From Encino Across the Valley and Over the Hill
Count the fireplaces first
Whatever city you are in, the visit is planned from the number of fireplaces, stoves and outdoor fire features on the property.
our home base, on both sides of Ventura Boulevard
Encino
Encino is where our day starts, and it is the reason the business works the way it does. Lots here are big enough that a house often has a fireplace in the living room, a second one in the primary suite or den, and a third out by the pool. We list every one of them on the phone, then sweep and inspect each flue during a single visit.
our next-door neighbor to the east along Ventura Boulevard
Sherman Oaks
Sherman Oaks houses up in the hills tend to run two flues through one tall masonry stack, and the top of that stack is not something you can judge from the driveway. Down on the flats the second fireplace is usually a factory-built unit from a remodel, with a metal flue and a cap of its own. We treat each as its own chimney and write it up that way.
the west end of the Valley, a short drive past Tarzana from Encino
Woodland Hills
A Woodland Hills ranch house can spread three fire features across one long roofline and a yard: the original brick fireplace, a gas unit in a newer family room, and a masonry fireplace outside. We book all three into the same morning so you are not taking three separate days off.
the gated hills past Woodland Hills where the Valley meets the Santa Monica Mountains
Calabasas
Calabasas homes are newer than most on our route, so the chimneys are usually factory-built gas or wood systems rather than old brick, and a big house may have three or four of them. Each one has its own maker, flue and cap. Our notes list them one by one, which is also the format most association boards want to see before any roof work.
east of Sherman Oaks, from the Ventura Boulevard flats up into the canyons
Studio City
Studio City hillside houses often step down the slope, so one chimney can serve a living room on the street level and a second fireplace a floor below. From outside it looks like a single stack. Inside there are two flues, and we sweep, inspect and write up each one.
a Ventura Freeway suburb with Ladyface Mountain rising to its south
Agoura Hills
A two-story stucco house here can hide two different fireplaces, built in different decades as the family and the house grew. We open a separate page for each flue, so a sale or a remodel starts from a clear count.
an old San Gabriel Valley city beside the 10 Freeway
Alhambra
Better than one Alhambra home in three is from before 1950, and most households rent. So an owner may answer for a building with several fireplaces and no paper on any. Each flue gets its own line in our write-up, with old brick called out plainly.
a foothill city of larger lots, once Lucky Baldwin's rancho land
Arcadia
Big Arcadia lots invite additions, and an addition from the 1970s may bring a metal fireplace beside an older brick one. The two age differently, so we treat them as two separate chimneys and report on them that way.
a small former dairy town filled in with mid-century tracts
Artesia
Old dairy land became small tract lots here, and most of those houses went up with a single masonry flue. Even so, we confirm the count, because a converted gas log set can hide what the flue behind it needs.
the only incorporated city on Santa Catalina Island, in a tight canyon
Avalon
Half the homes on the island's only city went up before 1950, many in close quarters with shared walls or tight roofs. Avalon sits about 57 miles from Encino across open water, so listing every flue on one trip matters more here.
a Route 66 foothill city with two Metro A Line stations
Azusa
Fewer than half the homes here are detached houses, so a chimney may belong to a building with several owners. We note which flue serves whose unit, and factory-built units get checked against the maker's design, one by one.
a tract suburb that replaced citrus and walnut groves after the war
Baldwin Park
Baldwin Park turned from orchards into tracts fast after the war, so most chimneys here share an age even when their owners have changed them differently. A flue-by-flue note shows what has been altered, and when a house picked up a second unit.
a dense southeast county city along Atlantic, Gage and Florence Avenues
Bell
A rear unit behind the main house is common in Bell, so one lot can hold two chimneys of two different ages. About three in four households rent, which makes a per-flue report useful to the owner who has to answer for all of them.
a small city of subdivided farmland, built up by 1930s migrant families
Bell Gardens
Owners are a small minority here, around one in five, and small farm-plot homes from the Dust Bowl years still stand. A landlord with an old chimney needs plain facts, so each flue gets its own page saying whether it should be used.
an apple-named former dairy and farm town, later filled with tracts
Bellflower
Rentals are common here and the houses came fast once the dairies went, so a fireplace may have changed hands many times with no paperwork. We start that paper trail: what each flue is, what shape it is in, and who it serves.
a planned 1906 city of grand Flats homes below the hills
Beverly Hills
A big Revival house on the Flats, from the years around 1930, might be planned with a fireplace in several main rooms. Some may have been shut off long ago, so we account for each, and say in writing which ones can be lit.
a tiny foothill town of varied homes below the San Gabriels
Bradbury
Nothing here came from a single tract, so no two Bradbury homes follow the same plan. A property may have fireplaces in odd places and from different years, which is exactly the sort of list we are set up to make.
the east end of the Valley, along the 134 from Studio City
Burbank
Most Burbank houses have one fireplace, but the larger homes in the hills and the ones that grew a den or a back-house addition often have two. We ask before we come so the second one is not a surprise on the day, and both get their own write-up.
