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.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterFast, Reliable Chimney Repair Across Medford
Chimney repair in Medford typically runs $220 – $480 for crown work and $2,400 – $5,800 for a full stainless reline, depending on what the camera shows. If you own one of the 1890s – 1930s two- or three-family homes that dominate this city, your flue was almost certainly built for coal or oil, not modern wood heat. That means the liner is often oversized or unlined and drafting poorly, which is the root cause of most repair calls we run across Medford. Call (830) 251-4560 and we’ll give you a written price before any tool comes off the truck.
Why Flint Chimney Sweep Is Medford’s Preferred Chimney Repair Company
We’ve worked in enough Medford homes to know exactly what we’re looking at before we start. The triple-decker off Winthrop Street with a rear chimney, the brick two-family over near Tufts with a shared center flue, the single-family on a hill off Fulton Street where the wind whips the crown year-round. Medford’s housing stock has specific failure patterns and we know them by address.
Every repair we do here carries the 365-Day Done Right Promise: a written guarantee valid for a full year. If a covered repair fails inside that window, we return at no charge. No argument, no re-quote. That’s the Garrison Standard, and it applies to every Chimney Repair we do in Medford.
Hank Delano, our owner, built Flint on one rule: put the price in writing before work starts. Every Medford call gets that. You approve the number, that’s the number on the invoice. No door-knock surprises.
Chimney Crown Repair in Medford
Chimney crown repair is one of the most common jobs we do in Medford because of the freeze-thaw cycles this area gets. The crown is the concrete slab at the top of the chimney that sheds water away from the flue. When it cracks, water seeps down into the brick and the smoke chamber. In a Medford winter, that water freezes and expands, and a hairline crack becomes a structural problem in two or three seasons.
We see this constantly on homes near the Mystic River and along the Fellsway, where temperature swings are sharper than the inland averages. A crown repair in Medford typically runs $220 – $480, depending on whether we’re sealing small cracks or breaking out and re-pouring the entire slab.
Signs Your Medford Crown Is Failing
Look for white staining on the brick just below the crown, which is efflorescence from water soaking through. You might also see chips of concrete on the roof or in the gutter after a storm. If your damper is rusting or the firebox gets a musty smell when it rains, the crown is likely the entry point.
How We Fix It
We remove loose material, treat the surface, and either seal with a professional-grade crown sealer or re-pour with a proper Portland mix. We slope the new crown so water runs off, which many original Medford chimneys never had. Then we take photos and hand you the report before we leave.
Chimney Repair Companies in Medford
Chimney repair companies in Medford are not all the same, and the difference shows up in what they put on paper. We hear from homeowners regularly who had a previous company come out, give a verbal estimate, then change the number once the job was open. That doesn’t happen with us, because the price is written and approved before we start.
If you’re comparing chimney repair companies in Medford, ask one question: will they put a camera up the flue and show you the images? If the answer is no, they can’t actually tell you what needs repair. Our techs run a camera on every repair call, and you get a photo report showing every joint, gap, and crack we find.
Written Price Before Work Begins
We quote the job in writing and you sign off before anything comes off the truck. That protects you from the classic upsell, which is common in Medford’s older housing stock where a simple sweep quote turns into a surprise liner replacement at the door.
One Full Year, In Writing
Every repair we do in Medford carries a written one-year guarantee. If a covered repair fails during that year, we come back and fix it at no charge. That’s not a promise, it’s a line in the contract.
Trusted Brands We Service in Medford
We stock and work with professional-grade materials from DuraFlex, Olympia Chimney, and Famco, because the job should be specified by what the chimney actually needs, not by what’s left in the truck. For Medford’s unlined clay tile and oversized flues, a properly sized DuraFlex stainless liner with insulation is often the right call. For crown repair and waterproofing, we use Olympia Chimney products. We keep common parts stocked, which means we’re not running back and forth during your repair and you’re not paying for that time. When we specify a brand, we’ll tell you why that specific material fits your chimney.
