Before & After Gallery - Hadley Chimney San Antonio

Chimney Cleaning Before & After in San Antonio, TX

Anyone can tell you they clean chimneys. Showing you the creosote we pulled out of yours is a different thing entirely. Every sweep we do in San Antonio comes with before-and-after photo documentation, so you see exactly what was in your flue and what it looks like when we’re done. No guesswork, no trusting a stranger’s word. The photos below are representative of the jobs we handle across San Antonio, from Alamo Heights to Stone Oak to Helotes.

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Recent Transformations

Heavy Creosote Removal in an Alamo Heights Fireplace

BeforeAfter

The homeowner had burned pine for three winters without a sweep. The flue walls were coated in Stage 2 creosote (the flammable tar buildup that makes chimneys a fire risk), and in a few spots it had hardened into a glaze. We ran a full mechanical sweep with a steel brush system, then followed up with a hand inspection at the smoke shelf. The after photos showed bare flue tile, and the homeowner told us they didn’t realize how much of the chimney’s interior had been coated. That’s the part most people never see.

Animal Nest Removal from a Chimney in Castle Hills

BeforeAfter

This one wasn’t just a cleaning job. A family of chimney swifts had built a nest about eight feet down from the cap, and the blockage was affecting the draft. We removed the nesting material, swept the flue, and checked the cap to make sure it was still intact. The smoke test afterward confirmed a steady draft, and the homeowner got photos of everything we pulled out. That’s standard for us: you see what left your chimney, not just a clean-looking after shot.

Gas Fireplace Cleaning and Log Inspection in Stone Oak

BeforeAfter

Gas fireplaces get ignored more than wood-burning ones because people assume gas burns clean. It doesn’t, not entirely. This Stone Oak unit had soot accumulating on the ceramic fiber logs and the burner was partially blocked, which affects heat output and can produce carbon monoxide. We pulled the logs, cleaned the burner assembly, and ran a full inspection of the gas line connections and venting. The after photos showed the logs back in place with a clean blue flame across every port.

Smoke Chamber and Damper Cleanup in Leon Valley

The chimney itself wasn’t the main problem on this job. The smoke chamber, which is the area just above the damper where smoke funnels before entering the flue, was packed with years of soot and small nesting debris. That’s a common fire hazard because the chamber gets hot enough to ignite deposits as easily as the flue does. We swept the full system, including the chamber, and showed the homeowner the before photos of what had accumulated there. They’d had the flue swept once before but the previous company skipped the chamber entirely.

Flue Cap Replacement and Preventative Sweep in Cibolo

The cap on this chimney had rusted through in two places and the screen was gone, which meant rain, leaves, and the occasional grackle had free access. We installed a new cap from Copperfield, a brand chimney pros actually rely on, and swept the flue while we were there. The photos showed the difference clearly: a ruined cap versus a properly sealed one. The written price covered the cap, the sweep, and the labor before any work started, which is how every job with us runs.

Want Results Like These?

You can see the proof in the photos, but the best evidence is what we find in your own chimney. Every job includes live arrival tracking, before-and-after photos, and a written price before work begins. Call (254) 276-4116 and a live person answers, 24/7. No voicemail loops. No guessing about when we’ll show up. Just a real human ready to book your sweep.

Written by Cory Mitchell, Owner at Hadley Chimney San Antonio, serving San Antonio since 2003.