a Los Angeles neighborhood in the West Valley, founded as Owensmouth
Canoga Park
Annexed by Los Angeles in 1917, this close neighbor of Encino spans a century of building, from early bungalows to modest ranch houses. A remodeled bungalow may have a second fireplace beside its original brick, so we count before any work gets planned.
a post-war South Bay city built on Dominguez rancho land
Carson
Close to three Carson households in four own, so a fireplace here may have one family's habits behind it, or none at all. We check whether that flue, and any added since, still matches how the family uses it, and report on each.
a planned tract city that went by Dairy Valley until 1967
Cerritos
Dairy Valley became tall stucco houses in the 1970s, and that often means metal flues in framed chases rather than old brick. A two-story house can hide a long run, so we note the maker, flue and cap on each unit.
a college-town foothill city with Padua Hills and Claraboya above it
Claremont
North of Foothill Boulevard the ranch tracts run together, but up in Padua Hills and Claraboya each hillside home has its own arrangement. Claremont is about 45 miles from Encino, so we like to have the full list of flues before the visit.
a mostly industrial city crossed by the 5 and the 710
Commerce
Most of Commerce is warehouses and plants, and its homes sit in small residential pockets. These are modest bungalows and post-war houses, so the job is usually one flue. We still give it a proper page, since it may be the only record.
an 1888 city among the oldest in the county's southeast
Compton
Incorporated in 1888, Compton has older sections where a bungalow's brick chimney may be approaching a century old. Three in ten homes predate 1950, and a house that long-lived may have had fireplaces closed off or changed. Our note says what each is now.
a post-war valley city, home of the Googie-era Covina Bowl
Covina
Few Covina homes are older than 1950, yet the great majority predate 1980, so the chimneys tend to be mid-century masonry, sometimes converted to gas logs. Condos along the corridors may share a stack between owners, which we sort out.
a small city known for its narrow, deep lots
Cudahy
Cudahy lots were cut long and thin for small farm plots, so more than one building often stands front to back. Few residents own, roughly one household in seven, and a property owner may have several fireplaces and little idea of their state. We list them.
a 1913 studio town below the Baldwin Hills, west of downtown
Culver City
Harry Culver's bungalow streets sit alongside later buildings with metal flues, and houses are a minority of what stands here. A long-held bungalow may have original brick plus a remodel's gas unit, so we keep separate notes that a buyer or owner can follow.
a 1960s planned suburb named for an old ranch brand
Diamond Bar
This former ranch splits almost exactly at 1980, half its homes on each side, so a street can hold both early masonry and later factory-built units. We note which kind you have, since the checks and the weak spots differ from one to the next.
a tree-lined tract city, home of the oldest standing McDonald's
Downey
Most Downey houses were built before 1980 by a wide margin, and big street trees are a fact of roof life here. A ranch house with one low chimney is usually a simple job, and if a remodel added a second flue we list that as well.
a former citrus area turned suburb, home of City of Hope
Duarte
Citrus groves gave way to tract homes mostly between the 1950s and 1970s, so a Duarte chimney is usually middle-aged and masonry. The one surprise is gas logs: a flue may have burned wood for decades before conversion, and we say what that left behind.
a valley city lying between two rivers, with a major bus station
El Monte
Narrow lots and small stucco houses set the pattern here, and four in ten households own. A chimney on a tight lot may have little room around it, so we plan access first, then inspect each flue the property has.
a South Bay beach city grown around the 1911 Standard Oil refinery
El Segundo
Refinery workers' small houses still stand here among much newer apartments, and fewer than four homes in ten are detached. Older cottages may have one small flue, while a multi-unit building may have several. In both cases, each gets its own line.
a South Bay city strung along Western Avenue and Redondo Beach Boulevard
Gardena
Walk a Gardena block and you pass small stucco ranches beside apartment buildings, which are very different chimney jobs. One house may need a single page from us. A building owner on Western Avenue may need one per flue, all finished on one trip.
east past Burbank on the 134, up into the Verdugo and San Rafael foothills
Glendale
In Glendale the multi-flue chimney is often a duplex or an older house with a fireplace upstairs and down, both feeding one brick stack. We work out which flue goes where before we start, then sweep and inspect each separately. The bigger foothill homes add a gas unit or two to the count.
an old citrus town, the self-styled Pride of the Foothills
Glendora
This city holds two kinds of chimney: the post-war ranch tract below, and the century-old citrus-era house by the Village. A tract flue with gas logs needs one kind of page. A 1900s stack deserves a harder look, and we write them separately.
a tiny and densely settled city around Carson Street and Norwalk Boulevard
Hawaiian Gardens
This is a compact, crowded little city, and fewer than half of its homes stand alone. An owner with a small house may have one flue. A landlord may have a few spread across units, so we tie each one to its address before anyone climbs a ladder.
a South Bay apartment city, now home to the SpaceX factory
Hawthorne
Detached houses are scarce in Hawthorne, around one home in four, and owners are about as rare. So the person booking is often a building owner or manager with several units to answer for. They get a list of every flue and a page on each.
