Chimney Rebuilds in Studio City: Written Report, Licensed Technicians

The call came from a homeowner on the Moorpark Street corridor, a few blocks north of Ventura Boulevard. They'd bought a 1956 ranch-style home with a wood-burning fireplace they never used. The plan was simple: install a gas log set, skip the mess of real firewood, and enjoy the fireplace a few times each winter. Their gas log installer took one look inside the firebox and told them to call us first. The existing flue liner had deep vertical cracks, the mortar crown was missing chunks, and two courses of brick above the roofline were separating at the joints. A gas log conversion into that chimney would have vented combustion byproducts directly into the attic space.

This is a pattern we see repeatedly in the Ventura Boulevard flats and into Tujunga Village. Homes from the 1950s and early 1960s were built with single-wythe brick chimneys and no clay flue tile, or with tiles that cracked decades ago during Northridge or Sylmar quake activity. The chimney looks fine from the curb. Inside, the masonry has shifted just enough to create gaps that would let carbon monoxide migrate into living spaces once a gas appliance is connected. The homeowner thought they needed a $400 gas log set. What they actually needed was a partial chimney rebuild above the roofline and a new stainless steel liner before that gas log set could be safely installed. We scheduled a Level 2 inspection with interior camera scan for the following week.

Our CSIA-certified inspector ran a camera through the full flue length per NFPA 211 Level 2 protocol, which is required any time you change the fuel type in a fireplace. The scan confirmed what the gas log installer suspected: the original clay liner tiles had offset at three joints, with gaps measuring between a quarter inch and three-quarters of an inch. Above the roofline, seven courses of brick had separated from the internal flue structure due to decades of thermal cycling and earthquake micro-cracking. California building code requires that any rebuilt chimney section meet current seismic bracing standards, so we couldn't just repoint the exterior and call it done. We pulled a permit through Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, removed the damaged above-roofline masonry, and rebuilt with reinforced brick tied to a new concrete crown.

Inside the flue, we installed a continuous stainless steel liner sized for the BTU output of the gas log set the homeowner had already purchased. The new liner eliminated every gap the camera had found and gave them a UL-listed venting path from firebox to cap. Total project time was four working days. The homeowner in the Moorpark Street corridor now uses their fireplace regularly, with none of the draft smell or moisture staining they'd noticed before. If you own a 1950s or 1960s home anywhere in Studio City and you're considering a gas log conversion, get the flue scanned before you buy the logs. A rebuild may not be necessary in every case, but you won't know until someone looks inside.