Draft Crew Phila Chimney serves Mantua, the West Philadelphia neighborhood of older rowhomes and twins just across the Schuylkill from Center City and beside University City. Mantua's mix of long-standing rows and houses in various stages of renovation gives its chimneys a particular range, from long-neglected stacks on older homes to flues reworked during recent rehabs, and a knowing crew reads both.
We sweep, inspect, repair, cap, reline, and rebuild chimneys throughout Mantua, opening every job with a documented inspection and a written estimate.
Mantua's older rows and homes in transition
Mantua is a neighborhood of older rowhomes and twins, many long held by the same families and others moving through renovation as the area changes, and that range shows up clearly in its chimneys. On the long-standing homes we find the stacks that come with age and deferred attention, flues unswept for years, crowns cracked, pointing washed out, and caps long gone, while on the houses being rehabbed we find chimneys that were reworked during the renovation, sometimes well and sometimes with the flue treated as an afterthought. Reading which kind of chimney is in front of us, and what its recent history did to it, is the start of every Mantua job.
The renovation activity in particular makes a real inspection valuable here. A house reworked for a new owner may have had its heating changed, a flue closed off, or a liner connected to a new appliance, and whether any of that was done correctly is not something you can tell from the firebox. We scan the flue, confirm what vents where, and check that the changes a renovation made left the chimney safe rather than just out of sight, because a reworked flue that draws poorly or leaks is a problem a fresh coat of paint does nothing to fix.
Close construction and the safety it raises
Like much of West Philadelphia, Mantua is built tight, with attached rows and closely spaced twins where the chimneys rise near one another and near shared walls. That closeness raises the same safety stakes it does across the area, a chimney fire or a leak on one stack is a concern for the attached neighbors, and a flue that vents a heater into an occupied home, whether owner-occupied or rented, is a safety system that has to be sound. On older Mantua homes in particular, where the chimney may not have been inspected in a very long time, that is reason enough for a careful look before heating season.
We work the flue with that in mind, scanning for the cracks and gaps that let flue gas escape, confirming the heaters vent cleanly, and checking that any flues closed off during a renovation are properly capped and sealed rather than just hidden behind drywall. On housing this old and this closely built, the honest read on whether the chimney is safe to use is the most important thing we hand a Mantua homeowner, and it is the foundation of every other decision about the stack.
One local crew for the whole Mantua chimney
Whatever your Mantua chimney needs, one local crew handles all of it, sweeping, inspection, caps, repairs, relines, and masonry, rather than a chain of subcontractors. Because the same team carries the whole job, the camera scan that finds the problem and the work that puts it right are joined up, and nothing falls through the gap between a sweep, a mason, and a roofer. The technician who inspects your flue is the one who repairs or relines it.
Every Mantua job gets the same standard as our West Philadelphia work. A documented inspection, a camera scan of the flue, an honest written estimate, and clean, careful work if you proceed, finished with a clean hearth and a workmanship warranty. We document everything and let you decide on your own timeline, because a homeowner who can see the evidence makes a better call.
Call 215-645-7658 for a documented Mantua chimney inspection.
The whole Mantua chimney, covered
Whatever your Mantua chimney needs, one crew handles it: chimney sweep, chimney camera scan, chimney patching, chimney caps, stainless liner installation, brick repair. We carry every job from the first inspection through the work to a documented walk-through.
We serve Mantua alongside nearby chimney sweep in West Philadelphia, University City, PA, chimney work in Overbrook, Wynnefield, PA, and the rest of the Philadelphia area. Typed chimney sweep near me into a search? Here we are. Head to the home page or call 215-645-7658 when you are ready.