a pier-centered beach town where old cottages meet newer homes
Hermosa Beach
Around Pier Plaza, a cottage from the early 1900s might share a block with a post-war home and its masonry chimney. Rebuilding has been uneven, so the only safe assumption is none. Tell us which flues you have, and we confirm and inspect each.
a guarded equestrian enclave off the 101 at the Valley's west end
Hidden Hills
Nine miles from Encino and behind guarded gates, about 740 homes make up this town. Ranch houses here keep masonry, while newer customs may carry a fireplace in several rooms. We list each by room and maker, and gate access gets sorted when you book.
a one-time streetcar suburb built on Pacific Electric service
Huntington Park
Over four in ten homes here date from before 1950, built when Pacific Electric cars brought buyers in. Add later apartments, and one block may hold a dozen flues of very different ages. Each one on your property gets separated out in our notes.
a warehouse city along the 60 and the Puente Valley rail line
Industry
Hardly anyone lives here, around 210 people, and warehouses and factories fill the land. Most chimneys in this part of the valley actually belong to homes in surrounding cities. If you do own one of the rare houses here, we handle it like any other.
a 1908 city five miles from the Pacific, older than most neighbors
Inglewood
Morningside Park and Fairview Heights hold houses from the 1920s to 1940s, and an older place there might have a brick chimney with a closed-off firebox behind a later wall. Close to a third of the city predates 1950. So we look, list and report per flue.
a very small city beside Santa Fe Dam and the Sriracha plant
Irwindale
Irwindale has under 1,400 residents, spread through a few pockets of homes. The midpoint of building came around 1985, so a metal unit is about as likely as old masonry. A visit here is short, and we confirm which type is on the roof before planning.
a foothill city of owner-occupied houses, Descanso Gardens and the Angeles Crest
La Canada Flintridge
Close to nine households in ten own here, usually a detached house on land that often slopes. A tall brick stack on the downhill side can run a full extra story, sometimes with more than one firebox along it. We note them all, and plan roof access first.
a rural-feeling hillside town of avocado trees and large lots
La Habra Heights
Edwin Hart's avocado hillsides from the 1910s and 1920s became large-lot homes built one at a time. A Spanish house and its later guest wing could easily have separate fireplaces, and big trees crowd many roofs. All of that goes into the flue list.
a 1950s and 1960s tract city on old olive and ranch land
La Mirada
Olive groves and ranch land turned into tract homes in one main burst, so La Mirada's chimneys are nearly all the same age. That makes wear easy to compare. Our page for your flue says plainly what is normal for its years, and what is not.
a once walnut-grove city along Valley and Hacienda Boulevards
La Puente
Not every tract house here was built with a fireplace, so we ask before assuming. Where one exists it is usually brick or block from around the 1950s. Rule 445 can stop wood burning on alert days in winter, so we note fuel type for each flue.
a former Brethren college town, once called Lordsburg, near Brackett Field
La Verne
Early bungalows near Old Town came with the Lordsburg years, while much of the rest is suburban and later. Mobile home parks add another type altogether, since their units follow different rules from a site-built chimney. We sort each home by type before planning.
a tract city planned around one of the earliest regional malls
Lakewood
Hardly any house here is younger than 1980, and the tracts of Holy Land fame came up in one huge push. These chimneys are now about seven decades old, so a flue the family stopped using deserves the same page as the one they burn.
a large high-desert city in the Antelope Valley, with a Musical Road
Lancaster
Lancaster's aerospace boom left some masonry behind, on houses from those decades, while most homes are stucco tract houses from the 1980s on. Two very different flues, then, in one city. At about 41 miles from Encino, we like to know beforehand which yours is.
a small South Bay city built along Hawthorne Boulevard
Lawndale
Lawndale is compact and split, with owners holding just over a third of the homes. A rented house can have a fireplace no tenant is sure about using. For owners, we list each flue with a clear yes or no, plus what would have to change.
a railroad-museum town just below the Palos Verdes Peninsula
Lomita
Lomita was farmland before its building years, and modest ranch houses went up from the 1940s through the 1970s. Half of all homes are detached. The rest are attached, and in those a flue may be shared, so owners want to know who is responsible for what.
a big port city of historic districts, high-rises and shoreline apartments
Long Beach
More than a third of Long Beach predates 1950, and districts like California Heights, Bluff Park and Drake Park keep their period homes. A big older house can hide more than one fireplace. We list them, then answer one by one which are ready for use.
the city over the hill from Encino, reached by the Sepulveda Pass or the Cahuenga Pass
Los Angeles
Encino is part of the City of Los Angeles, but most calls from over the hill come from the larger houses in Bel Air, Hancock Park, Los Feliz and the canyons. Those homes are the ones most likely to have three or four fireplaces, some of them shut off long ago. We list each one, find out which are safe to use, and put that in writing per chimney.
