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 Cap & Crown Across Uniondale
Chimney cap and crown work in Uniondale is a coastal maintenance item, not a once-a-decade repair. The salty Atlantic air roughly 8 miles south of Uniondale corrodes galvanized caps in 5-7 years, leaves crown mortar crumbling at the drip edge, and sends water down brick that was never built for this much salt exposure. Top Hat Chimney has been seeing these exact failures on Uniondale’s post-WWII Capes and ranches since 1999, and we quote a flat price before any tool leaves the truck. Call (516) 963-1068 for a free estimate, and Wendell or one of his crew will walk you through what’s actually failing and what can wait.
Why Top Hat Chimney Is Uniondale’s Preferred Chimney Cap & Crown Company
Uniondale homeowners have a specific problem: single-stack masonry chimneys built between 1947 and 1965, originally sized for oil-fired boilers, now sitting in salt-laden air with caps that are rusting out and crowns that are losing their drip edge. We’re the local owner-operated shop that knows these houses because we’ve been inside hundreds of them. Wendell Pike founded Top Hat Chimney in 1999, and he still puts his name on every job. Ask anyone on your street. When a Uniondale customer calls, a live person answers, twenty-four hours a day, and it may well be Wendell himself. We give you a real arrival window and call if it slips, and the price you hear on the phone is the price on the invoice.
Run into Wendell on Saturday at the hardware store off Hempstead Turnpike and he’ll remember your chimney. That’s the difference between a local sweep and a franchise that rotated in last spring. We back every cap and crown job with our 90-Day Done Right Promise, in writing, on every single invoice. If it’s not done right, one call brings the crew back at no additional cost.
Our Chimney Cap & Crown Services in Uniondale
Cap Installation
Most Uniondale chimneys need a stainless cap, not another galvanized one. Galvanized steel starts failing the day the salt air hits it. A stainless cap, properly sized to your flue, keeps rain, leaves, and nesting squirrels out during nor’easter season and lasts decades longer. We stock caps sized for the oversized clay tile flues common on Uniondale oil-to-gas conversions, and we install them with a proper mechanical fastening system, not a friction fit that a stiff wind off the Atlantic will rattle loose.
Cap Replacement
If your original cap looks like lacework, it’s already failed. A cap that’s lost its mesh and rusted through at the corners is letting rain straight down the flue and inviting birds to move in. We replace corroded caps on Uniondale Capes and ranches regularly, and we always show you the old cap before it goes in the truck. You’ll see exactly why it failed. Then we size the replacement to the liner, not to whatever the last contractor had in the van. Our Chimney Cap & Crown team handles replacement the same visit.
Crown Repair
The crown is the concrete slab at the top of the chimney, and on Uniondale’s 60-75-year-old masonry chimneys it’s usually cracked, spalled, or missing its drip edge. Water runs off the crown, hits the underside, and works its way into the brick. Freeze-thaw cycles do the rest. We cut out deteriorated mortar, rebuild the crown with a proper overhang and drip edge, and seal it against further salt and moisture intrusion. This is the repair that stops the brick spalling you’re seeing on the upper courses.
Crown Coating
For crowns that are still structurally sound but porous, we apply a waterproof crown coating designed for coastal exposure. Uniondale’s constant salt mist and winter freeze-thaw makes this a maintenance item every few years, not a lifetime fix. We’ll tell you plainly if a coating is the right call this year or if the crown needs a full rebuild. Sometimes the honest answer is wait another season, and we’ll tell you that too. Free second opinion on any written estimate from another company, always.
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 service caps and crowns from Copperfield, Famco, Olympia Chimney, and Gelco, and we keep common sizes stocked for fast turnaround on Uniondale jobs. If an older Copperfield cap is still in good shape, we’ll service it rather than sell you a replacement you don’t need. When a replacement is warranted, we size it to the flue correctly, because a cap that doesn’t match the liner’s diameter is a draft problem waiting to happen on any oil-to-gas conversion. Wendell has been working with these brands for decades and knows which hold up in coastal Nassau County conditions.
Common Chimney Cap & Crown Problems We See in Uniondale Homes
- Galvanized caps corroded to lacework. The salt air eats through galvanized steel in 5-7 years. What’s left is a cap that keeps nothing out and leaks rust stains down the chimney face.
- Crown mortar failed at the drip edge. On 60-75-year-old masonry chimneys, the drip edge is the first thing to go. Water runs under the crown, soaks the brick, and spalls it in freeze-thaw cycles. You’ll see brick flakes on the shingles below.
- Flashing misdiagnosed as a roof leak. Salt mist corrodes the flashing around the single-stack chimney at the roofline. The leak shows up as a roof problem, but the source is the joint between the flashing and the crown. A Level 2 inspection finds it.
