Level 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.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterFast, Reliable Chimney Liner & Rebuild Across Uniondale
A chimney liner replacement or rebuild in Uniondale typically costs between $2,800 and $6,500, depending on whether we’re relining an existing flue or tearing down and rebuilding the stack above the roofline. Most liner jobs take one to two days; a full rebuild runs three to five. If you’re off Hempstead Turnpike, Jerusalem Avenue, or in the blocks near Smith Street, we already know the chimney style you’re dealing with, because they’re nearly all the same post-WWII masonry stacks. Call (516) 963-1068 for a straight answer about what yours needs.
Uniondale’s housing stock is not a mystery to us. Wendell Pike has worked these chimneys since 1999, and the crews have been inside more Uniondale flues than we can count. The town’s Capes and ranches, built between 1947 and 1965, share the same original 4-inch clay tile liners, the same oil-to-gas conversion history, and the same salt-air exposure that eats flashing and caps faster than people expect. We’re not showing up to learn your neighborhood. We already know it.
Why Top Hat Chimney Is Uniondale’s Preferred Chimney Liner & Rebuild Company
Wendell puts his own name on the work. That is not a slogan. It means the guy who measures your flue, runs the camera, and writes the quote is the same guy who owns the company, answers the phone, and runs into you again at the supermarket on Saturday. Uniondale homeowners who have been burned by national outfits that sent a stranger and changed the price at the door tend to appreciate that.
The 90-Day Done Right Promise is in writing on every job. If something is not right, one call brings Wendell and the crew back at no charge. No fine print, no “according to our policy” runaround.
We work with DuraFlex, Olympia Chimney, and Copperfield products because they hold up in coastal Nassau County conditions. Parts are typically on the truck or sourced same-week, so a Uniondale liner job does not drag on for a month.
The phone rings and a live person answers, twenty-four hours a day. It may well be Wendell picking up at 2 a.m. after a nor’easter has knocked a cap loose. Try that with a franchise.
Our Chimney Liner & Rebuild Services in Uniondale
Stainless Steel Liner
For gas appliances and wood-burning fireplaces alike, a rigid or flexible stainless liner is the code-compliant fix for a compromised clay tile flue. In Uniondale, where the overwhelming majority of homes converted from oil to gas decades ago, the original 4-inch clay tiles are often cracked from acidic condensate. A properly sized stainless liner, typically 316L alloy for coastal exposure, stops flue gases from leaking into the chase and restores the draft your appliance was designed for. Nassau County code requires a permit for this work, and we file it for you.
Flexible Liner
Flex liner is the right tool when your flue bends or offsets anywhere between the firebox and the crown. In the tight framing of a Uniondale Cape Cod, that is common. We install code-rated flexible stainless liners from brands like DuraFlex, sized to the appliance and insulated where code requires. What we will not do is slide a cheap flex patch over a failing flue and call it a day, which, frankly, is exactly what happened to a lot of Uniondale chimneys back in the 1980s.
Liner Replacement
If your existing metal liner is pitted, rusted through, or pulling away from the clay tile at the smoke chamber, replacement is the honest fix. We see this constantly in Uniondale: a Gelco flex liner from the 1990s that was never permitted, sagging behind the damper and hiding creosote the homeowner could not see. We pull the old liner, document what we find on camera, and install a new stainless liner sized for what actually burns in the firebox now, not what burned there in 1962.
Partial Rebuild
When the liner is done but the chimney above the roofline is also failing, a partial rebuild replaces the damaged section of brick and mortar while preserving what is still structurally sound. In Uniondale, the typical problem is the top five or six courses of brick, where salt air and freeze-thaw cycles have spalled the faces and loosened the joints. We rebuild that section, reset the crown with a proper overhang and drip edge, and flash it correctly so water stops coming in.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Uniondale
We install and stand behind products from DuraFlex, Olympia Chimney, and Copperfield. These are the brands that make sense for Uniondale’s coastal conditions: 316L stainless alloy that resists salt corrosion, properly welded seams, and insulation kits that meet code for gas conversions. We stock the common sizes locally, so a standard Uniondale lined flue does not wait three weeks on a distributor. If you have an existing liner from a brand we did not install, we will still inspect it, camera it, and give you a written verdict on whether it is safe to leave in place.
Common Chimney Liner & Rebuild Problems We See in Uniondale Homes
– Salt-corrupted galvanized caps and flashing. Uniondale sits roughly eight miles north of the Atlantic South Shore. Salt-laden air eats galvanized steel in five to seven years, leaving caps rusted thin and flashing lifted. Once that barrier fails, water gets behind the crown and into the brick, and the freeze-thaw cycle does the rest.