a former dairy town, named for dairy owner's wife Lynn Wood Sessions
Lynwood
Close to half the homes in Lynwood date from before 1950, and owners and renters are about evenly split. A chimney here may be older than the family's time in the house. So each flue gets a fresh look and a plain answer on paper.
a long coastal strip of canyons, beach houses, and Pepperdine above it
Malibu
Rebuilding has gone on here since the 2018 and 2025 fires, so one property may have a gas unit in the new house and old masonry left outside. Each counts on our list, since a standing chimney from a lost home is still a chimney to judge.
an oceanfront South Bay city of sections: Sand, Hill and Tree
Manhattan Beach
Remodels keep changing the count across the Tree Section and the east side, and a rebuilt house usually has factory-built gas units, sometimes more than one. If an older masonry chimney survives, that makes two sorts on one roof. Our page for each keeps them from being lumped together.
a small, almost fully built-out city along Atlantic and Slauson
Maywood
New construction is rare here, and the city has been essentially finished for decades. With almost nine in ten homes older than 1980 and about two in three rented, an owner here may hold several flues of real age. Pages per chimney make that list workable.
an 1887 foothill town below Monrovia Canyon and its waterfall
Monrovia
River rock turns up on a share of the old chimneys in Monrovia, and rock ages differently than brick. More than a quarter of homes are from before 1950. Where a house has both a rock chimney and a later brick one, our note treats each by its own material.
a western San Gabriel Valley city below the Montebello Hills
Montebello
Detached houses make up about half of what stands here, so a job could be one post-war brick flue or a small apartment building's worth. If you own more than one place, tell us, since the visit can be planned as a list rather than separate trips.
a hilly city near East Los Angeles College and Garvey Ranch
Monterey Park
Up the hill streets, a sloped lot often means a long chimney and maybe a lower-level fireplace added after the war. The two may not match in age or material, so our list names each by floor, and each gets separate findings.
a 1950s tract city on converted dairy and farm land
Norwalk
Dairies gave way fast in the 1950s, and Norwalk came out of it with thousands of similar tract homes. Similar does not mean identical after seventy years. One owner re-lined, another added gas logs, and our note records what yours has become.
a high-desert commuter and aerospace city by Lake Palmdale
Palmdale
Four in five Palmdale homes were built after 1980, mainly in the boom years through the 2000s, and their stucco chases hide factory-built units. Older ranch houses may still carry masonry. We list which is which, and what fuels it burns.
an Olmsted-planned peninsula city with Lunada Bay on its coast
Palos Verdes Estates
Vanderlip's project, drawn up by the Olmsted Brothers, gave this peninsula larger lots that later filled with custom homes. A big custom ranch could carry fireplaces at both ends. On a hillside lot the flues are harder to reach, so we plan access as carefully as the work.
a one-time hay market that grew out of Hynes and Clearwater
Paramount
Hynes and Clearwater were farm towns before this city took shape, and most building followed at mid-century. More renters than owners live here, and fewer than half of homes are detached. So a property owner's list may run beyond one flue, and we cover them all.
the far east side of our route, from the Arroyo Seco to the streets below the foothills
Pasadena
Pasadena's bigger Craftsman and revival houses were often built with more than one fireplace, and the second one is sometimes a bedroom fireplace that has sat unused for a long time. We include it in the visit, check whether it can be used again, and give it a note of its own next to the main one.
a 1958 merger of two farm towns between two rivers
Pico Rivera
Pico and Rivera merged in 1958, around the same time most of these tract houses went up. About seven in ten families own, and many fireplaces here stay in use. We check how often yours burns and fit the inspection to that.
an 1888 citrus town that took a Roman goddess's name
Pomona
From Victorians to factory-built tract units, Pomona's chimneys cover nearly every type in the region. Older houses here may have more than one fireplace, sometimes closed up. At about 43 miles from Encino, we prefer to plan the whole list before the trip.
a peninsula city of ocean views, Terranea and Point Vicente Lighthouse
Rancho Palos Verdes
Ground movement at Portuguese Bend is an unusual local fact, and a home on shifting land can have a chimney pulling away from its house. We check how the stack sits, and where there is more than one, each gets a separate page.
a former 1890s port and resort town along the Esplanade
Redondo Beach
North Redondo's postwar houses often keep masonry, while the condos and townhomes that fill much of the city usually have gas units. Only four in ten homes are detached, so we settle which flue belongs to which owner before we inspect.
a gated peninsula town where the roads are private and fences white
Rolling Hills
A long ranch house on a big lot can spread its fireplaces far apart, sometimes with an old unit in a far wing. Gate and road access run through the community association, so we settle that at booking, along with the room-by-room list.
a small peninsula city around South Coast Botanic Garden
Rolling Hills Estates
Mid-century ranch and custom homes here usually kept their masonry, while a later remodel could bring gas or a factory-built unit to another room. That split is why we write up two pages, not one. Condos near the Peninsula Center are a separate kind of list.
