Chimney rebuilding in Essex County, NJ
In Bloomfield, 38 percent of homes were built before 1940. A chimney that old can get to the point where fresh mortar will not hold the top together. At that point the top comes down to sound brick and goes back up new.
NJ HIC 13VH13268400 · Licensed and insured · Free inspection · Open 24 hoursModern Home Roofing & Chimney rebuilds brick chimneys on houses across Essex County, NJ, including Bloomfield, Maplewood, South Orange and Belleville. The median house in those towns dates from 1938 to 1951, so their chimneys have been through more than seventy winters. We take the stack apart down to sound brick and lay it up again. NJ HIC 13VH13268400.
When an Essex County chimney is past repointing
Maplewood's median house was built in 1938, South Orange's in 1946 and Bloomfield's in 1950. A chimney that age may have been repointed once or twice already. When the top courses rock under a hand and the crown is cracked through to the flue, another round of mortar is not going to hold them.
A rebuild opens the stack, and that is the time to look at the liner. It matters most when the chimney still vents a gas furnace or water heater. Gas heats 71 percent of homes in the county, and the water in its exhaust can be part of what wore the top out.
A chimney stands above the roof with rain and wind on all four sides. In the northern Central Zone, where winter storms often switch between rain and snow, a wet stack freezes and thaws many times a winter. Each round pushes the joints open a little more.
So the call on a rebuild gets made at the top of the chimney, with photos you can look at, never from the sidewalk.
How we decide an Essex County chimney needs rebuilding
Repointing is the cheaper fix, so it is the first thing we hope to price. A rebuild goes on the estimate only when the brick shows us mortar will not keep it together.
At the inspection, we look at
- Loose brick in the top courses that lifts out or rocks.
- A crown split clean through to the flue.
- How many courses down the joints are empty.
- Any lean, or a gap opening where the stack meets the roof.
- The liner, as far down as we can see from the top.
- On a two-family house, the ceilings near the chimney in both units, with your tenant's okay.
Sometimes the brick is better than it looks from the ground, and repointing will hold. If so, we tell you and price that instead. Chimney repair in Essex County
How a chimney rebuild works in Essex County
How long it takes depends on how far down the stack has to come. All seven steps are on the chimney rebuilding page.
Free inspection
We get up to the top when it is safe to and photograph the brick, crown, cap, flue and flashing. You see how far the damage goes before we talk about price.
Written estimate
How far down we expect to go, what goes back up and the price, on paper. Any permit goes on it too.
Down to solid masonry
We take the chimney apart brick by brick until we reach solid masonry. With the stack open, we check the liner and the framing and show you what we find.
Build it back and clean up
New brick and mortar go up course by course, with a new crown, cap and flashing. Then we haul the old brick away and go over the photos with you.
Do you need a permit for a chimney rebuild in Essex County?
It depends on your town. Rebuilding a chimney is not on New Jersey's list of ordinary maintenance or minor work, so the construction office in your town decides what paperwork it needs. Montclair has local historic districts, where exterior work needs a certificate of appropriateness, though repair or exact replacement that does not change how the house looks is exempt. We check with your town before we start, and any permit goes on the estimate.
What you can check on us first
- Our New Jersey Home Improvement Contractor license is 13VH13268400. Look it up with the Division of Consumer Affairs.
- We carry insurance and can send you the certificate before work starts.
- The inspection is free, and the estimate comes to you in writing.
- We are open 24 hours.
If it is in Essex County, yes. We cover all 22 municipalities, from Belleville to West Orange. Put your ZIP code in the estimate form and we confirm it when we call you back.
Each town sets what it wants. Rebuilding a chimney is not on the list of work New Jersey lets skip the permit process, so we ask your construction office before work starts. Whatever it requires goes on the estimate.
Yes. Repair or exact replacement that does not change how the house looks is exempt from the certificate of appropriateness. If the chimney would look different afterward, the town reviews it first. We check with Montclair before we start.
Often, yes. Most of the damage is usually above the roof line. We take the stack down until we reach solid brick and build back from there. The estimate says how far down we expect to go, and if we find more once it is open, we stop and show you before we go further.
The height of the stack and the number of courses that come off set most of it, plus any liner work and any framing that turns up rotted once the brick is open. We do not quote over the phone. The written price comes after we have stood at the top and handled the brick.
Find out how much of your chimney has to come down
Send your town and a note about the chimney. We call you back shortly, and the inspection is free. You get photos from the top and a written price, and if fresh mortar will hold, that is the price you see.
Or call 732-682-9251