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.
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AfterFast, Reliable Chimney Cap & Crown Across Franklin Square
A chimney cap and crown replacement in Franklin Square typically runs $450-$1,400 depending on whether we’re sealing the crown, rebuilding it, or fitting a custom multi-flue cap over an aging masonry stack. Most jobs take one visit, and we carry the parts our crews actually need for the postwar Cape Cods and ranches that dominate this town. If you’ve got water staining near the flue, a cap that’s rusted through, or a crown that looks like a crumbling sidewalk, call Wendell and his crew at (516) 963-1068. We’ll give you a straight answer before a single tool comes off the truck.
Why Top Hat Chimney Is Franklin Square’s Preferred Chimney Cap & Crown Company
We’ve been working on Franklin Square chimneys long enough to know what’s behind the sheetrock before we knock on the door. Most homes here went up between 1945 and 1965, and their masonry chimneys are now 60 to 80 years old. That’s not a guess; it’s what we see from Hempstead Turnpike to the blocks off Dogwood Avenue. When a neighbor on Fenworth Boulevard calls about a cracked crown, we already know the house probably has an original terra-cotta liner and maybe an abandoned oil flue sitting next to the gas flue. That local knowledge means we show up asking the right questions instead of giving you a blank stare and a printed menu of upcharges.
Wendell Pike started Top Hat Chimney in 1999, and he has kept it owner-operated ever since. That matters in Franklin Square because you’ll see the same face the next time; you won’t get a rotating cast from some national outfit. Our crews are background-checked, uniformed, and they give you a real arrival window. If that window slips, we call you. And every job carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If something isn’t right, one call brings us back at no additional cost.
Our Chimney Cap & Crown Services in Franklin Square
We handle the full Chimney Cap & Crown scope for Franklin Square homeowners, from a simple cap replacement to a full crown rebuild with coating. Here’s what that looks like on the ground.
Cap Installation
New cap installation in Franklin Square usually runs $450-$800 for a standard single-flue stainless cap sized to your flue tile. We stock Olympia Chimney and Famco caps because they hold up to the salt-laden air off the Atlantic better than the cheap hardware-store versions. If your cap lacks a proper spark arrestor or animal screen, we’ll tell you. Squirrels and raccoons find open flues in Franklin Square every fall.
Cap Replacement
Rust never sleeps on Long Island, and Franklin Square’s nor’easters push rain horizontally into everything. A cap that’s been on a 1958 Cape Cod since the first Bush administration may look fine from the ground but be rusted through at the base. Replacement cap jobs here run $350-$650 when the flue tile is intact and accessible. We’ll show you the old cap before it goes in the truck.
Crown Repair
Here’s what we see constantly in Franklin Square: the crown concrete on a 60-80-year-old chimney weathers into a shallow bowl. Snowmelt pools, freezes overnight, and pops the top course of brick or the flue liner from the inside out. Crown repair runs $500-$1,000 depending on how much of the old crown needs to come out. We rebuild with a proper overhang and drip edge so water sheds away from the flue instead of into it.
Crown Coating
A Gelco crown coat runs $300-$600 in Franklin Square and buys years on a crown that’s cracked but still structurally sound. This is not paint. It’s a flexible, waterproof membrane that bridges hairline cracks and stops the freeze-thaw cycle from chewing the crown apart further. For older Franklin Square chimneys that don’t yet need a full rebuild, this is the honest middle option. We’ll tell you plainly if coating won’t be enough; the camera footage backs us up, every time, no exceptions.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Franklin Square
We install and service caps, crowns, and liners from Famco, Olympia Chimney, Gelco, and HeatShield. That means when a Franklin Square homeowner needs a replacement part, we’re not waiting on a backorder from a warehouse two states away. We stock what these aging masonry chimneys actually require, which keeps turnaround fast for homes around Rath Park and the side streets off Franklin Avenue. You’ll hear the brand name before you pay for it, and we’ll show you the part when it comes off the truck.
Common Chimney Cap & Crown Problems We See in Franklin Square Homes
- Abandoned oil flues left open after gas conversion. Most Franklin Square homes switched from oil to gas over the past two decades. The old oil flue often just sits there, uncapped, funneling rain and squirrels straight into the shared masonry stack. We find this on at least half the homes we visit.
