Sweep & inspection
Caps & crowns
Flue relining
Masonry repair
Gas fireplace serviceLevel 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.
DuraFlex Chimney Cleaning in Onion Creek, TX | Boardwalk Chimney Sweep
We provide independent Onion Creek Chimney Sweep and DuraFlex repair across Onion Creek, TX, from the master-planned streets of 78747 to the homes rebuilt after the creek floods. What makes our DuraFlex work different here comes down to one thing: we know what Onion Creek water does to a factory-built fireplace. A standard sweep in this area can miss silt and rust hiding behind a gas log set that looks fine from the living room. If your DuraFlex system hasn’t been looked at since the Halloween floods, or if you’re getting a whiff of smoke when the gas logs kick on, call (877) 274-1247 for a free estimate.
Boardwalk Chimney Sweep handles the full cycle on DuraFlex equipment: DuraFlex sales & service knowledge, cleaning, inspection, and repair. We’re not tied to any manufacturer. We work for you, which means an honest answer about whether a part can be repaired or actually needs replacing. Brent Holloway, our owner, learned the trade through the HVAC and building systems program at ACC’s Riverside Campus and has spent years on the exact kind of prefab fireboxes you find throughout Onion Creek’s subdivisions.
Why Onion Creek Residents Choose Us for DuraFlex Service
Onion Creek isn’t a neighborhood where you call just anyone to poke around a gas fireplace. The housing stock here leans heavily toward 1990s and 2000s-era factory-built fireboxes, and a surprising number of them carry water history from the 2013 and 2015 floods. If a chimney company doesn’t know to look for silt-packed flues and rusted dampers in houses that otherwise present as clean and updated, they’ll miss the exact problems you called about. We know to look, because we’ve been in enough of these homes to expect it.
We’re an independent Garfield DuraFlex service provider, and that independence matters. We’re not manufacturer-affiliated, so our recommendation comes from what we see in your firebox, not a quota. We use OEM DuraFlex parts when a critical component like a liner or damper needs replacing, and we’ll say so plainly if a quality aftermarket part does the job just as well for standard hardware. That’s the same approach we’d take in our own houses. Brent’s line on this is simple: if you can smell the smoke inside, the chimney’s already telling you something – worth listening before it gets louder.
Styles & brands we work with
Common DuraFlex Chimney Cleaning Problems We Solve in Onion Creek
These are the five issues we see most often when we open up a DuraFlex system in 78747:
- Rusted dampers and firebox panels from flood exposure. Homes that took water in 2013 or 2015 often had dampers and metal firebox panels that sat wet for weeks before demolition and rebuild crews got to them. Rust starts at the seams and spreads. We inspect every damper surface for pitting that could seize the mechanism.
- Silt and debris blocking flues. Floodwater doesn’t just soak drywall. It carries fine silt into factory-built venting, where it settles and hardens into a crust that restricts draft. A gas log set pushing exhaust against a silted flue can backdraft carbon monoxide into the house. We clean the full vent run, not just the firebox.
- Corroded flexible liners from idle-period condensation. Central Texas fireplaces sit unused eight or nine months a year. Humid air rises into the flue, condenses against the metal, and sits. On flexible liners in gas-log inserts, that condensation pools at low points and eats pinholes through the liner wall. We find this constantly in Onion Creek’s direct-vent and B-vent setups.
- Spalling brick and mortar around prefab fireboxes. The moisture that floods and damp crawlspaces introduce doesn’t stay inside the metal. It migrates into surrounding masonry and mortar, where heat-cycling from occasional winter use causes faces to pop off. We inspect the firebox surround for signs of spalling before it becomes a structural issue.
- Smoky odor from gas log sets with blocked venting. When a flue is partially blocked, the first thing homeowners notice is a smoky or gassy smell during operation. We recently serviced a DuraFlex gas-log insert in Onion Creek Forest where the homeowner reported exactly that. The flue was partially packed with dried silt from the 2015 flood, and the damper had rusted nearly shut. We cleaned the entire vent run and replaced the damper with an OEM part. The odor was gone that evening.
DuraFlex Service in Onion Creek: What Local Conditions Mean for Your Equipment
Here’s a fact about Onion Creek that shapes our DuraFlex work more than anything else, and it’s not something you’d learn from a generic chimney page. The Halloween 2013 and 2015 floods put dozens of homes along Onion Creek under water, and many were rebuilt rather than torn down. That means there are houses in Onion Creek Forest and the surrounding 78747 developments where the firebox, venting, or damper absorbed floodwater that was never fully remediated because the insurance scope covered walls and floors, not fireplaces. We routinely find silt crusted inside flue walls and rust on damper hinges in houses that got a complete cosmetic rebuild after the floods. If your DuraFlex fireplace has never had a camera inspection since the floods, you may be running a gas log set against venting that’s quietly rotting from the inside out. Every Rollingwood DuraFlex service call we run in Onion Creek includess a moisture and debris check as part of the standard inspection, because in this neighborhood, skipping it is how problems hide for another five years.
