How Emberly Chimney Cleaners Boulder Was Born in Boulder
We remember the exact afternoon. It was late fall in Boulder, 2009, and we’d just watched a homeowner on Mapleton Hill pay for a second sweep because the first company never ran a camera, missed a cracked flue tile, and blamed the resulting smoke backup on “wind pressure.” The homeowner believed them. Paid again. Still had a cracked flue.
That was the moment. We were already working under the Emberly Chimney Cleaners name in another market, and we knew what bringing that operation to Boulder would mean: every inspection gets a camera scan, every customer gets the footage, and nothing gets called “fine” unless we can prove it on screen. The industry here was still selling flashlight glances as peace of mind. We opened this branch to stop that.
The promise we made that day, standing in that driveway with the Flatirons going orange behind us, was simple. No one in Boulder would pay us to guess. Clause 4 of the Haven Standard - evidence on every job - was not going to be an upsell here. It was going to be the floor.
Corrine Halstead’s Personal Connection to the Chimney Cleaning Trade
Corrine Halstead did not plan on chimneys. The plan, back then, involved a lot more spreadsheets and a lot less creosote. But a rental property in Louisville changed that. The flue was lined with glazed creosote so thick it looked like obsidian, and three companies gave three different diagnoses without once putting a camera down. One said burn hotter. One said it was fine. One quoted a full relining without looking past the smoke chamber.
So Corrine learned to look. Bought a used chimney camera from a retiring sweep in Erie, spent a weekend in a crawl space figuring out how to thread it past a damper, and found the actual problem: a partially collapsed clay liner that was channeling exhaust into the wall cavity. The smell of old soot and the grainy green screen of that first camera feed - that’s what stuck. The realization that most of what homeowners fear, and most of what they’re sold, dissolves the moment someone actually shows them what’s there.
That was over 17 years ago. Since then, Corrine has been out in every weather Boulder throws at us: January mornings in Niwot with the wind cutting through the foothills, September evenings in Lafayette when the first cold snap hits and everyone’s burner kicks on at once. The work still comes down to that same thing - lowering a camera into a dark tube and telling someone the truth about what lives in their walls. Corrine will tell you there’s no rush like finding a blocked flue before it becomes a 911 call, and no satisfaction like showing a homeowner the clear scan that lets them sleep through a winter storm.
If this work didn’t exist, Corrine would probably be fixing old motorcycles or arguing about trail maintenance on Flagstaff. Something with visible mechanics and a right way to do it. The chimneys won because they needed her more.
Meet Corrine Halstead - The Person Behind Every Job
Corrine Halstead is the Owner and Founder of Emberly Chimney Cleaners Boulder. She holds the licenses and insurance required by Colorado for chimney and venting work, and every technician working under this branch operates under those same requirements.
Corrine trained under the tradespeople who built Emberly’s original camera archive - the one that proved liners failed before fires, not after. She knows the difference between a DuraFlex stainless liner and a Copperfield clay replacement, and she’ll explain it without talking down to you. She has personally inspected flues in every neighborhood we serve, from the historic homes on Boulder’s west side to the new construction in Erie and Frederick.
What separates Corrine from a corporate franchise technician is simple: she’s the one who answers when something goes wrong. Not a regional manager. Not a call center. Her cell number goes on every invoice, and she means it when she says to use it.
Outside of work, Corrine is the person who still carries a paper notebook because screens die in cold truck cabs. She believes in writing things down. That habit became Clause 1 of how we operate here.
Her commitment to you is direct: every chimney we touch gets the same inspection Corrine demanded for her own rental that first winter. No exceptions, no shortcuts, no trust-me handshakes.
Before
AfterOur Promise to Boulder Homeowners
Our values aren’t posters on a wall. They’re the rules we set after getting burned, and after watching others get burned worse.
Honest pricing, in writing, before we start. This is Clause 1 of the Haven Standard. Corrine still remembers the invoice that doubled mid-job at her Louisville rental. We don’t do that. Our flat-price sweep is agreed in writing before booking, and the scope doesn’t creep once we’re on your roof.
Quality parts that we can name. When a liner needs replacing, we spec Gelco or HeatShield systems we trust enough to put in our own properties. We tell you the manufacturer, the model, and why it fits your flue. No “proprietary” parts, no mystery sourcing.
Standing behind every job with evidence. Clause 4 again. You get the camera footage. You get the photo report. If we recommend a repair, you see what we saw. If work can safely wait, we say so plainly, and we document why. That archive of documented jobs is how we sleep at night.
Our Credentials
- State-licensed for chimney, fireplace, and venting work in Colorado
- Insured & bonded - coverage held at levels required for residential work in Boulder County and surrounding jurisdictions
- Years of local experience serving Boulder, Niwot, Louisville, Lafayette, Erie, Broomfield, Longmont, Westminster, Frederick, Arvada, Thornton, and Wheat Ridge
- Strong local reputation built on documented inspections and repeat customers across the Front Range
Why this matters when you hire someone to work in your home: a state license means Corrine Halstead and every technician under this branch has met Colorado’s training and examination requirements for this trade. Insurance and bonding mean if something goes wrong - a ladder slip, a damaged roof tile, a flue scratch - you’re not negotiating with someone’s personal checking account. And local experience means we know Boulder’s permit process, we know which historic districts have specific venting rules, and we know the difference between a flue that serves a decorative fireplace and one that’s running your primary heat source in a January cold snap.
Rooted in Boulder
This branch runs out of Boulder, not around it. Corrine lives here. The trucks get serviced at the shop off Valmont, not shipped in from Denver. We’ve swept chimneys in the Mapleton Hill historic district, camera-inspected flues in the new builds off Arapahoe, and cleared bird nests from caps in Martin Acres before the first freeze.
We don’t sponsor little leagues we don’t attend or claim roots in neighborhoods we’ve never worked. What we know is this: Boulder’s inversion days trap smoke against the foothills, which means your draft performance matters more here than in windier plains towns. We know the city requires permits for liner replacements in certain zoning districts, and we pull them. We know which months the chimney swifts nest, and when it’s legal to disturb them.
Emberly Chimney Cleaners sets the standard. This branch - Corrine’s branch - makes it matter in the specific houses, with their specific flues, on the specific streets where we live and work.
Written by Corrine Halstead, Owner at Emberly Chimney Cleaners Boulder, serving Boulder and the Front Range since 2009.