Gas fireplace service
Sweep & inspection
Caps & crowns
Flue relining
Masonry repairLevel 1 sweep and inspection to the NFPA 211 annual standard - flue, crown, cap, and flashing checked and photographed
Chimney sweep logs do not sweep chimneys. They loosen some creosote - which then falls where a brush and vacuum still have to collect it.
Why Fort Lauderdale Homeowners Choose Gelco Chimney Cleaning
Flint Chimney Co Fort Lauderdale provides independent Fort Lauderdale Gelco service and repair across Fort Lauderdale, specializing in the corrosion and moisture problems that salt air and humidity cause in Gelco liners, dampers, and crowns. We’re not a Gelco authorized dealer and we don’t pretend to be. We’re the crew that knows how Gelco components actually fail in this climate, and we fix them with honest diagnostics, written pricing before any work starts, and a one-year written guarantee on every repair.
Gelco builds a solid stainless steel liner system, and plenty of Fort Lauderdale chimneys run them. But this city’s air does things to stainless that a national service page will never tell you about. Chloride pitting, humidity-driven wrap failure, seized dampers. We see it weekly in homes from Victoria Park to the ranch-style neighborhoods west of I-95. If you need Gelco Chimney Cleaning in Davie, FL or have a Gelco liner, cap, or chase cover acting up, call us at (754) 354-1430 and we’ll tell you exactly what we find.
Hank Delano, our owner, learned the trade at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College and has spent nearly two decades cleaning and inspecting chimneys across South Florida. His rule for this company is simple: tell the homeowner what you found, tell them what it costs, then do the work clean. That’s how every Gelco job runs.
Why Trust Flint Chimney Co Fort Lauderdale for Your Gelco Chimney Cleaning?
Gelco components aren’t exotic, but they demand a specific kind of attention in Fort Lauderdale. The 316L flexible liner, for example, is good stainless. It handles heat cycling well. What it doesn’t love is sitting in a humid flue with salt-laden condensation drying and repeating, month after month. A technician who has never worked coastal Florida might call that liner fine and move on. We don’t, because we know where the pinholes form and what they look like before they become smoke leaks.
Our technicians are background-checked, uniformed, and trained on Gelco’s product lines: the 316L flexible liner, the 304/316 multi-fuel rigid liner, the stainless caps, and the chase cover and crown systems. We stock common Gelco replacement components locally so we aren’t waiting on a distributor while your fireplace sits unusable. And every repair we make carries the 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If a covered repair fails within one year, we return at no charge. No phone tree, no argument. That’s The Garrison Standard, the same code every Garrison Partners location follows, and it’s been that way since 2002.
Hank’s crew has worked everything from bungalows near Las Olas Boulevard to high-rise condo fireplaces further up the coast. We also offer Gelco Chimney Cleaning in Oakland Park, FL. Fort Lauderdale has been our main territory for years, and there’s not much we haven’t pulled out of a Gelco flue.
Styles & brands we work with
Common Gelco Chimney Cleaning Problems We Fix in Fort Lauderdale
- Pitting and corrosion on Gelco 316L flexible liners. This is the big one. When gas logs or unseasoned wood burn in a humid coastal flue, the condensate turns acidic. That acid sits on the stainless and creates pinholes, usually just above the smoke shelf where condensation collects. A homeowner notices a metallic odor or rust streaks. We find chloride pitting that a brush alone won’t touch.
- Flaking and premature collapse of Gelco liner insulation wrap. The insulation wrap around a flexible liner keeps flue gases hot enough to draft properly. But when moisture gets in at the chimney cap or chase top, that wrap absorbs water, breaks down, and starts falling away from the liner. Draft weakens. Smoke backs up. We replace the wrap and fix the water entry point, not just the symptom.
- Seized or warped Gelco damper assemblies. Salt-laden air in Fort Lauderdale corrodes damper hardware faster than anywhere inland. The plate sticks, the hinge warps, and suddenly smoke spills into the living room when you light a fire. We free and lubricate what’s salvageable and replace what isn’t, usually with a stainless upgrade that holds up better to coastal air.
