Free, no-obligation quotes from independent local chimney companies for the former Fair ranch on both sides of Cibolo Creek.
Get a Free QuoteFair Oaks Ranch is a city of 10,728 (ACS 2024 5-year) on land oilman Ralph Fair, Sr. assembled in the 1930s as a racehorse and Hereford ranch. The family began developing it as a residential community in 1975, and the city incorporated on January 21, 1988 across Bexar, Kendall and Comal counties. It grew 22.0% between 2020 and 2025 (Census Vintage 2025 estimate: 12,025).
The housing splits in two. The median home was built in 2002: 46.1% of units date from 1970–1999 and 53.9% from 2000 or later; none predate 1970. Owner-occupancy is 97.3% across 3,728 occupied units, the second-highest on this site. In the ACS 2024 5-year heating-fuel series (table B25040), 77.5% of occupied homes heat with electricity, 16.3% with utility gas, 5.4% with LP gas and 0.8% with wood; in ZIP 78015 (median build year 2011) utility gas reaches 31.7%.
Original masonry chimneys and early factory-built fireboxes now 25 to 50 years old; the usual findings are a cracked crown, flashing pulled away from stone or stucco, a rusted chase cover and a damper that no longer seats. A camera Level 2 chimney inspection comes before any repair or relining quote.
Stone-veneer surrounds over prefab units, most with gas log sets, some on propane: a first sweep, a check of the refractory panels and glass, and a screened cap. Gas line work is done only by Texas-licensed plumbers or, for propane, Railroad Commission-licensed LP-gas companies; ask who will touch the gas.
San Antonio averages 14.0 nights a year at or below 32°F (NOAA 1991–2020 normals), so it is the rare hard freeze that does the damage: 9°F on February 15, 2021 with 4 days 12 hours below freezing, 18°F on January 17, 2024, and a 20°F minimum in winter 2026. Water that froze in a hairline crack in a 1980s crown shows up later as spalled brick and a ceiling stain beside the chimney breast. Crown, flashing and masonry repair and breathable waterproofing are the usual follow-up.
Fair Oaks Ranch's adopted codes are not covered in our research, so permits vary by city; your contractor confirms before a reline, rebuild or gas insert. A visible cap, shroud or chase cover may need architectural approval from the Fair Oaks Ranch Homeowners Association, which predates the city, so check your covenants.
Kendall County's burn ban ran through 2025 and was lifted on January 27, 2026, the Fire Marshal warning the removal "may be temporary"; its 2023 Community Wildfire Protection Plan puts 94 percent of county growth in the wildland urban interface. Bexar County's order effective November 11, 2025 restricted outdoor burning on unincorporated land for 90 days. Neither covers an indoor fireplace, but both argue for a spark-screened cap on every flue. Chimney swifts are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act; an occupied flue is capped after they leave, generally late October to February under Texas-wide guidance.
Typical national ranges from Fixr (2025) and Angi via Bob Vila (2023), estimates, not quotes: a chimney sweep $130–$380, a Level 2 inspection $150–$1,000, crown repair $750–$1,000, flashing repair $200–$300, a chase cover replacement $300–$700. Get a free quote. Nearby: Boerne, Helotes and the full service area.
Inside the city limits the city handles building permits regardless of county; its adopted codes are not covered in our research, so permits vary by city and your contractor confirms. County burn-ban orders apply only to outdoor burning on unincorporated land, not to an indoor fireplace.
Possibly. The Fair Oaks Ranch Homeowners Association predates the city, and a visible cap, shroud or chase cover is an exterior change, so check your covenants first. Texas Property Code 202.004 presumes an association's covenant decisions are reasonable, and 209.00505 sets out how an architectural-review denial is appealed. This is general information, not legal advice.
Only a Level 2 chimney inspection can say. A camera run through the flue shows cracked or missing clay tiles in a masonry chimney or a corroded pipe in an early prefab unit, and the written report with photos is what a relining quote should rest on. Typical national ranges put relining at $1,800 to $4,000, an estimate rather than a quote.
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