Chimney repair and sweep in Montclair

Montclair grew on the railroad. It split from Bloomfield in 1868 so a second rail line could be built, and its population went from about 2,850 in 1870 to more than 42,000 by 1930. Most of its houses went up in that 60-year boom. Census figures put 59.4 percent of Montclair's homes before 1940, against 17.4 percent for New Jersey as a whole. The median house in town was built before 1940, a figure the Census can't even place more precisely.

That means most Montclair chimneys are close to a century old. They were built for coal grates and wood fires, often with several flues in one stack, and many now carry gas furnace and water heater exhaust they were never designed for. Some have clay tile liners that have cracked, some have no liner at all, and many have had decades of patching. We start every job with a free top-to-bottom inspection, photos and a written price.

Century-old chimneys: what we usually find

Up top, the most common problems are crowns that have cracked through, top courses where the mortar has washed out, and flashing that has been tarred over more than once. Inside, it is the flue: clay tiles with open joints, a missing liner, or a smoke chamber that was never smoothed. New Jersey's fire code says an unlined chimney with open mortar joints shall be repaired or relined. We tell you which flues are safe to use, which need work first, and what that work costs.

Typical ranges: repointing $500 to $2,500, crown $600 to $2,200, flashing $300 to $1,800, and rebuilding the top few courses $1,000 to $3,500. A stainless liner usually runs $1,500 to $5,000, and a cast-in-place liner, which also stiffens an old flue, $2,000 to $7,000. On soft prewar brick we match the old mortar rather than use hard modern mix, which can crack the brick around it.

Montclair's historic districts and chimney work

Montclair has six historic districts on the state and national registers, among them the Marlboro Park, Miller Street, Pine Street and Mountain districts, plus 92 individually listed landmarks. For locally designated properties the township's Historic Preservation Commission issues Certificates of Appropriateness for visible exterior changes. Its own rules exempt repairs and exact replacements that don't change the appearance, including roofing and masonry maintenance with no change in design, scale or appearance.

In practice, repointing, a crown replacement or relining an existing chimney usually needs no historic approval. Rebuilding a chimney taller or shorter, changing the brick or the crown profile, or taking a chimney down is the kind of change that does. If your house is in a district, we check with you before scheduling anything that alters how the chimney looks.

Gas, oil and the F-370 in an old-house town

About 74 percent of Montclair homes heat with gas, and 8 percent still burn oil, well above the 3 percent across Essex County. When an oil boiler is converted to gas, or any furnace, boiler or water heater is replaced, New Jersey requires a chimney verification on form F-370 before the job is approved, and the homeowner can't sign it. Old Montclair flues are often too large for a modern appliance, and the exhaust cools, condenses and eats the mortar. A furnace or water-heater liner typically costs $625 to $2,250.

Where we work in Montclair

Upper Montclair · Montclair Center · Six Corners · Watchung Plaza · Walnut Street · Frog Hollow · South End · Church Street · Montclair Heights · Marlboro Park · Pine Street · Miller Street