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 Cleaning & Sweep Across Irvington
A proper chimney cleaning in Irvington typically runs $149 to $289 for a standard sweep on a single flue, and most appointments take between 45 and 90 minutes from the moment our boots hit your front walk. If you’re in an attached rowhouse near Nye Avenue, Stuyvesant Avenue, or anywhere in the 07111 zip code, we know exactly what we’re walking into before we knock. Because in Irvington, we’re not cleaning just any chimney. We’re cleaning 80 to 120 year old brick stacks that were built for coal, converted to gas, and often never relined. Call (848) 331-2638 and Wendell or a member of his crew will tell you straight what you need, and what you don’t.
Wendell Pike has been sweeping chimneys since 1999. He’s seen what happens to Irvington’s original clay tile flues after a hundred New Jersey winters, and he’s not going to sell you a liner you don’t need. But if the camera shows a cracked flue, you’re going to see it too. Every inspection includes the footage. No exceptions.
Why Top Hat Chimney Is Irvington’s Preferred Chimney Cleaning & Sweep Company
We’re the local, owner-operated option, not a franchise that rotated a truck in from out of county last spring. When you call (848) 331-2638, a live person picks up. Around the clock. Sometimes it’s Wendell himself, because he answers his own phone. The number you hear on the phone for a sweep is the number on the invoice. No bait pricing, no “discovery fee” added at the door, no pressure to sign for a liner before the brush even goes up.
Irvington homeowners have been burned before. A national chain sends a stranger, quotes one price on the phone, then walks in and finds “$4,000 of masonry damage” you can’t see. That doesn’t happen with us. Wendell puts his name and license number on every job. He lives and works in the same communities he serves, and he will run into you again at the hardware store on Saturday. The work is backed in writing by our 90-Day Done Right Promise. If it’s not right, one call brings him back, no charge.
We know Irvington’s Chimney Cleaning & Sweep in Irvington needs because we’ve been inside hundreds of these attached rowhouse stacks. We know the freeze-thaw damage on Clinton Avenue brick crowns, the coal-era flues behind houses on 18th Avenue, and the condensate problems we find in the two- and three-family homes throughout the township. That’s not something a call center can look up on a tablet.
Our Chimney Cleaning & Sweep Services in Irvington
Every job starts the same way: we show up on time, in uniform, with a real arrival window. And before any work begins, you get a flat price in writing. Here’s what we do in Irvington homes, week in and week out.
Level 1 Inspection
A Level 1 inspection happens as part of every annual sweep when nothing has changed with your appliance or venting system. In Irvington’s older rowhouses, though, a visual-only pass on a multi-flue coal-era stack can miss serious problems. We always take the time to look at what’s actually venting into each flue. A gas furnace dumping into a 12-inch coal flue that was never relined is a persistent NJ Uniform Construction Code violation, and we see it on nearly every older two- or three-family job in this town.
Level 2 Inspection
If you’ve just bought a home in Irvington, converted a furnace from oil to gas, or you’ve had a chimney fire or a weather event, you need a Level 2 inspection. This is the one where the camera goes into the flue. We scope the full interior, from the appliance connector to the crown. In an attached rowhouse, a Level 2 is the only way to know if a cracked tile offset four courses up is quietly venting carbon monoxide into the shared party wall and the family on the other side of it. The camera footage and a plain-English verdict. Every time, no exceptions.
Creosote Removal
First-degree creosote is a brush job. Third-degree is a glaze. Catch it early. In Irvington, where old flues run oversized and gas appliances condense like crazy, we see creosote building up fast, especially in stacks that serve both a wood-burning fireplace and a gas furnace. We pull it out properly, show you what came out, and tell you honestly whether you can wait or need to act now. We don’t sell a glaze-removal process until the camera proves you need it.
Soot Removal
Soot is what you get from oil heat and from fireplaces that burn softwoods or debris. In Irvington’s older oil-to-gas conversions, accumulations of soot and acidic condensate residue are common. A thorough soot removal isn’t just cosmetic. It’s how we confirm the flue isn’t obstructed and that combustion byproducts are actually making it out of the house instead of backing up into a bedroom. Ask anyone on your street. We’re the crew that shows them the bucket.
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 Irvington
We install and service liners and components from brands built for this exact kind of work: Gelco, Olympia Chimney, Famco, and Copperfield. When an Irvington rowhouse needs a chimney cap, a crown seal, or a full HeatShield reline, we stock the parts locally and can turn the job around without waiting on a backorder from out of state. Our Chimney Cleaning & Sweep team runs these products because they hold up to the freeze-thaw abuse New Jersey dishes out. If we’re putting something on your stack, it’s going to stay there.
Common Chimney Cleaning & Sweep Problems We See in Irvington Homes
- Unlined or cracked clay tile flues. Most of Irvington’s housing stock went up between 1900 and 1940, and the original clay tiles have spent a century expanding and contracting through New Jersey’s freeze-thaw cycles. Cracks, offsets, and missing sections are the rule, not the exception. In attached rowhouses, that’s not a private problem. It’s a block problem.
