Chimney and Gas Fireplace Service in Naperville, Illinois

Joseph Naper founded Naper's Settlement in 1831, the village incorporated in 1857 and it became a city in 1890. For most of its history it stayed small and rural. Then it boomed: 42,330 people in 1980, 85,351 in 1990 and 128,358 by 2000. The city now runs across DuPage and Will counties, with the West Branch of the DuPage River and the Riverwalk at its center.

The housing tells the same story. In the Census Bureau's 2020–2024 survey, Naperville's median year built is 1990, about 25 percent of homes date from the 1980s and another 26 percent from the 1990s, and only 2.5 percent are older than 1940. Gas heats about 86 percent of homes. So the typical Naperville fireplace is not a brick firebox but a factory-built unit, often gas, vented through a metal pipe inside a framed chase on the roof. We work across the whole city, from the historic district out to the Will County side, and the first visit costs nothing.

Factory-built chimneys and chase covers

On a 1980s or '90s house the box on the roof that looks like a chimney is usually a wood-framed chase with siding or brick veneer around a metal flue. Its top is a sheet-metal chase cover. Many of the original covers were galvanized steel, and after enough winters they rust, sag and hold a puddle that drains down the chase. The first signs inside are often a stain on the ceiling near the fireplace or rust streaks on the firebox panels.

A custom chase cover typically costs $425–$850, and a prefab metal cap $200–$650. If a factory-built fireplace has cracked refractory panels or a damaged flue section, we tell you whether parts are still made for it before quoting anything.

• Rust streaks running down the siding below the chase top
• Water staining on the ceiling or wall next to the fireplace
• A cap or storm collar missing after a windstorm
• Cracked or crumbling firebox panels in a wood-burning prefab unit

Gas fireplaces: pilots, thermocouples and vents

Many Naperville calls are about gas fireplaces that won't light or won't stay lit. The usual causes are a worn thermocouple or thermopile, a dirty pilot assembly or a failed igniter. Typical part ranges: igniter $90–$150, pilot assembly $100–$350, thermocouple $150–$350, thermopile or valve $150–$300. A yearly gas service is priced at the inspection.

Nicor Gas, which serves most of the suburbs, asks customers to have gas appliances inspected at least once a year and warns that snow or ice over a gas vent can cause a dangerous carbon monoxide buildup. Direct-vent fireplaces usually vent through a side wall near the ground, so after a heavy snow it is worth clearing the vent by hand or with a broom. If you smell gas, leave the house first and call Nicor at 888-642-6748 from outside.

Brick chimneys in the Naperville Historic District

The older eastern part of the city is the Naperville Historic District: 573 buildings, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 and designated a local historic district in 1986. Houses here carry real masonry chimneys, with clay flue tile, lime mortar and crowns that have taken more than a century of freeze-thaw. Repointing old brick calls for mortar softer than the brick itself, as the National Park Service's guidance on historic masonry explains, so the brick doesn't crack and spall.

We check what the city requires for chimney work in the district before scheduling, and we help you prepare photos and a written scope if a review is needed. Tuckpointing typically runs $500–$2,500, and rebuilding the top few feet with a new crown $600–$1,000.

Selling a Naperville home

The Illinois disclosure form asks sellers about chimney leaks or defects (item 6) and about fireplace or wood-stove defects (item 13). Sellers answer from what they actually know, and the form says it is not a substitute for an inspection. Our home-sale inspection is free and comes with photos, so you know what you are answering before you list.

Where we work in Naperville

Naperville Historic District · Downtown and the Riverwalk · Highlands · Near Naper Settlement · North Naperville near Diehl Road · Springbrook Prairie area · Tamarack area · South Naperville in Will County