Fireplace and chimney service in Wheat Ridge
Nearly four in ten Wheat Ridge homes were built from 1940 to 1959, the highest share we've found in the metro. Post-war brick chimneys are most of our work here.
Wheat Ridge began as a stop for gold-rush travelers in the late 1850s, grew into a farm town known as the Carnation City, and incorporated in 1969. Most of its houses went up in between. The Census Bureau's 2024 survey puts 38.4 percent of Wheat Ridge homes in the 1940s and 1950s, the highest share among the metro cities we checked, and the median home at 1965. Gas heats about 70 percent of homes, and about half are detached houses.
That means the typical Wheat Ridge chimney is 65 to 85 years old: brick, with clay tile liners, often carrying a fireplace flue and a furnace or water-heater flue side by side. At the free inspection we check every flue from the roof and from inside, take photos and give you a written price for anything that needs doing before any work starts. Cleanings are priced at that visit too.
Post-war chimneys: liners and crowns
After 70 years, the clay tiles in a post-war flue often have open joints or cracks, and the furnace flue takes the most wear because gas exhaust is full of water vapor. When a furnace or water heater is replaced, the old flue is often too big for the new unit. A furnace or water-heater liner typically runs $625 to $2,250, and a stainless liner for a fireplace $1,500 to $5,000.
Up top, NOAA's roughly 135 freeze-thaw days a year at Denver-Stapleton crack old crowns and wash out mortar. A crown typically runs $600 to $2,200 and repointing $500 to $2,500.
Burn days and gas conversions in Wheat Ridge
Wheat Ridge is inside the state's winter no-burn area. From November through March, on Action Days, only EPA Phase III stoves and inserts, approved pellet stoves and masonry heaters may burn. An open brick fireplace qualifies only once it's fitted with gas logs, a Phase III insert, an approved pellet insert or an electric device. Gas logs typically run $500 to $2,000 and a gas insert $2,000 to $8,000.
Colorado requires a carbon monoxide alarm within 15 feet of every bedroom after permitted work such as replacing a gas appliance.
Where we work in Wheat Ridge
Paramount Heights · Fruitdale · Bel Aire · Applewood · Crown Hill · 38th Avenue
FAQ
Wheat Ridge chimney questions
Our 1950s Wheat Ridge ranch has never had the chimney checked. Where do we start?
With the free inspection. We look at the crown, cap, flashing, firebox and every flue, take photos and tell you what is safe to use and what any work would cost.
We're replacing our furnace. Does the chimney matter?
Often, yes. A new furnace or water heater can be the wrong size for an old masonry flue. If the flue needs a liner sized to the new unit, that typically runs $625 to $2,250.
Can we sell our old wood stove when we upgrade?
Not if it's uncertified, within the seven-county metro. The state health department says a used uncertified stove can't be sold in metro Denver, though it can be sold elsewhere in Colorado.
When can you come to Wheat Ridge?
We book Sunday through Friday in 3-hour windows: 8 to 11, 11 to 2 or 2 to 5. We call ahead to confirm. We are closed Saturday.
Book online
Book in Wheat Ridge. The inspection is free.
Free inspection in a 3-hour window: 8 to 11, 11 to 2, or 2 to 5. We call to confirm before we arrive.