a valley city and the headquarters of Southern California Edison
Rosemead
Rosemead stands closest to the 1987 Whittier Narrows epicenter, and a quarter of its homes were already old then. A single-story stucco house makes for an easy roof, so we spend our time on the flue and on whatever else the lot holds.
the Bill and Ted town below the foothills, near Raging Waters
San Dimas
Suburbs here grew from the 1960s to the 1980s, but Via Verde and foothill properties add size, and an equestrian place may have a guest quarter with its own fireplace. Every flue on the land goes on our list, however far it stands from the house.
a small separate city in the north Valley, on Pacoima Wash
San Fernando
Just 10 miles from Encino, this little city has taken two heavy hits, in 1971 and 1994, and some stacks have surely been rebuilt since. A rebuilt chimney can sit beside an untouched one. We tell you which is which, and how each is holding up.
a city grown around its namesake mission and Mission Playhouse
San Gabriel
Around the old mission, houses from the 1920s through the postwar years mostly have a single brick flue, reinforced perhaps, but decades old. Newer multi-unit buildings may burn gas or have no fireplace. So a building owner should ask us for a count first.
a residential estate city along Huntington Drive and Mission Road
San Marino
Better than two homes in three here date from before 1950, and original brick or stone fireplaces in several rooms are common. This is our kind of house. Each chimney gets located, inspected and written up on its own, including the ones not lit in years.
a large tract-wave city around Valencia, north of our Valley
Santa Clarita
Valencia's master plan started in the 1960s, and tract waves kept coming after that, so nearly seven in ten homes are from after 1980. A big house may have more than one factory-built or gas unit. We list them by maker and report per unit, whatever the tract.
a former oil-boom city, now a warehouse and industrial center
Santa Fe Springs
An oil boom brought incorporation in 1957, and today much of the land is warehouses. Homes cluster in their own neighborhoods, and the usual house has one aging brick fireplace, often with steel inside. A simple job, but one that deserves a clear page.
a beachfront city of renters, apartments and the Third Street Promenade
Santa Monica
Fewer than two in ten homes stand alone here, and most people rent. So the person calling may manage a building with many old flues, some unreinforced. We number them by unit, and a house North of Montana gets the same page-per-chimney treatment.
a preserved foothill village around Kersting Court
Sierra Madre
Sierra Madre has kept its village streets, so a Craftsman here may keep original brick that no one has opened in decades. Up the canyon, homes may have separate wood and gas flues, and each one gets written up as its own chimney.
a small hilltop city entirely ringed by Long Beach
Signal Hill
Late redevelopment makes this city younger than the Long Beach around it, and half the homes now date from after 1980. Condos and townhomes here usually mean metal flues on shared roofs. An older house lower down may have masonry, so we ask first.
a small valley city with two rivers close by
South El Monte
Postwar ranches on modest lots are the rule in South El Monte, and the usual chimney is one brick flue with steel reinforcement. Being so close to the 1987 epicenter, that steel may have been tested. Whatever the count, the page tells you how it came through.
an old factory town on Tweedy Boulevard, with Hollydale to the south
South Gate
Firestone and General Motors workers once filled these bungalows, and nearly half of them predate 1950. So an unreinforced flue is a real possibility. Where a small house later gained a rear unit, we account for that second chimney too.
an 1888 city of old homes that fought the 710 for decades
South Pasadena
Much of this city dates to the 1890s through the 1930s, and an older house could easily have a fireplace upstairs and down. Apartments are numerous as well, some with several old flues. We work out which goes where, then treat each on its own.
a 1920s Walter Temple town along Las Tunas Drive
Temple City
Walter Temple's town has seen older lots rebuilt with big modern houses, usually with gas fireplaces, right next door to homes from before 1960. Those are different jobs, so we confirm what a property has. A rebuilt house may have several gas units, each on its own page.
a planned South Bay city with Irving Gill's early buildings
Torrance
Torrance began as a planned city, and its postwar tracts dominate today, usually one brick flue per house, reinforced but decades old. About half of its homes are detached. In Old Torrance a home may have a very different and much older stack, so we write them up differently.
an exclusively industrial city, incorporated that way in 1905
Vernon
Vernon was set up in 1905 for industry alone, and homes here number around a hundred. If you hold one of the few older houses, its chimney still deserves checking. A flue in a building this rare is likely to have no record.
a low-density suburb near Mt. San Antonio College and its creek parks
Walnut
Nearly every home in Walnut stands alone, on a larger lot and most likely in its owner's hands. Since half went up after the early 1980s, expect metal more often than brick. A two-story house can run two units off different walls, so we check for that.
a 1923 orchard town that exploded into tracts after the war
West Covina
Orchards became tracts at great speed after World War II, leaving street after street of mid-century stucco ranches. One flue is the common count. With more than 100,000 residents, though, plenty of lots have been altered, so a look may turn up a second unit.
a 1984 city of courtyard apartments along Santa Monica Boulevard
West Hollywood
Detached houses are rare here, near one home in eleven, and most households rent. The Harper Avenue courtyards and other Spanish buildings from the 1920s can have many small fireplaces around one court. A building owner here wants a numbered list, and that is how we work.