- Unpermitted flex liners from the oil-to-gas conversion era. Nassau County’s oil-to-gas wave in the 80s and 90s left Uniondale with cheap flex-liner patches, many installed without permits. Current county code requires a permitted, properly sized stainless liner. We uncover this regularly, and if you’re selling the house, it will come up before closing.
On a ranch off Jerusalem Avenue, our tech found a Famco galvanized cap with the mesh completely rusted out and a crown with hairline cracks shedding granules after last winter’s freeze-thaw. We cut out the spalled mortar, built a new crown with a proper drip edge, and capped it with a Copperfield stainless cap sized to the oversized clay tile flue. Then we noted the unpermitted flex liner from the 90s oil-to-gas conversion for a permitted reline before the owner lists the house.
Pricing for Chimney Cap & Crown in Uniondale, NY
A cap replacement in Uniondale typically runs $185-$425 depending on flue size and whether you need stainless or copper. Crown repair runs $395-$750, crown coating $225-$400, and a custom cap for an odd-sized flue runs $450-$900. Multi-flue caps on Uniondale ranches with two flues in one chimney run $350-$800. The numbers are honest, and they don’t change at the door. We also offer $40 off any repair over $200, no trip charge inside the county, and 10% off always for seniors and veterans. Call (516) 963-1068 and you’ll get a flat price before we schedule the truck.
We Also Serve Cities Near Uniondale
We run cap and crown calls in Hempstead, Roosevelt, West Hempstead, and Garden City, and we bring the same flat pricing and 90-Day Done Right Promise to every one of them. If you’re near the Uniondale border and wondering if we come to your street, call and ask.
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 Cap & Crown in Uniondale
Uniondale sits roughly 8 miles north of the Atlantic South Shore, which means constant salt-laden coastal air. Galvanized caps in Uniondale typically fail in 5-7 years, while the same cap in more inland Nassau communities like Garden City or Westbury can last 10-15. The salt accelerates corrosion at every weld and seam, and once the mesh is gone, the cap is doing nothing. If you want a cap that outlasts the salt, stainless is the only practical answer. Call (516) 963-1068 for a free estimate and we’ll show you exactly what the salt has done to your current cap.
Yes, we can replace the cap and the crown in the same visit, and we’ll tell you plainly if the crown can wait or needs doing now. Most 1950s Uniondale Capes have crowns with some degree of cracking, and if the crown is actively spalling or missing its drip edge, water is already working into the brick. Replacing the cap alone won’t stop that. We do the cap, fix the crown, and you’re done for the season. Call (516) 963-1068 and we’ll pull the camera footage so you can see the crown for yourself before you decide.
If your ranch has two flues in a single masonry stack, a multi-flue cap is the right call, and yes, we install them regularly on Uniondale’s post-WWII ranches. The alternative is two separate single-flue caps, but a properly sized multi-flue cap protects both flues, handles the shared crown better, and holds up to the wind loading off the Atlantic. We measure the crown dimensions on site and size it correctly. Call (516) 963-1068 for a free estimate, and we’ll tell you which option fits your chimney without overselling.
Every 3 to 5 years is a realistic interval for a Uniondale chimney, because of the salt air and the freeze-thaw cycles. If the coating is gone and the crown is porous, water gets in and spalling follows. We’ll inspect the crown each time we’re up there, and if it needs a coat, we’ll say so. If it doesn’t, we’ll say that too. Call (516) 963-1068 to schedule an inspection. Camera footage and a plain-English verdict, every time, no exceptions.
Sometimes, but not always. A properly sized stainless cap and a rebuilt crown can help by keeping the flue dry and the airflow consistent, but the bigger draft issue in Uniondale’s oil-to-gas converted chimneys is the oversized clay tile liner. Gas exhaust is cooler than oil exhaust, and a 4-inch clay tile flue sized for oil produces weak draft and condensation with gas. The real fix is usually a permitted, properly sized stainless liner. We’ll tell you which problem you actually have before recommending any work. Free second opinion on any written estimate. Call (516) 963-1068.
Contact Top Hat Chimney in Uniondale
If your chimney cap is rusted through, your crown is spalling, or you just want an honest look at what’s going on up there, call Top Hat Chimney at (516) 963-1068. Wendell founded this company in 1999 and still answers the phone. We serve Uniondale with flat upfront pricing, background-checked uniformed crew members, and the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing on every job. Free estimates, no trip charge inside the county, and honest advice whether you need the work now or can wait another year.
Written by Wendell Pike, Owner at Top Hat Chimney, serving Uniondale and surrounding Nassau County communities since 1999.