DuraFlex Models & Products We Service in Onion Creek
We work on the full range of DuraFlex equipment found in Onion Creek homes, similar to our DuraFlex repair in Shady Hollow. That includes DuraFlex Direct-Vent Gas Fireplace Inserts, the prefab workhorses installed throughout the 1990s and 2000s builds in this area, plus pre-2010 DuraFlex Wood-Burning Fireplace Inserts that some original owners still run. We also service DuraFlex Vent-Free Gas Log Sets and factory-built DuraFlex flexible liner systems. On parts, we’re practical: OEM DuraFlex components for critical items like liners and dampers where fit and heat tolerance can’t be compromised, and proven aftermarket hardware for standard brackets, fasteners, and cosmetic trim. That balance keeps repairs affordable without cutting corners on safety.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterDuraFlex Service Pricing in Onion Creek
Chimney cleaning in Onion Creek typically runs between $180 and $340, depending on what’s in the flue and how far the vent run goes. A Level 2 inspection, which we recommend for any DuraFlex unit that hasn’t been looked at since before the 2015 flood, adds to that based on scope. Repairs vary from a simple damper replacement in the low hundreds to liner replacement, which we’ll always quote only after a camera inspection shows exactly what’s needed. We never recommend replacing a liner because it’s old. We recommend it because a camera image shows cracks, holes, or corrosion that compromise venting. Your free estimate includes the full inspection, photos from inside the flue, and a straight answer about what can wait and what can’t. Call (877) 274-1247 to book.
Serving Onion Creek, TX — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Onion Creek area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage — if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs – DuraFlex Chimney Cleaning in Onion Creek
The 2013 and 2015 floods left silt, rust, and moisture damage inside fireboxes and flues that standard sweeps don’t check for. If your home took water, your DuraFlex system needs a camera inspection at least once, even if the fireplace runs fine. This isn’t a sales pitch. We’ve pulled enough dried silt and rusted dampers out of rebuilt homes to know the risk is real. Call (877) 274-1247 to schedule a sweep with the moisture and debris check included.
Partial flue blockage is the most common cause we find in Onion Creek, usually from flood silt or years of dust accumulation during the long idle season. A rusted damper that won’t fully open creates the same symptom. We diagnose it with a quick camera run and fix it same-visit in most cases. Don’t ignore the odor; it means combustion gases aren’t venting the way they should. Call (877) 274-1247 for a free estimate.
We always lean toward repair when the firebox shell and venting are structurally sound. A rusted damper or face panel can be replaced without replacing the entire unit, and that’s usually the right call. Replacement only makes sense when rust has compromised the metal enough that heat cycling becomes a safety risk. We’ll show you the camera evidence either way.
Annual inspection is the standard for gas fireplace systems, and in Onion Creek, it’s especially worth keeping the appointment. Our humidity and long idle periods mean dust, moisture, and rust develop faster than in drier parts of Central Texas. If your unit predates the 2015 flood and has never been inspected, book one now rather than waiting for an odor to tell you something’s wrong.
Yes, we install gas log sets in existing DuraFlex wood-burning fireboxes, provided the firebox and venting pass inspection first. The conversion requires proper gas line routing and a venting configuration sized for gas rather than wood. We handle the full job, including the gas connection and damper adjustment, so you’re not coordinating with a separate plumber.
Service Areas Near Onion Creek
While we spend a lot of time in Onion Creek’s 78747 subdivisions, our service area stretches across the surrounding region. We regularly handle DuraFlex systems in DuraFlex service in Lago Vista, DuraFlex service in Hornsby Bend, plus Barton Creek, Lakeway, and Bee Cave. The same camera inspection and honest repair-first approach applies everywhere we go. If you’re in any of these areas with a DuraFlex unit that needs attention, one call covers it: (877) 274-1247.
Book Your DuraFlex Service in Onion Creek Today
Your DuraFlex fireplace is a factory-built system, and like any mechanical system, it needs a professional who knows the specific ways Onion Creek’s water and humidity work against it. Onion Creek service area coverage is our home turf. Call (877) 274-1247 for a free estimate, and we’ll get you on the schedule.
Written by Brent Holloway, Owner at Boardwalk Chimney Sweep, serving Onion Creek and the surrounding Central Texas communities.