- Gas appliances venting into coal-era flues. Landlords and homeowners converted from oil to gas over the decades, but many never relined. A modern gas furnace or water heater venting into an oversized coal flue produces acidic condensate that eats through mortar from the inside out. We pull the evidence out on camera, every time.
- Shiny, tar-like creosote glaze that won’t brush out. Third-degree creosote is combustible and stubborn. A standard wire brush on century-old offset clay tiles can actually force debris deeper into the gaps and leave the glaze untouched. That’s a chimney fire waiting on a cold January night, and in a shared party wall, the fire doesn’t stop at your unit’s door.
- Failed crowns and flashing on shared stacks. When one rowhouse chimney crown spalls and cracks, water gets in and migrates to adjoining units. We inspect the crown and flashing on every cleaning, because a swept flue with a leaking crown is a job half done. In Irvington, the roof and the neighbor’s roof are the same roof.
Pricing for Chimney Cleaning & Sweep in Irvington, NJ
A standard chimney cleaning and Level 1 inspection in Irvington runs $149 to $289 for a single flue. Add a second flue and you’re looking at $249 to $389 total, depending on the stack height and how packed the flue has become. A Level 2 camera inspection runs $189 to $349. If the job requires creosote glaze removal, expect $349 to $649 for a full chemical treatment after the mechanical sweep. A full reline with HeatShield or a new stainless liner from Gelco or Olympia Chimney starts around $1,800 and goes up from there, depending on the flue run and the number of units sharing the stack.
What affects the price in Irvington? The age of the stack, the number of flues, whether the rowhouse has a shared chimney with a neighbor, and whether the original clay tiles are offset or still holding. You’ll get a flat number before any tool comes off the truck. And we offer no trip charge inside our service county, plus $40 off any repair over $200, and a standing 10% discount for seniors and veterans. For an exact quote, call (848) 331-2638. Estimates are free.
We Also Serve Cities Near Irvington
Our crews cover Irvington and the surrounding Essex County communities, including Newark, Maplewood, Hillside, and East Orange. If you’re in one of those towns and your stack hasn’t been looked at in years, the same camera-first, no-pressure approach applies. Dispatch and scheduling are coordinated from our New York City office, and crews serve Irvington locally.
Serving Irvington, NJ - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Irvington 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 Cleaning & Sweep in Irvington
Once a year, burn or no burn. Chimneys break in the off-season too. In a shared rowhouse stack, every flue needs to be checked annually because the wood-burning unit is producing creosote while the gas unit is producing acidic condensate, and both are working against the same century-old masonry. We recommend a Level 1 sweep every year and a Level 2 camera inspection every three years for attached homes, or immediately after any fuel conversion. Call (848) 331-2638 to schedule, and we’ll give you a flat price before we arrive.
That’s third-degree creosote, also called glaze, and it forms when flue temperatures stay low, which happens a lot in Irvington’s oversized coal-era flues. A standard wire brush won’t remove it. The brush skates right over the tar, and on offset clay tiles it can push loose debris into the cracks instead. We treat it with a proper chemical process, but only after the camera confirms it’s actually there. If someone tried to brush it out before, they may have left more than they removed. Get the footage and we’ll tell you what you’re dealing with.
Yes. The camera tells the truth. We scope the flue and look at the tile size, the mortar condition, and the appliance connector. If a gas furnace is venting into a 12-inch coal flue with spalling tiles, that’s a NJ Uniform Construction Code violation and a carbon monoxide risk. In Irvington, we find this on a large share of older two- or three-family homes where the oil-to-gas conversion was done decades ago without a reline. The good news is we can reline it properly with HeatShield or a stainless system. You’ll see the before and after footage yourself.
Yes. When a clay tile flue in a shared stack collapses, the debris can block not just that flue but the neighboring flues in the same masonry chase. Worse, a cracked flue venting carbon monoxide can push combustion gases into the party wall cavity and into adjoining units. In Irvington’s pre-WWII attached rowhouses, a chimney failure is rarely a one-family problem. That’s why we don’t do visual-only cleanings on multi-flue stacks. We run the camera, and we show you what’s happening on your side and what could be happening next door.
The crown is the concrete cap that seals the top of the stack. In Irvington’s older brick chimneys, crowns crack from decades of freeze-thaw cycles, and once they crack, water gets into the mortar joints and starts spalling bricks. We inspect the crown and flashing during every cleaning. If it needs a crown seal or a rebuilt crown, we’ll show you photos from the roof and explain whether it’s an urgent repair or something that can wait. In attached rowhouses, a shared crown failure means water intrusion into multiple units. We will not recommend work we can’t show you.
If your chimney hasn’t been swept this year, or you’ve never seen the inside of your flue, call (848) 331-2638. Wendell and his crew answer the phone, give you a straight price, and show up when they say they will. No pressure, no mystery, no camera-less verdict. That’s how it should work.
Written by Wendell Pike, Owner at Top Hat Chimney, serving Irvington and the surrounding Essex County communities since 1999.