Houston, Texas. Founded 2008.
A full-trade fireplace shop in Houston, Texas. Eighteen years of installs, eight trades on one payroll, and a written warranty on every job. From swap-out to rebuild, we do the whole project ourselves.
Reply within one business day. Call 832-242-8155 for anything urgent.
18+
Years on the job
Building fireplaces and the trades around them since 2008.
08
Trades in-house
Masonry, welding, plumbing, electrical, roofing, framing, sheetrock, tile.
100%
USMC veteran owned
Marine Corps clock and standards on every project we run.
The eight-trade fireplace shop
Chim-Tex started in 2008 as a one-man chimney sweep with a pickup and a brush. Eighteen years later it is a full-trade construction company.
The work that drives the calendar is fireplace installation and rebuild. The work that lets us deliver those projects without coordination drama is the eight construction trades we kept under one roof. Most fireplace contractors in Houston bundle four to six subcontractor crews for every project. We hire the trades directly.
The same crew that frames the chase also runs the venting, installs the firebox, lays the surround tile, and patches the ceiling. One schedule. One bill. One person accountable.
What we do
New installs, swap-outs, custom builds, outdoor work, repair, and the eight trades that let us deliver the rest. Each project closes with a written workmanship warranty.
Rough-in to mantel in one engagement. Framing, venting, gas, ignition, surround, and trim. All the same crew.
Direct-vent gas, wood-burning, electric, custom builds.
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02Out with the old prefab. In with a code-current unit. We address the venting and chase problems that come with the original.
Gas log swap, wood-to-gas conversion, appliance specialist.
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03When the architecture pushes past a factory unit, we fabricate the firebox ourselves. Welded steel shells, see-through configurations, floor-to-ceiling stone.
Architect collaboration, custom welding, premium stone.
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04Half our calendar between March and November. Built for Houston climate: humidity, sun, the occasional hurricane.
Patio builds, outdoor kitchen integration, coastal-rated.
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05Cracked fireboxes. Failed venting. Water intrusion. Gas leaks. The "I do not think this is right" feeling. We diagnose, document, and quote.
CSIA-certified sweep, Level 1 and 2 inspection, real-estate reports.
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06Most fireplace contractors juggle four to six subcontractor crews. We employ the trades directly. One crew. One schedule. One bill.
Masonry, welding, plumbing, electrical, roofing, framing, sheetrock, tile.
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What we install
A modern linear gas install and a wood-burning rebuild are not the same job with different cosmetics. Different trades, different code, different chimney structure, different cost. We work all four.
The Woodlands install
The defining premium-fireplace style of the 2020s. Modular masonry linear gas is a category of its own, distinct from full masonry, from factory-fabricated metal box units (Heat & Glo, Town & Country, Montigo), and from custom builds. We do all four; this is the one that anchors most premium new construction.
Sugar Land install
Houston backyards spend more days in active use than indoor living rooms. Built to handle the humidity, the sun, and the occasional hurricane. Gas line tie-in, slab integration, and surround all in-house.
Southampton (north of Rice Village) install
Real fire still has a market in Texas. Custom homes, second homes, lake-country builds. Wood-burning is the most code-sensitive work we do. Class A chimney, NFPA 211, IRC and IFGC all apply. We do it by the book.
Lou's own home in Houston
One feature, two rooms. Indoor on one side, covered porch on the other. The most-requested premium configuration in the Houston metro for new builds. The one at Lou's own home is the reference install.
The shop
Most fireplace contractors keep one trade in-house and call subs for the rest. Coordinating those subs is where projects fall apart. We hire the trades directly. The same crew that frames the chase also runs the venting, installs the firebox, and finishes the surround. No coordination calls. No waiting on subs. The shop is the team.
Masonry
Welding
Plumbing
Electrical
Roofing
Framing
Sheetrock
Tile
Why Chim-Tex
The work that earned the tagline. Eighteen years of installs, eight trades on one payroll, and the kind of discipline that keeps a job on quote and on schedule.
When most fireplace contractors quote a job, they are bundling four to six subcontractor crews. Coordinating those crews is where projects fall apart. Our eight trades are all employees on our payroll. One crew. One schedule. One person accountable.