- Crown concrete that’s become a birdbath. On 1945-1965 Cape Cods, the original crown was poured thin and without a drip edge. Sixty years of freeze-thaw later, it holds water like a saucer. That water works down into the flue and pops terra-cotta liners from the inside.
- Rusted cap bases lifting off the flue tile. Salt-laden mist off the Atlantic eats the mortar under multi-flue caps. A cap installed ten years ago can start lifting, leaving the raw flue liner exposed to nor’easter rain. We see this on chimneys all over Franklin Square, not just the ones near Southern State.
- Animal intrusion through missing or broken spark arrestors. Once a squirrel or mouse gets into an uncapped flue, the damper and firebox often clog with nesting debris. Even if the fireplace flue has a cap, an abandoned oil flue without one becomes a highway straight into your chimney structure.
Pricing for Chimney Cap & Crown in Franklin Square, NY
Here are the numbers we quote most often for Franklin Square work. A standard cap installation or replacement runs $350-$800. Crown repair with partial rebuild runs $500-$1,000. Crown coating runs $300-$600. A custom multi-flue cap, which is common here because of the double-flue postwar stacks, runs $600-$1,400 depending on material and the size of the crown it sits on. What drives the price up is flue access; if your chimney is on a steep pitch or the crown is badly deteriorated, the labor increases. We give you the number before work starts, and the number on the phone is the number on the invoice. Estimates are free. Call (516) 963-1068 and Wendell or one of his crew will walk you through it. If you’ve got a written estimate from another company, we’ll give you a free second opinion.
We Also Serve Cities Near Franklin Square
Top Hat Chimney’s Franklin Square service area reaches West Hempstead, New Hyde Park, Garden City, and Floral Park. If you live just over the town line, the same crew covers you with the same 90-Day Done Right Promise and the same upfront pricing. No trip charge inside the county.
Serving Franklin Square, NY - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Franklin Square 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 Cap & Crown in Franklin Square
Yes, if that flue is open. The answer changes if the oil boiler was converted to gas years ago and the old oil flue is now abandoned. In that case, the flue is doing nothing except collecting rain, nesting animals, and sending moisture into your shared chimney structure. That’s not a future problem; that’s a current one. We recommend capping it now, not after a nor’easter does the damage. Call (516) 963-1068 for an exact quote.
From the ground, look for white efflorescence staining on the brick just below the crown, pieces of mortar or crown concrete in the gutter, or a damp smell inside the firebox after heavy rain. You may also see thin cracks in the crown from a ladder at the gutter line. The reliable way is a camera inspection; we run a Level 2 camera and show you the footage before recommending any work. Your flue doesn’t care how the fire looks. It cares how it breathes.
Yes, and yes. A custom multi-flue cap can cover the live gas flue and the abandoned oil flue in a single unit, as long as we confirm the crown is sound enough to anchor it. In Franklin Square, most original masonry chimneys share a single stack with two flues side by side, so this is exactly the situation we install Copperfield and Olympia multi-flue caps for every season. We’ll show you the old oil flue’s condition on camera first. Call (516) 963-1068 and we’ll set it up.
You need the camera inspection because a cap sits over the flue, and if the flue liner inside is already cracked or spalled, a new cap just hides the problem. In Franklin Square, with oil-era terra-cotta liners now 60-80 years old, we find liner damage on a large share of cap jobs. The camera footage is yours to see, on-site, before we quote anything. Nothing is recommended without camera evidence you can watch yourself. That’s the rule.
A crown coating like Gelco seals hairline cracks and stops water from entering the crown’s surface. On a 60-year-old crown that’s cracked but not crumbling, coating buys you years before a full rebuild. If the crown is already spalled and missing chunks, coating won’t hold; we’ll tell you that and show you why. For most Franklin Square Capes with original crowns, coating is the honest middle step between doing nothing and a full rebuild. Call (516) 963-1068 for a straight read on your chimney.
Written by Wendell Pike, Owner at Top Hat Chimney, serving Franklin Square and Long Island since 1999.