- Cracked Gelco crown sealant letting water behind the liner termination. The crown is the concrete slab at the top of the chimney. When its sealant cracks, rainwater and storm moisture work down behind the liner termination and start rusting from the top down. Homeowners see rust streaks on the firebox and assume the liner is shot. Often, resealing the crown and repairing the localized liner damage solves it for years.
- Creosote buildup in Gelco liners from occasional winter burning. Fort Lauderdale homeowners don’t burn every day, but those cooler December and January nights add up. Creosote glazes onto the liner wall, and because the flue sits humid between fires, that glaze hardens into a layer that standard sweeping won’t fully remove. We use the right brushes and chemical treatments for stainless, without scarring the liner.
Gelco Parts & Our Repair-vs-Replace Approach
We use genuine Gelco components when they are in good supply and compatible with the existing system. That’s the straightforward part. The judgment call comes when a Gelco part is available but not the right answer for Fort Lauderdale’s conditions. In those cases we will not hesitate to install a quality aftermarket liner or cap with better corrosion resistance for coastal South Florida. The brand on the box matters less than whether the part will hold up to salt air and humidity for the next decade.
For Gelco liners with localized pinholes, we repair with a code-compliant seamless sleeve rather than replacing the entire run, unless inspection shows widespread thinning. That’s a real difference in cost. A full liner replacement might run $2,500 to $4,500 depending on height and access. A sleeved repair on a short damaged section could be a third of that. We show you the camera footage either way so you can see what we see before approving a dollar of work.
If you’re not sure what your Gelco liner actually needs, call (754) 354-1430 and we’ll schedule an inspection with a written quote.
Our Gelco Service Process – Step by Step
- 1
Diagnosis. We run a camera through the Gelco liner and inspect the cap, crown, damper, and firebox. You see the footage. We tell you what’s wrong in plain words.
- 2
Written price. Before any work starts, you get a line-item price for the repair or cleaning. The number you approve is the number on the invoice. That never changes.
- 3
Repair or installation. We use genuine Gelco parts when they fit the job, or a better-suited aftermarket option when Fort Lauderdale conditions call for it. Creosote removal, damper repair, crown repair, liner sleeving, cap replacement, whatever the diagnosis shows.
- 4
Test and verify. We run the system, check the draft, and confirm no smoke spillage at the damper. If we replaced a liner section or cap, we run the camera again to document the fix.
- 5
Written warranty. Every repair carries the 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If a covered repair fails within one year, we return free. That’s not a marketing line. It’s in the paperwork we hand you.
See the difference
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After
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After
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AfterGelco Products We Service & Install in Fort Lauderdale
We work on the full range of Gelco chimney components installed in Fort Lauderdale homes. That includes the Gelco 316L flexible chimney liner, the 304/316 multi-fuel rigid liner, stainless steel chimney caps in standard and multi-flue configurations, and Gelco chase cover and crown systems. We keep common replacement caps, dampers, and sealants stocked locally for faster turnaround in Fort Lauderdale. If you have a Gelco part we don’t stock, we can typically source it within a few business days through our suppliers.
We Also Service These Brands
Gelco is one of the brands we know well, but it’s not the only one. We also install and service DuraFlex liner systems and HeatShield resurfacing, and we work with Olympia Chimney, Famco, and Copperfield components. That means when your chimney needs something beyond a Gelco part, we aren’t guessing. We match the material to the job and the climate.
FAQs – Gelco Chimney Cleaning Service in Fort Lauderdale
No. Flint Chimney Co Fort Lauderdale is an independent Gelco service provider. We are not an authorized Gelco dealer and we have no manufacturer affiliation. That independence is deliberate. It means when we inspect a Gelco liner or cap, our only interest is telling you what’s actually wrong and what it actually costs to fix. No manufacturer program pushing a specific product, no conflict of interest.
