Chimney Repair and Sweeping in Aurora, Illinois

Aurora was settled in 1834 on both banks of the Fox River, as East Aurora and West Aurora, and the two joined as one city in 1857. The early public buildings went up on Stolp Island in the middle of the river. In 1881 Aurora became one of the first U.S. cities to light its streets entirely with electricity, which is where the City of Lights name comes from. Today it reaches into four counties: Kane, DuPage, Kendall and Will.

The Census Bureau's 2020–2024 survey counts about 63,800 homes in Aurora, with a median year built of 1987. About 13.5 percent, roughly 8,600 homes, were built before 1940, while about 46 percent date from the 1990s onward. Gas heats about 83 percent. In practice that means two kinds of work: old brick chimneys near downtown and factory-built or gas fireplaces in the newer subdivisions.

Victorian and Prairie-era chimneys

The Near Eastside Historic District, the city's first in 1981, is mostly Victorian houses, and the Tanner Historic District followed in 1998. The Palace Street and Downer Place West districts on the west side hold Prairie-style homes. Chimneys here are tall, often corbelled, and usually laid in lime mortar that is softer than modern mixes. The National Park Service's repointing guidance says new mortar must stay softer than the brick, or the brick takes the stress and spalls.

We check what the city requires before working on a house in a historic district, and help you put together photos and a scope if a review is needed. Typical ranges: tuckpointing $500–$2,500, flashing $300–$1,800, top few feet rebuilt with a new crown $600–$1,000.

Colder winters on the Fox

Aurora sits well inland from the lake. NOAA's 1991–2020 normals show Rockford, the inland station to the northwest, averaging about 136 nights a year at or below freezing against about 121 at O'Hare, and about 86 freeze-thaw days against about 78 (derived from the same normals). Out here on the Fox the winters behave more like the inland figures, and crowns and mortar joints feel it.

• Cracked crowns and open joints on the older brick stacks
• Rusted chase covers on 1990s factory-built chimneys
• Water-heater flues left oversized after a furnace upgrade

Where we work in Aurora

Near Eastside Historic District · Tanner Historic District · Stolp Island and downtown · Palace Street district · Downer Place West · West side · East side · Far east side in DuPage County