Chimney questions, answered honestly

Yes, and with separate crews. Our North Shore work runs from Greenvale out through Glen Head, Roslyn, Glen Cove, Sea Cliff and Locust Valley. Our New Jersey work is centred on Tenafly and covers Cresskill, Demarest, Closter, Alpine, Haworth, Englewood Cliffs and Englewood. You are never waiting on a van stuck on a bridge — whoever is nearest to you is the crew you get.

A standard sweep with a camera inspection for one fireplace sits in the normal range for Nassau and Bergen counties, but we price after seeing the setup rather than quoting a number down the phone. An open fireplace and a wood insert with an offset flue are genuinely different jobs. What we will commit to is that the quote arrives before the work and does not move afterwards.

No. There is one call-out and one inspection fee covering the stack, and sweeping is priced per flue that actually needs it. What we will not do is inspect one flue, stay quiet about the other two, and let you find out about them years later. Multi-flue stacks are the norm in these towns and they get treated as one job.

Almost certainly yes, and this is the most common repair we carry out in both areas. Modern condensing appliances run cooler and produce far more moisture than the oil and coal systems these flues were built for, and that acidic condensate attacks masonry from the inside. A correctly sized stainless liner is the standard fix, and it is much better dealt with before a winter than during one.

Yes. A Level 2 inspection is the right standard for a property transfer — a camera scan of every flue, examination of the accessible parts of the chimney, and a written report with images that attorneys and home inspectors accept in both New York and New Jersey.

No. Drop cloths go down, the fireplace opening is sealed, and a HEPA vacuum runs for the whole job. Cleaning up is part of the work, not an extra line on the invoice.

It is the single most common issue we find, and on the wooded lots in both these areas it matters more than most places. Without a cap, rain goes straight down the flue, leaves pile up, and birds and squirrels nest in it until the flue is partly blocked. A cap is inexpensive, fits in one visit, and prevents a large share of the damage we later get called out to repair.

Fully insured, and we will send the certificate ahead of the appointment if you want it on file. Our technicians are CSIA-trained and we work to NFPA 211.