apart inside the structure. Everything the dryer exhausts is now going into the building — moisture, heat and lint together, which is a mould problem as well as a fire one.
Kinked foil hose behind the machine
The concertina hose folds the moment the dryer is pushed back. Sometimes the whole fault is in the two feet nobody can see behind the appliance.
The hood flap has seized or gone
A flap that will not open is a closed door on the exhaust. A missing one is an open invitation to birds. Both are quick, cheap repairs.
A burning smell when it runs
Lint heating against a duct wall. Stop the machine rather than finishing the load, and get the run looked at before it is used again.
How the visit works
The same four steps every time, whatever the repair turns out to be.
- 01
Inspection first, always
A look at the crown, cap, flashing and exterior masonry, then the flue, damper and firebox — with a camera where the job calls for a level 2 scan. Whatever needs work gets shown to you, not just described.
- 02
A written estimate before anything
Scope, price and what is not included, in writing. Nothing starts until you approve it, and an emergency is not a reason to skip this step.
- 03
The work itself
Matched materials and the manufacturer's spec, not whatever is on the van. Drop cloths down, and the room left as it was found.
- 04
Verification and a report
A second scan after the work, and written findings you can keep, hand to an inspector, or send to an insurer.
The jobs this actually includes
Not every job on this list is equally urgent, so they are ordered that way. A cracked liner stops you using the fireplace tonight; waterproofing can wait for a dry week.
The job — most urgent first
What it involves
On site
Reconnecting a duct inside a wall or ceiling
Safety repairA separated joint discharging into the structure. Access is cut, the joint remade and sealed with foil tape rather than screws that catch lint, and the opening made good.
On site: Half a day
Replacing crushed or collapsed sections
Safety repairThe flattened run cut out and replaced in rigid metal, rerouted if the gap it was forced through is the reason it collapsed in the first place.
On site: Half a day
Swapping foil hose for rigid duct
StructuralThe concealed run in rigid metal with a short listed transition at the machine. Cheap, quick, and it removes the cause rather than the symptom.
On site: 1–2 hours
Vent hood repair or replacement
Stops waterA seized flap, a hood painted shut, or a fine mesh screen that clogs solid every season. Replaced with a louvred or damper type sized to the duct.
On site: About an hour
Sealing leaks along the run
PreventiveJoints taped with foil tape, not duct tape, which dries out and lets go within a couple of years. Screws never go into a dryer duct — every protruding tip becomes a lint catcher.
On site: 1–2 hours
Times are for the work itself, not for scheduling. Masonry needs roughly 40°F to cure properly, which is what limits this work in a northern winter rather than whether a crew is free.
Why dryer vent repair quotes vary so much
- Whether the damaged section is accessible or behind finished surfaces
- How much of the run has to be replaced rather than repaired
- Whether making good — drywall, paint, siding — is part of the job
- Whether a shorter reroute is possible while the run is open
- Wall construction, if a new penetration turns out to be the better fix
A hood replacement or a foil-to-rigid swap on an accessible run is inexpensive and quick. Cutting into a wall or ceiling to reach a separated joint costs more for the making good than for the duct. If several faults turn up along one run, replacing the whole thing is often cheaper than repairing it in three places.
The people behind every visit
Founded by Ryan Carter in 2019. Every page you read here is reviewed by Ethan Miller, our chimney specialist. A written estimate before any work, and the findings in writing whether or not anything needs doing.
More about who we are →
The VIO Standard
- A written estimate first
- License and insurance checked
- Nothing starts without your OK
Common questions
My dryer vent was just cleaned and clothes are still damp. Why?
Because the restriction was never lint. A crushed section, a joint that has come apart inside a wall, or a hood flap that will not open all produce the identical symptom, and a brush passes straight through or around every one of them. If a recent clean made no measurable difference, do not book another — ask for the run to be inspected end to end, which usually identifies it in minutes.
How much does dryer vent repair cost?
It tracks access more than parts. A hood replacement or swapping foil hose for rigid metal on a reachable run is inexpensive and takes an hour or two. Opening a wall or ceiling to remake a separated joint costs more, and most of that is the drywall and paint rather than the duct. Where several faults appear along one run, replacing it entirely is frequently cheaper than three separate repairs.
Can I repair a dryer vent myself?
The accessible parts, yes — replacing the hose behind the machine with rigid duct, fitting a new hood, taping joints. Two rules if you do: use foil tape rather than duct tape, which dries out and releases within a couple of years, and never use screws, because every protruding tip inside the duct becomes a lint catcher. What is worth handing over is anything concealed, because finding the fault in a wall is the part that takes experience rather than tools.
Is a disconnected dryer vent dangerous?
It is two problems at once. The fire risk is the obvious one — lint accumulating inside a wall or ceiling cavity, next to nothing that will contain it. The quieter one is moisture: a dryer puts a remarkable amount of water into the air it exhausts, and discharging that into a wall cavity produces mould and rot well before anything else happens. Both make it worth fixing promptly rather than at the weekend.
Repair the vent or replace the whole run?
Replace, if the run is foil hose, if it has more than one fault, or if it is longer or more bent than it needs to be. Repair, if it is rigid metal with a single identifiable problem and a sensible route. The question worth asking while any of it is open is whether a shorter path exists, because that is the moment when rerouting costs almost nothing extra.
let's get it on the calendar.
Tell us your ZIP code and what you need. The pro who covers it quotes the job in writing, and nothing starts until you approve the number.