Chimney services Northbrook homes and businesses can book
Work in Northbrook covers the full range of chimney, fireplace and dryer vent jobs. That includes sweeping and creosote removal, camera and real estate inspections, crown and tuckpointing work, and chimney repair for leaks, flashing and damaged masonry. We also put in new flues through chimney liner installation, repair wood-burning and gas fireplaces, and clean and reroute dryer vents.
What the housing data says about Northbrook homes
In Northbrook, 4.1% of housing units were built before 1940 and 34.2% between 1940 and 1969; the median year built is 1976 (source: CMAP Community Data Snapshot, American Community Survey 2020-2024 five-year estimates).
Taken together, that is about 38% of the village's housing built before 1970. A median year built of 1976 means about half of the housing units date from around then or earlier. So most homes here are old enough that the chimney, flashing and fireplace have been through decades of heating seasons.
In general, a chimney that has stood for several decades is worth checking for a few common problems. The list below covers them.
What we look at on an older chimney
- Mortar joints and the crown, where water gets in and freeze-thaw damage starts
- The flue liner, which can crack, shift or be missing in older masonry chimneys
- Flashing where the chimney meets the roof, a frequent source of leaks
- The damper and smoke chamber, which wear with years of use
Most of these issues can be fixed with targeted repairs. When the masonry above the roofline has deteriorated too far to patch, rebuilding the chimney from the damaged course up is the longer-lasting fix. Newer homes may have a factory-built fireplace and metal chimney instead of masonry, and those need their own checks of the chase, chase cover and firebox panels.
Northbrook's building codes and new fireplace or gas work
Northbrook's current building codes, approved by the Village Board on October 28, 2025 via Ordinance 2025-72, include the 2024 International Residential Code, Fuel Gas Code, and Mechanical Code with local amendments (source: Building Codes | Northbrook, IL).
In general, these model codes are where the requirements for fireplaces, chimneys, gas piping, gas appliance venting and dryer exhaust are found. That makes them most relevant when something new goes in, such as a gas insert, a new liner, a gas line or a new fireplace installation. Because the village adopted them with local amendments, Northbrook's adopted version is what applies, not the unamended model text.
Sources (2)
Facts and figures on this page come from these references.
- 1CMAP Community Data Snapshot | Northbrook
- 2Building Codes | Northbrook, IL
