Chimney contractor

Can you please recommend a reliable chimney contractor to rebuild and reline
the chimney on the roof our townhouse in Brooklyn? Thank you

greenbanc

in Exteriors 2 years and 1 month ago

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stoopsitter | 2 years and 1 month ago

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It’s a real issue! The problem being that the party wall between our houses isn’t thick enough. So even though we had a very costly, high quality terracotta flue installed inside the original chimney, it wasn’t enough to stop the heat of a wood burning fire (which is considerable) penetrating to the other side.

ysabil | 2 years and 1 month ago

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Stoopsitter, very glad you responded to this thread. I have a strong suspicion we have exactly the same situation with our fireplaces. I will do some sleuthing with others on the block before we spend any money on rebuilding fireboxes and relining flues. Don’t think our neighbor would be too happy if their wall ended up heating up alarmingly every time we used the fireplace…!

stoopsitter | 2 years and 1 month ago

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Bob, They really do look like conventional fireplaces. All have “summer grilles.” What we didn’t realize was that these performed as vents. Hot air rose up the flues from the coal-burning furnace in the cellar.

RobertGMarvin

in Exteriors 2 years and 1 month ago

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Stoopsittwr,
Were your fireplaces literal dummies, or were they intended for gas logs, like the ones in my 1899 house?

stoopsitter | 2 years and 1 month ago

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We used Andre of A&A Chimney & Fireplace: 718-953-2836. aafireplacenyc dot com. He is terrific. Experienced, honest and easy to communicate with. However a word of advice before you start on this project. We discovered after the fact ($15k spent — over 10 years ago — to rebuild two fireplaces and flues) that the fireplaces in our brownstone were NOT built for wood or coal burning as we had assumed. This wasn’t our chimney mason’s fault. He had no way of knowing. We should have done better due diligence, i.e. talking to neighbors in our row of houses. It turned out our fireplaces were decorative only. The flues were actually vents for the original 19th century forced hot air system. When we burned a fire, our neighbor’s wall heated up to an alarming degree, so we abandoned them. The moral of the story is be sure you know what you’re asking for before commencing this expensive, messy project!

xuytbjicwnofjdde | 2 years and 1 month ago

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Sure, ballpark is $8k – $10k per fireplace (box & flue), but I think can be above or below depending on what’s involved – size of box, distance of flue, etc. But that is pretty much the ballpark.

greenbanc | 2 years and 1 month ago

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@MasterPlvmber Thank you for your recommendations. Can you please give me more detail, how are the two companies different? Thank you

ysabil | 2 years and 1 month ago

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Umanish, could you share (ballpark) costs for the work you describe?

lkrshacmzcy | 2 years and 1 month ago

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Gaurenteed Home Improvement is used all through the East Coast and a well run company

lkrshacmzcy | 2 years and 1 month ago

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Gaurenteed Home Improvement is used all through the East Coast and a well run company

xuytbjicwnofjdde | 2 years and 1 month ago

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I just got three fireboxes rebuilt and chimneys fully lined by A&J Chimney last month and thought they did a good job at a fair price. I also had a trusted person who is in real development in Brooklyn recommend Big Apple Chimney (I got that recommendation after I had already started down the path with A&J). A&A is also well known. You probably won’t go wrong with any of those three.

Master Plvmber | 2 years and 1 month ago

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I use two: A&A and Big Apple Chimney. They are two very different companies though. Too much to get into here.