a planned lake community on the Albertson Ranch, at the county line
Westlake Village
Planned on the Albertson Ranch from the 1960s, this city has no pre-1950 homes at all. A factory-built fireplace of that vintage is getting old for metal, and its parts do not age like brick. Larger homes with two units get a note each, in a format boards can read.
a college city known for its Uptown and the Whittier Hills
Whittier
Uptown's Craftsman bungalows and early houses often have unreinforced brick. Higher up in the Whittier Hills, later custom homes may have more than one fireplace. Those are separate worries, and they get separate pages.
a former family ranch above the Oxnard Plain, near Point Mugu
Camarillo
Adolfo Camarillo's ranch became stucco tracts from the 1960s onward, and Spanish Hills adds bigger, newer homes that may have a few units apiece. With almost no pre-1950 stock, masonry is rare here. A larger house may have a list of metal flues to get through.
a small river-valley town of citrus groves and heritage trains
Fillmore
Downtown Fillmore was hit hard in 1994, and many of its old homes and buildings were damaged. So a bungalow's chimney here may be an original, a rebuild or a partial fix, and no one still remembers. We settle that for each flue you own, in writing.
a young tract city around the Arroyo Las Posas
Moorpark
Eight in ten Moorpark homes were built after 1980, so metal flues are the rule and old masonry mostly lives near High Street. A two-story stucco house can hold more than one of these. We list makers and locations, then note each one separately.
a small enclosed valley town below the Topatopa Mountains
Ojai
About three in four homes predate 1980, and cold valley nights give owners real reason to light a fire. A property here may have a working flue and a retired one. We check them all in one trip, since Ojai is about 47 miles from Encino.
the largest city in Ventura County, known for its strawberries
Oxnard
Soft plain soil can make shaking worse, so an older bungalow in the Henry T. Oxnard district may have taken more from a quake than its age suggests. Most homes here are later tracts with one flue. Either way, the page we leave describes what each chimney has been through.
a small harbor city around a deep water port and naval base
Port Hueneme
Thomas Bard's 1871 wharf led to this small port city, which now holds more attached homes than detached. A condo building can have a whole line of flues along one roof, each with its own rusting cap. We keep them separated by unit.
the self-named Citrus Capital of the World, where Limoneira began
Santa Paula
An old citrus town where Limoneira began in 1893, Santa Paula has unreinforced brick that went through the 1994 quake. It lies about 35 miles from Encino. A family home with more than one flue gets each looked at separately, on a single trip.
across the county line in Ventura County, out the 118
Simi Valley
Simi Valley is the far end of our route, so we make the trip count. Ranch properties out here can have a fireplace in the main house, a wood stove in a workshop or guest unit, and a fire pit in the yard. If you tell us about all of them, they all fit in the one visit.
a Conejo Valley city that takes its name from protected oaks
Thousand Oaks
The Janss Conejo Village plan started in the 1950s, and about seven in ten homes are in owners' hands now. Older tracts carry one aged brick flue, while many later homes run metal. Oak branches over a roof can add debris in any cap, and we note that too.
a coastal city around Mission San Buenaventura and Grant Park
Ventura
Grant Park looks down on a city that is barely half detached houses. East Ventura tracts keep a single flue on most lots, while the Keys add waterfront salt to the mix. Condo owners should know who has charge of which flue, so we settle that in writing.
a 1980s and 1990s planned city beside Aliso and Wood Canyons
Aliso Viejo
Very little here predates 1980, and most homes are attached. So an Aliso Viejo chimney job usually means a factory-built unit in a shared building, and an association that wants to see it written up. Each flue gets its maker, its cap and its own note.
a former German winemakers' colony, now home to Disneyland and Angel Stadium
Anaheim
Early Colony homes and much later tract houses share one big city, and more than half of homes are attached. Anaheim Hills has larger properties that may run several units. So a flue count can be one, or a dozen across a building, and we start there.
an oil-seep town against the Puente and Chino Hills, named for tar
Brea
Half the homes in Brea were up by 1978, so this city sits on the line between masonry and metal. A street can go either way. We note what yours is, and if the house has both, the older brick and newer metal get separate pages.
an 1880s Whitaker town along the Beach Boulevard entertainment corridor
Buena Park
Very little predates 1950, and about three in four homes went up by 1980. James Whitaker's old town is now mostly tracts and attached housing. Owners with both a house and a rental unit nearby can run the two as one flue list.
a coast tableland city, called Harper until 1920, near Newport
Costa Mesa
Fewer than four in ten homes here are detached, and four in ten owner-occupied. Eastside cottages and later tract streets mean old-style flues, while the apartment stock adds shared roofs. For anyone holding more than one address, each flue goes on a single list.
a one-time Dairy City renamed in 1957, home of Cypress College
Cypress
Renamed from Dairy City in 1957, this suburb filled quickly with wood-framed stucco ranches. Early ones likely have brick or block, while metal starts to appear by the 1970s. A later addition can place a metal unit in a brick-chimney house, which is where our per-flue notes help.
