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 Cap & Crown Across Hillside
Chimney cap and crown work in Hillside almost always comes down to one question: has water already found its way into the flue? A spalled crown or a missing cap on one of Hillside’s older two-family chimneys lets rain and snow sit against the clay tiles, and once that starts, the freeze-thaw cycle does the rest. We have been inside enough chimneys on Long Avenue, Maple Avenue, and the blocks off Hollywood Avenue to know exactly what that looks like. The fix is usually straightforward if you catch it before the tiles crack. If you have been putting off cap or crown work in Hillside, call (848) 331-2638 and we will come take a proper look.
Why Top Hat Chimney Is Hillside’s Preferred Chimney Cap & Crown Company
We are not a franchise that bought a Hillside territory. Wendell Pike started Top Hat Chimney in 1999, and he has spent the years since working the same Union County streets you drive every day. The sweep who shows up at your door is the same guy who will answer in plain English when you ask whether a repair can wait. If it cannot, we tell you that too, and we show you the camera footage to prove it.
Hillside’s housing stock is specific. The pre-war two-families, the narrow colonials, the shared chimney stacks, the coal-to-oil-to-gas conversions: these are not edge cases here, they are the norm. That matters because a cap that works fine on a newer single-family house in a neighboring town can be the wrong cap for a multi-flue stack serving two units through one brick chimney. We look at the whole stack, both units, before recommending anything. Our Chimney Cap & Crown work in Hillside comes with a 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If it is not right, one call brings Wendell back at no additional cost.
Our Chimney Cap & Crown Services in Hillside
Cap Installation
Most Hillside homes either have no cap at all or have a cap that was never sized for the flue it sits on. That is especially common on the coal-era central chimneys that now vent gas appliances through one flue while an unused flue sits open beside it. Without a proper cap, rain gets in, wildlife nests in the dead flue, and draft on the live flue gets compromised. We install stainless and copper caps sized to the actual flue dimensions, not a one-size-fits-all box from a shelf.
Cap Replacement
A corroded cap is not always obvious from the ground. We see plenty in Hillside that look passable from the sidewalk but are rusted through at the seams, letting water drip onto the flue tiles below. On a multi-flue stack, a failed cap on one side often means the other side is not far behind. When we replace a cap here, we check the entire top of the chimney, not just the part that looks bad.
Crown Repair
This is the most common job we do in Hillside, and the most frequently postponed. The crown is the concrete or mortar slab that caps the top of the chimney. On Hillside’s taller two-family stacks, crowns take a beating from Union County’s freeze-thaw swings. Hairline cracks open up, water gets in and freezes, and sections of crown start spalling away. Left alone, that water travels down between adjacent flues and into the shared brick wythe. We rebuild crowns with proper overhang, drip edge, and slope so water sheds instead of soaking in.
Crown Coating
When the crown is structurally sound but showing surface cracks, a flexible crown coating is sometimes the right answer. It bonds to the existing concrete and keeps water from working into those small fissures. We are honest about when coating makes sense and when a full rebuild is needed. In Hillside, where crowns on older chimneys are often already compromised by decades of weather, coating is a shorter-term fix, not a substitute for reconstruction if the damage runs deep.
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 Hillside
We stock and service caps and crowns from Olympia Chimney, Famco, and Copperfield. For homeowners in Hillside, that means we are not waiting on a warehouse in another state when a cap needs replacing. The parts we use are sized and fitted to your flue, and we keep the common sizes on the truck because Hillside’s older chimneys tend to need the same fixes again and again. Multi-flue caps, custom caps for offset flue heights, stainless and copper, we have handled them all.
Common Chimney Cap & Crown Problems We See in Hillside Homes
- Spalled crown mortar on attached two-family stacks. Water gets into the crown and sits between the adjacent flues, cracking clay tiles and weakening the shared brick wythe. This is the most frequent issue on Hillside’s older two-family blocks.
- Missing or corroded caps on coal-era central chimneys. The unused flue is open, wildlife moves in, and draft on the gas appliance flue gets compromised. We often find nests blocking flues that were never capped when the home converted from coal.