Founded in 2008. We have rebuilt enough rusted-out coastal fireboxes, repaired enough hurricane-damaged chimneys, and inspected enough builder-grade prefab installs to know the failure modes you will not find in a manufacturer brochure.
Lou served in the Marine Corps before starting the company. The crew runs on Marine Corps clock and Marine Corps standards. The site is clean at the end of every day. The truck is gone before the family eats dinner.
Other chimney sweeps and fireplace contractors refer their hard cases to us. That is where the tagline came from. We did not pay for the reputation. We earned it doing the work the rest of the trade could not figure out.
Fully licensed and bonded for the trades we perform. General liability, workers compensation, and tools coverage. Certificates of insurance issued to the homeowner before the first day of work. Always.
Every quote shows the trades broken out: framing line item, venting line item, masonry line item. You see what you are paying for and where the dollars go. No cost-plus surprises after the fact.
How a project actually runs
Every project moves through the same five steps. Simple swaps move through faster. Custom builds take more time on the front end. The structure does not change.
Send a couple of photos and a quick description. We tell you within a business day whether the project is in our wheelhouse and what the rough range is.
No high-pressure pitch. No "free consultation" hard sell.
We come look at it in person. Measure, check the chase or venting, look at gas line access, talk through what you want. Free across the Houston metro.
A real quote starts with eyes on the wall.
A written quote with the trades broken out line by line. Materials, labor, permits if required, and the timeline.
No allowances that balloon mid-project.
On the agreed start date the crew shows up with everything they need. We work the planned sequence. No waiting on subs. Daily clean-up is part of the work.
The site is clean before the truck leaves.
Final inspection where required. Walk-through to verify every component. Written workmanship warranty. We answer the phone after the project closes too.
The job is done when you say it is done.
Service area
Headquartered at 14300 Northwest Fwy in Houston. Regular service across the Houston metro suburbs, the Texas Gulf Coast, the major DFW and Austin metros, east Texas, and west Texas. Travel projects considered anywhere.
Houston metro
Houston, The Woodlands, Spring, Cypress, Katy, Sugar Land
Texas Gulf Coast
Galveston, Corpus Christi, Port Aransas, Rockport, Port Lavaca, South Padre
DFW and Austin
Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio
East and West Texas
Tyler, Lubbock, El Paso, plus travel routes between
Frequently asked
A direct-vent gas appliance with basic stone surround runs $7,500+ installed. A custom-built linear gas fireplace with marble or premium stone surround runs $40,000+. A premium architectural build runs $85,000+. An outdoor patio fireplace runs $15,000+ depending on size, materials, and how much site prep is involved. We do not put a cap on the high end because premium projects justify what they justify. We give written flat-rate quotes after a site walk so you know the number before signing anything.
Anything involving a new gas line, structural framing changes, or chimney construction usually requires a permit in Harris County and the surrounding jurisdictions. We pull the permits, schedule the inspections, and provide the closed-out paperwork at handoff. A simple gas-log swap inside an existing firebox usually does not require a permit.
A straight gas-appliance swap runs two to four working days. A new build with framing, venting, masonry, and finish work runs three to six weeks. Custom outdoor builds with significant site work can run six to ten weeks. The timeline goes in the written quote so there are no surprises.
Yes. We headquarter in Houston but cover all of Texas and travel anywhere for the right project. Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and the Gulf Coast cities like Galveston, Corpus Christi, and Port Aransas are regular travel markets. See the service areas page for city-specific information.
Most of the time, yes. Replacing an old gas log set with a modern direct-vent unit usually requires minimal demo. Swapping an open wood-burner for a closed-combustion unit is more involved but still preserves most of the existing surround. Full custom builds and outdoor builds are the work that involves significant construction. We tell you what is required at the site walk.
Yes. Fully licensed for the trades we perform, bonded, and insured for general liability and workers compensation. Certificates of insurance go to the homeowner or general contractor before the first day of work. We are happy to provide documentation on request.
Talk to Lou
A couple of photos and a description is enough. Within a business day we tell you whether it is a repair, a swap, or a full rebuild, and what each one would run.
Lou reads every message. Reply within one business day.
