Nor'easters, heavy wet snow and deep cold all test a Plum chimney at once — cracked crowns, tired caps, flue tiles split by freeze-thaw. We check the whole system end to end, show you what failed, and fix it with the right part, not a guess.
Your information is kept private and used only for your fireplace service request.
The six services Plum homeowners call us for most — from a wood fireplace smoking into a drafty old house, to a gas insert that quit on the coldest night of the year.
Repair
Fireplace Repair
Any fireplace, any failure — diagnosed first, then fixed with the right parts. In Plum that often means a worn damper, tired ignition parts, or masonry-era hardware that finally gave up mid-winter.
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Repair
Gas Fireplace Repair
The dominant fireplace in newer Plum renovations, and the one we know best. Pilot that won't stay lit, dead remote, weak or lazy flame: gas systems diagnosed safely and repaired to code.
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Cleaning & Care
Fireplace Cleaning
Soot, dust and that stale closed-up smell removed from the firebox, glass and burner — the deep clean a fireplace needs after a full heating season of nightly fires.
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Cleaning & Care
Fireplace Inspection
Firebox, flue, venting and controls checked end to end, with a plain-language report. Buying, selling, or just inherited the fireplace? The inspection is where the facts come from.
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Install & Replace
Fireplace Installation
A new gas fireplace or an outdoor fire feature, done right: sizing, venting, gas and electric runs, finishing — one crew, start to first fire. Wood-to-gas conversions and new direct-vent units are where most of our Allegheny County installs land.
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Cleaning & Care
Fireplace Service & Maintenance
The annual service that keeps a Plum gas fireplace lighting first try: full clean, burner and pilot service, safety sensors tested, and a test fire before we leave. The fall appointment Plum regulars book before heating season starts.
Get a free estimateNeed something else — a damper, a blower, a smoke problem, a bird in the flue? We cover all 27 fireplace specialties. Call (888) 257-9181 and describe it.
Winter in Plum is long and cold, the housing stock is old, and many chimneys were built before modern flue standards existed. This is what we actually find here, and what we check for on every visit.
Colonial and nineteenth-century homes across Plum still burn in chimneys built for another era: clay flue tiles cracked by age, mortar gone soft, fireboxes worn thin. We inspect the full flue, not just the opening, and tell you plainly what is sound, what is repairable, and what is not safe to burn in.
A Plum fireplace is working heat, burned night after night for months — and steady burning lays down creosote that a single hot fire can ignite inside the flue. Regular cleaning is not cosmetic here. It is the core safety service, and the inspection that comes with it catches cracked tiles before they matter.
Generations of Plum homes heated with wood, coal or oil before converting, and the fireplaces carry that history: oversized old flues, sealed-off dampers, log sets fitted into fireboxes never built for them. We sort out what a conversion actually needs — liner, venting and sizing — instead of guessing from the hearth.
Where salt air reaches — the shore towns and coastal neighborhoods of Pennsylvania — metal caps, dampers and vent terminations corrode years faster than they do inland. Stainless parts rust through quietly, then rain follows. We check the metal at the top and in the firebox, and replace what is close to failing.
Plum sits in Allegheny County, and the ZIP list at the bottom of this page covers 1 serviceable ZIP codes — 15239 through 15239. The closest served neighbors are Penn Hills, Springdale, Monroeville, and every one of them is covered by the same crews, the same day, under the same number: (888) 257-9181.
Same-day service, free estimates, licensed & insured — and a fireplace that lights when you click the remote.
In an older Plum home the usual causes are a cold exterior flue at startup, creosote or a nest narrowing the flue, a rusted or stuck damper, or a house sealed so tightly by renovation that the fireplace cannot draw air. A tech checks them in order, on the spot, and fixes the actual cause.
Not until a tech has looked at how bad the cracking is. Flue tiles are the barrier that keeps heat and flame off the masonry and the framing behind it, and freeze-thaw cracks them in most older Northeast chimneys eventually. Gaps can call for a liner, which is a real fix, not a patch.
Usually the chimney itself: a cracked crown, a failed cap, porous old brick or mortar joints opened by freeze-thaw, letting water into the masonry and out through the wall beside the fireplace. We trace the entry point from the top down and repair the source, not just the stain.
That is usually downdraft: a tall, cold masonry flue sinks air into the room between fires, carrying soot and creosote odor with it. A top-sealing damper, a clean flue and a sound cap fix most cases. If the smell comes with soot staining or a damper that will not close, have it inspected.
Late summer or early fall, before the first real cold snap. Every neglected fireplace in Allegheny County seems to fail the same week in November, and that is when every company books up. A cleaning and inspection in September means your first fire of the season is a formality, not a gamble.
No — and be wary of anyone who does. Every fireplace fails differently, so a phone price is a guess that changes at your door. Our estimates are free: a tech looks at the actual problem, then gives you one clear price before any work starts.
Fireplace Team is a national company with local technicians serving Plum street addresses across the ZIP codes below — same-day service and free estimates, every day 8 AM – 8 PM. More of Pennsylvania is covered from our Pennsylvania page. The Plum list below covers 1 ZIP codes, 15239 through 15239.
Don't see your ZIP? Plum also uses P.O. Box and single-organization ZIP codes that have no street addresses — call (888) 257-9181 and we will confirm coverage for your street address on the call.
Also serving nearby: Penn Hills, PA · Springdale, PA · Monroeville, PA · Verona, PA · Arnold, PA · Lower Burrell, PA.
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