We use genuine Gelco components when they are in good supply and compatible with your existing system. But we don’t install a Gelco part just because it says Gelco on the box. When South Florida’s salt air and humidity call for a different material, we will recommend a quality aftermarket liner or cap that will hold up better. You get the reasoning and the camera evidence before you spend anything. Call (754) 354-1430 to schedule an inspection.
A standard Gelco chimney cleaning in Fort Lauderdale takes 60 to 90 minutes. Adding a camera inspection brings it to about two hours on site. Repairs depend on the work: a damper repair or crown reseal can often be completed the same visit, while a liner sleeve or full replacement may take a half day to a full day. We give you a written time estimate with the written price before we start.
We service and install the Gelco 316L flexible chimney liner, the 304/316 multi-fuel rigid liner, Gelco stainless steel chimney caps in standard and multi-flue configurations, and Gelco chase cover and crown systems. If you have an older Gelco product not on that list, call us. We have seen most of what Gelco has made over the years in Fort Lauderdale homes, and if we can’t fix it, we’ll tell you that plainly too.
Here’s the straight answer: if your Gelco product is under a manufacturer’s warranty, you should check the warranty terms. Some manufacturer warranties require authorized installers for coverage. We can’t speak for Gelco’s warranty department. What we can tell you is that our work carries its own written guarantee, the 365-Day Done Right Promise, valid for one full year from the service date. If a covered repair fails in that window, we return at no charge. You won’t have to call us twice.
A standard our Chimney Sweep services in Fort Lauderdale typically runs $220 to $350, depending on the liner condition and how long it has been since the last cleaning. Adding a camera inspection is usually $100 to $150 more. Repairs are priced per job after diagnosis, with a written quote before any work starts. If you want an exact number for your chimney, call (754) 354-1430 and we’ll give you a free estimate.
Every year, at minimum. Fort Lauderdale’s salt air and storm-driven rain punish chase covers faster than most climates, and a corroded chase cover lets water into the chase and down onto the fireplace. We inspect the Gelco chase cover during our annual chimney inspection and recommend replacement when the metal has thinned or rusted through. Call (754) 354-1430 to book an inspection. Estimates are free.
Gas logs still leave residue, but the bigger issue in Fort Lauderdale is the condensation, not the soot. A chemical cleaning alone will not address chloride pitting or the acidic condensate that corrodes a 316L liner in this humidity. We recommend a camera inspection before deciding on any cleaning method. If the liner is sound, a sweep and chemical treatment may be enough. If it has pinholes, no cleaning will fix that.
Storm surge and hurricane-driven rain push saltwater and moisture into the flue, and that corrodes the damper hinge and plate. It’s not a cleaning issue in the traditional sense; it’s a corrosion repair. We free and lubricate what’s salvageable and replace what isn’t. If your damper is stuck after a Fort Lauderdale storm, call us at (754) 354-1430 and we’ll get it moving or replace it.
No. The waterproofing we use is a masonry treatment for the exterior brick and crown. It does not enter the flue or contact the Gelco liner, and it has no effect on firebox clearances. Waterproofing is part of crown repair and moisture prevention, which is exactly what protects the Gelco liner termination from rusting in Fort Lauderdale’s humid air.
A humming noise from a Gelco multi-flue cap is usually wind vibrating the metal edge or a loosened mounting band. It’s not dangerous by itself, but it means the cap has shifted or worn and should be inspected before it loosens further. If you’re hearing that noise in Fort Lauderdale, call (754) 354-1430 and we’ll take a look. A mounting adjustment often solves it without replacement.
Book Your Gelco Service in Fort Lauderdale, FL
If your Gelco chimney needs cleaning, inspection, or repair in Fort Lauderdale, call Flint Chimney Co Fort Lauderdale at (754) 354-1430. You’ll get a written price before any work begins and a one-year written guarantee on every repair. A live person answers the phone day or night.
Written by Hank Delano, Owner at Flint Chimney Co Fort Lauderdale, serving Fort Lauderdale since 2002.