a harbor city of bluffs, Doheny State Beach and the Headlands
Dana Point
Sidney Woodruff's Lantern Village streets date from the 1920s, but much of the city came after 1970. In Monarch Beach, a resort-area custom estate may have several units to list. At about 66 miles from Encino, we bundle everything on one property into one trip.
a former farming community once called Talbert, by the Santa Ana River
Fountain Valley
Farmland gave way to tracts here during the 1960s and 1970s, and so few homes predate 1950 that old brick is unusual. That makes wear easier to compare from house to house. A larger two-story may still have a second unit, so we check.
a college city of Cal State Fullerton and the 1925 Fox Theatre
Fullerton
Sunny Hills ranches from the 1950s and 1960s were built with real masonry, and a large one may have two fireplaces. Near the campuses, a building owner may have a list of rental flues instead. Both fit our habit of writing up each flue separately.
a former orchard city around Christ Cathedral and Little Seoul
Garden Grove
Orchards became single-story ranches here in the post-war boom, so a fireplace in Garden Grove is usually one flue with a low roof. Wood frames around it matter too, since the framing near the firebox should be checked. A page per flue makes the job easy to file.
a long Pacific-front city from Bolsa Chica to Seacliff
Huntington Beach
Huntington Harbour's 1960s channel homes sit close to water, while Seacliff and Holly-Seacliff homes are newer and bigger, often with more than one unit. Only about one home in fifty predates 1950. The chimney job here is mostly about keeping track of metal parts, unit by unit.
a planned university city of villages built around greenbelts and schools
Irvine
Half of all homes here date from after 2002, and attached housing often outnumbers houses within a village. Most flues are factory-built or gas, and an owner's association usually sets the rules. Early villages like Turtle Rock hold the older chimneys, which deserve a closer look.
a 1925 city on the north edge of Orange County
La Habra
A quake was named for this city in 2014, and its tract chimneys took that shaking directly. Most are simple brick or block, one to a house, so a check is quick. Attached units nearby add shared roofs, where we settle whose flue is whose.
a compact northwest county city under two square miles
La Palma
Under two square miles, La Palma has almost no pre-1960 buildings, and four in five homes are older than 1980. So chimneys here are all of roughly one generation. A small job, then, in most cases, but we still list and report per flue.
an arts and surf city of canyons, bluffs and hillside homes
Laguna Beach
About a quarter of Laguna Beach predates 1950, and City Hall maintains a historic inventory. An old house on a slope may have several fireplaces on different levels. We work out each one and note it, which helps if you also need to consult the city register.
a Saddleback Valley city along Interstate 5 and Aliso Creek
Laguna Hills
Half built before 1980 and half after, this city has both older and newer factory-built generations under one tile roofline. Townhomes add shared chases. So we identify each home's unit and era first, then write notes an association can use.
a south county city with a regional park lake and wilderness
Laguna Niguel
Larger hillside houses sit behind gates in Bear Brand and Marina Hills, and those often carry more than one unit. Elsewhere condos and tract homes date mostly from the 1970s through the 1990s. Metal rules here, and a board may want each unit noted its own way.
a 1999 city built around the old Leisure World retirement community
Laguna Woods
Ross Cortese began Leisure World in 1964, and houses are rare today, about 7 percent of homes. Most are low-rise co-op or condo manors. Many may have no fireplace at all, so a chimney question here usually starts with the board, and we answer it by unit.
a south county city that took its name from two man-made lakes
Lake Forest
About six in ten homes here postdate 1980, with Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills built up mostly in the 1990s and Baker Ranch newer still. That means metal flues and an association in many cases. A larger house may have more than one, so we always count before starting.
a small city that began with a sugar beet factory
Los Alamitos
A sugar beet factory drove this town's early growth, and tract homes came long after. Only about four in ten homes are detached, and nearly the same share are owner-held. Expect one masonry flue per house, with shared roofs in the attached buildings.
a planned south county city around Lake Mission Viejo and Saddleback College
Mission Viejo
Almost no home here predates 1950, and most fireplaces are metal or gas, with some masonry in the early and custom houses. Around the lake a townhome may share chases with neighbors. We note each owner's flue and where the shared roof begins.
a harbor city from Balboa Island inland to Fashion Island
Newport Beach
Older custom houses may keep masonry, and a rebuilt luxury house on Balboa or Lido Isle often carries several gas or factory-built units on a tight lot. A big inventory, close to salt water. We work through it by room and report each unit separately.
a central county city with Old Towne and Santiago Creek
Orange
Most of the city came after 1970, but Old Towne keeps its early streets and Orange Park Acres has big equestrian lots. A guest house or barn apartment out there may have its own fireplace. We walk the property so each goes on the list.