– Original 4-inch clay tile liners cracked by gas conversion. Those liners were sized for high-heat oil combustion. Natural gas burns cooler and wetter, producing acidic condensate that erodes clay tile mortar joints and cracks the tiles. Most Uniondale homes with original clay liners are overdue for a camera inspection, whether they burn wood or not.
– Unpermitted 1980s flex-liner patches. The oil-to-gas conversion wave prompted many Uniondale homeowners to have cheap flex patches installed without permits. Those liners sag, separate at the firebox, and hide what is behind them. If you are selling your house, a Nassau County code violation in the flue will come up at closing.
– Crown cracking from nor’easter-driven freeze-thaw. The crown is the flat concrete cap on top of the chimney, and it takes the brunt of Uniondale’s winter weather. Water soaks into hairline cracks, freezes, expands, and pops chunks loose. Once the crown fails, the brick below it starts moving within a few seasons.
Pricing for Chimney Liner & Rebuild in Uniondale, NY
We Also Serve Cities Near Uniondale
Top Hat Chimney covers Uniondale and the surrounding Nassau County communities, including Hempstead, Roosevelt, West Hempstead, and Garden City. If you are a few blocks over the line, give us a call. Same crew, same Chimney Liner & Rebuild expertise, and no trip charge inside the county. Most of our Uniondale neighbors find us by word of mouth from a street or two away in Uniondale, and we take that word seriously. We are not a franchise that rotates in and out. We live with the reputation.
Serving Uniondale, NY - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Uniondale 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 - Chimney Liner & Rebuild in Uniondale
Why do I need a Level 2 inspection before you replace my Uniondale liner?
A Level 2 inspection, which includes running a camera through the entire flue, is required by code before any liner replacement in Uniondale because we must document the existing condition, identify any unpermitted prior work, and size the new liner to the appliance. You get the camera footage and a plain-English verdict, every time, no exceptions. If the inspection shows your existing liner is safe, we will say so and you owe nothing beyond the inspection. Call (516) 963-1068 to schedule.
My 1960s ranch still has its original 4-inch clay tile liner and I burn wood occasionally - is that safe?
Probably not. The clay tile liners installed in Uniondale’s 1960s ranches were sized for oil-fired boilers. Decade of thermal cycling, plus chemical changes from any fuel switch, almost always leave these tiles cracked or offset. A cracked clay liner can let flue gases into the chase and sparks into the framing. If you burn wood, even occasionally, creosote builds on those rough, cracked surfaces and creates a chimney fire risk. One camera inspection gives you the answer in twenty minutes. Call (516) 963-1068 and Wendell will walk you through what the camera shows.
Does salt air near Uniondale really corrode a stainless steel liner?
It corrodes the wrong stainless steel. Lower-grade alloys and most galvanized components will pit and rust within five to seven years of Uniondale’s coastal exposure. That is why we install 316L alloy liners from DuraFlex, Olympia Chimney, and Copperfield for Uniondale homes: it is the grade designed for salt-laden air. A properly installed 316L liner should last decades. A cheap 304 liner or an old galvanized cap will not.
How often should I inspect my chimney crown and flashing in Uniondale given the coastal exposure?
Every two years, minimum. Uniondale’s combination of salt air, nor’easter-driven rain, and freeze-thaw winters puts more stress on crowns and flashing than inland Nassau communities see. Galvanized flashing typically fails in five to seven years here. Hairline crown cracks open up within two or three winters if not sealed. A quick visual inspection from the roof or with a drone camera catches most problems before they become rebuilds. Call (516) 963-1068 for a free estimate on an inspection.
I have an old unpermitted flex liner from the 1990s - can you just reline over it?
No. You cannot legally install a new liner over an unpermitted one in Uniondale. Nassau County code requires the old liner to be removed, the underlying clay tile inspected, and the new stainless liner sized and permitted correctly. On a Cape off Jerusalem Avenue, we found a Gelco flex liner from the 1990s that had never been permitted and was pulling away from the clay tile at the smoke chamber. We pulled it, rebuilt the smoke chamber parge, and installed a code-compliant DuraFlex stainless liner sized for the gas boiler, then filed the Nassau County permit so the homeowner could close without a disclosure headache. If you have an old liner and you’re not sure whether it is legal, call (516) 963-1068. We will camera it and tell you exactly what you have.
Written by Wendell Pike, Owner at Top Hat Chimney. Wendell has worked on Long Island chimneys since 1999 and personally oversees every liner and rebuild job in Uniondale.