Chimney and Gas Fireplace Service in Tinley Park, Illinois

The village began as Bremen, named in 1853 by its German settlers along the Rock Island railroad, and was renamed Tinley Park in 1890 for Samuel Tinley Sr., the first station agent. It incorporated in 1892, and its historic downtown district covers those original boundaries. Growth came fast later: 6,392 people in 1960, 37,121 by 1990. The village now spans Cook and Will counties.

The Census Bureau's 2020–2024 survey shows a median year built of 1987 and fewer than 2 percent of homes from before 1940. About 92 percent heat with gas, one of the highest shares in the area, and about 22 percent of homes are attached single-family houses such as townhouses. Most fireplaces here are factory-built gas units, with brick chimneys on the 1970s homes.

Gas fireplaces and townhouse vents

Townhouse gas fireplaces usually vent through the wall or a short chase, and they fail in the same few places: the pilot, the thermocouple or thermopile, the igniter and the glass seal. Typical part ranges: igniter $90–$150, thermocouple $150–$350, thermopile or valve $150–$300. A gas insert, for a wood fireplace you no longer use, typically runs $2,000–$5,000.

Nicor Gas, which serves most of the suburbs, asks customers to have gas appliances inspected at least once a year and to keep snow off gas vents, since a blocked vent can build up carbon monoxide.

Chase covers, caps and crowns

After about 121 nights a year below freezing (NOAA 1991–2020, O'Hare), metal chase covers rust and brick crowns crack. A custom chase cover typically costs $425–$850, a prefab metal cap $200–$650 and minor crown repair $150–$700.

• Pilot lights that go out
• Rust stains under a chase cover
• Brick crowns on 1970s homes
• Missing caps after a windstorm

Where we work in Tinley Park

Historic downtown · North side in Cook County · South side in Will County · Subdivisions west of the old village · Townhouse communities