a pleasant-named citrus town incorporated in 1926, by Tri-City Park
Placentia
Early citrus homes in Old Town can have brick that is a hundred years old, while most of the city is ranch tract from the 1950s through the 1970s. Those are two very different chimneys, so our page for each makes clear which rules applied when it was built.
a young foothill city around a plaza and lake
Rancho Santa Margarita
Very few homes here predate 1980, and half were up by 1992, so old masonry is rare. The usual chimney is factory-built, on a tile roof. Dove Canyon's gated golf homes may have several, and we list those by room for the owner and association.
a white-stucco, red-tile beach city with La Casa Pacifica on its coast
San Clemente
Early rules gave this city its white stucco and red tile, and many old houses survive near downtown with masonry. Talega and Marblehead Coastal, built since the 1990s, use factory-built or gas units. San Clemente is about 71 miles from Encino, so we plan each list carefully before the trip.
a mission town known for swallows and old Los Rios adobes
San Juan Capistrano
Los Rios holds a few very old houses, and larger estate lots came much later. A rare old adobe flue and a modern estate unit are nothing alike. Owners here are many, about four households in five, so a thorough record of every flue has lasting value.
an 1869 county seat around the Bowers Museum and Fourth Street
Santa Ana
With William Spurgeon's 1869 founding, this city has some older stock, but apartments are now common and only 44 percent of units are detached. Owners of older rentals here may need a page per flue. A family home gets the same treatment on a smaller scale.
a small pier town beside a wildlife refuge on the naval base
Seal Beach
Most homes are older than 1980, close to nine in ten, but only about a third are detached. In attached 1960s units, a fireplace is often gas or factory-built. Near Main Street, older houses may differ entirely, so we identify each flue before making any plan.
a small city laid out along Beach Boulevard, under four square miles
Stanton
Houses are the minority in Stanton, about one home in four, and a good many attached units lack a fireplace. Where one does exist it is likely older brick or block. So our first step here is simply working out whether you have a flue, and whose it is.
an Orange County city of Old Town and a redeveloped base
Tustin
The city protects Old Town as a Cultural Resources District, with brick from the early 1900s. Tustin Legacy brings the opposite: newer building where a base once stood. Houses are about one home in three, so flue counts and ownership vary from address to address.
a tiny 1962 city where large lots hold custom homes
Villa Park
With nine in ten homes owner-occupied and almost all detached, Villa Park is what this brand is built for. A large custom home from the 1960s or 1970s may have two or more site-built fireplaces. Each one gets located, inspected and written up on its own sheet.
a tract city with Little Saigon along Bolsa Avenue
Westminster
Mendez v. Westminster put this city in the history books, and its stock from that era forward is mainly stucco ranch tracts. An older house likely has brick or block, while later ones may have a metal unit. Rarely two on one lot, but we check.
the birthplace of Richard Nixon, on large lots near Savi Ranch
Yorba Linda
Many homes here sit on larger lots, and most belong to the people living in them. Tile roofs over gas or metal units are the norm, but custom houses may have site-built masonry too. If yours has both, we keep them apart in writing.
an Inland Empire city known for the Mission Inn and Victoria Avenue
Riverside
Few cities give a chimney sweep this range: Victorians, Revival houses near the Mission Inn, postwar ranches with brick or block, and Orangecrest or Canyon Crest gas units. Riverside is about 65 miles from Encino, so an owner with several fireplaces gets the most from planning them as one list.
a city near Temescal Canyon, Prado Dam and Dos Lagos
Corona
South Corona and Sierra del Oro boomed through the 1980s and 2000s, so three in four homes postdate 1980. Metal and gas are the norm, and older masonry stands out. Either way we confirm each unit, and a larger house gets a line for every flue.
a county of beach cities, valleys, foothills and mountain communities
Los Angeles County
About 3.65 million homes span this county, split nearly evenly between owners and renters, and older stacks concentrate near downtown and the older suburbs. Unincorporated pockets such as Altadena, Hacienda Heights and Castaic count too. Tell us the address, and we list your flues the same way anywhere.
a huge county from Temecula Valley to Mount San Jacinto and Coachella
Riverside County
Half the homes in this enormous county postdate 1990, yet cabins up in Idyllwild keep wood stoves and masonry fireplaces, and the Coachella Valley has resort and mid-century stock. A second home may have several units, so tell us what is there before planning.
a county of 34 cities, formed from Los Angeles County in 1889
Orange County
North and south read like two different counties: Old Towne Orange and Floral Park keep older houses, some with more than one fireplace, while Irvine and Mission Viejo favor metal and gas. About half of homes are detached. We fit the list to which end you live on.
a coastal and valley county from Oxnard to Mount Pinos
Ventura County
Roughly 296,000 homes spread from old adobes and masonry in the western towns to postwar tracts in Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley. Half went up by 1978. A long-held property may have an old chimney and a later metal unit, so each gets noted apart.
Outside the List?
Your street is not on a city page?
Plenty of Tarzana, Bel Air and Hidden Hills houses fit the same pattern. Call with the address and the number of fireplaces, and we will tell you which day we are nearby.