- Flue gases leaking through deteriorated mortar joints. Unlined or failing clay-tile flues on pre-WWII conversions leak through the mortar, increasing carbon monoxide transfer risk between two attached homes. A camera inspection shows exactly where the problem is.
- Custom cap needs on offset flue heights. Hillside’s multi-flue stacks rarely have flues that end at the same level. A standard cap does not fit properly, so water and animals still get in around the gaps. Custom caps solve this.
Pricing for Chimney Cap & Crown in Hillside, NJ
A standard stainless steel cap installation in Hillside typically runs $195 to $390 depending on flue size and whether it is a single or multi-flue configuration. Crown repair ranges from $350 to $750 when sections need rebuilding. Crown coating runs $275 to $500. Custom multi-flue caps for attached two-family stacks typically run $800 to $1,600, reflecting the fabrication and offset flue heights involved. The parts are not the expensive part. The labor of doing it safely on a Hillside roof, with the stack height and party-wall access, that is where the cost lives. Every quote is given before work begins, and the price on the phone is the price on the invoice. Call (848) 331-2638 for an exact quote. Estimates are free.
We Also Serve Cities Near Hillside
Beyond our Chimney Cap & Crown in Hillside work, we regularly serve homeowners in Irvington, Elizabeth, Newark, and Maplewood. If you are in one of those towns and have a cap or crown concern, the same crew, the same pricing, and the same 90-Day Done Right Promise apply. Call (848) 331-2638 and we will put you on the schedule.
Serving Hillside, NJ - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Hillside 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 Hillside
Because a single chimney stack serves both units through adjacent flues separated only by a wythe of brick. A cap or crown failure on one side is not an isolated problem, it is a shared problem. When one flue gets water, the integrity of the entire stack is compromised, and the neighboring unit’s flue is usually next. That changes the recommendation. On a two-family stack, we usually recommend addressing the entire top of the chimney, both flues, not just the one that looks worse. Call (848) 331-2638 for an inspection that looks at the whole stack.
Every winter, Union County temperatures swing across freezing dozens of times. Each swing puts stress on the exposed mortar and brick at the top of the chimney. Water that has seeped into small crown cracks freezes and expands, widening the crack. Over a few seasons, the crown starts spalling in chunks. Hillside’s taller chimneys catch more weather and have more exposed surface area, so the cycle works faster than on a shorter, newer chimney. A crown that looks fine in October may be visibly failing by March. Call (848) 331-2638 to have yours checked.
We do not recommend a multi-flue cap, or any cap work, without running a camera down each flue first. That inspection shows us the flue dimensions, the condition of the tiles, whether there is an obstruction, and whether the flue offsets will affect cap fit. The camera footage belongs to you. Wendell and his crew will walk you through what the screen shows and explain in plain English whether the cap is the problem or whether there is something else going on. Nothing is recommended without the evidence right there in front of you. Call (848) 331-2638 to schedule an inspection.
Yes. The flues in a shared stack are close enough that a blocked or water-damaged flue on one side can depress draft on the neighboring flue. If one unit’s cap is failed and water is saturating the masonry between the flues, the temperature and pressure changes affect how the other flue draws. We have seen cases where a draft problem in one unit was fixed by repairing the crown and cap on the other. On Hillside’s attached homes, the chimney has to be treated as one system, not two separate chimneys that happen to touch. Call (848) 331-2638 if your neighbor’s chimney has visible cap damage.
Because when these homes were built, they were not venting gas. They were venting coal smoke, and the flue did not need the same kind of cap. Then came oil, then gas. Each conversion changed the venting requirements, but the chimney itself stayed the same. The leftover flues from old fuel systems were often just left open, and now they are sitting there uncapped while a modern gas appliance uses the one next to it. A proper cap for a gas flue has to account for condensation, not just rain. The old chimneys were never designed for any of this. Call (848) 331-2638 and we will explain what your specific chimney needs.
When you are ready to have the cap or crown looked at, call (848) 331-2638. A live person answers. It may be Wendell himself. We will schedule a time that works, show up with what we need, and give you an honest answer with the camera footage to back it up. If the crown can wait, we will say so. If it cannot, we will tell you that too. That is how we have done it in Hillside and across Union County since 1999.
Written by Wendell Pike, Owner at Top Hat Chimney, serving Hillside, NJ.