Common Chimney Repair Problems We See in Medford Homes
- Oversized unlined flues from coal and oil era chimneys. Most Medford homes built before 1940 have flue tiles that are too large for a modern wood stove or fireplace insert. The flue gases cool too fast, condensing creosote into a hard glaze that a brush cannot remove. The fix is a correctly sized stainless liner.
- Freeze-thaw crown cracks near the Mystic River. Medford’s winter temperature swings are sharp along the river and the Fells, and water gets into the crown, freezes, and expands. One winter of neglect turns a small crack into a spalled crown that needs full replacement.
- Hidden flue liner gaps behind the firebox. We find these on calls where a homeowner has been sweeping regularly but something still feels off. A camera inspection reveals a liner gap between flue tiles that has been quietly venting combustion gases into the walls. This is a carbon monoxide risk and it’s exactly the type of thing a brush-only sweep misses.
- Flashing pulled loose at the roofline on three-deckers. The tall rear walls on Medford’s triple-deckers put a lot of roof slope behind the chimney, and water runs down onto the flashing joint. When the flashing lifts, water gets to the smoke chamber and rusts the damper assembly. By the time you see a ceiling stain, the rust has been working for months.
Pricing for Chimney Repair in Medford, MA
Here are the ranges we charge in Medford, and these are the numbers you’ll see in writing before we start. A chimney crown repair runs $220 – $480. Flashing repair runs $260 – $540. Mortar repointing and tuckpointing runs $18 – $34 per square foot depending on access and condition. A full stainless reline with insulation, which many of Medford’s oversized flues need, runs $2,400 – $5,800. Chimney waterproofing runs $420 – $850 for a full treatment. We include a camera inspection and photo report on every repair visit, and the estimate is free. Call (830) 251-4560 and we’ll give you a written price before any work starts.
We Also Serve Cities Near Medford
Beyond Medford, our crews cover Malden, Somerville, Arlington, and Everett. If you’re in one of those cities and dealing with the same older housing stock, the process is identical: written price, camera inspection with photos, and a one-year written guarantee. You can see more about our work across the area on our Chimney Repair in Medford page.
Serving Medford, MA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Medford 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 About Chimney Repair in Medford
Once a year, every year you burn, and the inspection should be a Level 2 camera inspection if the home was built before 1940 or if you’ve never had the flue looked at internally. Medford’s older chimneys hide problems behind the walls that a visual check cannot see. Call (830) 251-4560 to schedule an inspection and we’ll give you a written price before anything is opened up.
Yes. We give a written price for every repair before any work starts. For a sweep, we can often quote a flat price on the phone once we know the chimney type and roof access. For repairs, the flat price comes after the camera inspection, but it’s in writing and you approve every line before we begin.
The report shows you what the camera saw: the inside of the flue liner, the crown condition from above, the flashing joint at the roofline, and the damper assembly. You’ll see photos of every crack, gap, or creosote accumulation we find, with before-and-after images for any work we do. You keep the report and you can see the condition for yourself.
If the crown has minor surface cracking, it can wait until the next warm season as long as you’re not seeing water inside. If the liner has a gap or the flashing is lifting, that should not wait, because it’s either letting water into the structure or venting gases into the walls. We’ll tell you plainly which category your chimney is in, with photos to prove it. Call (830) 251-4560 for an inspection and you’ll get a straight answer.
Many of them do. The 1890s – 1930s homes across Medford were built for coal or oil, and the flues are oversized for a modern wood stove or insert. When the flue is too big, the gases cool and condense, leaving a hard creosote glaze that a sweep cannot remove. A correctly sized DuraFlex stainless liner with insulation fixes the draft and gives you a safe, clean burn. The camera will tell us if your chimney needs one.
Written by Hank Delano, Owner at Flint Chimney Sweep, serving Medford, MA as part of the Garrison Partners family founded in 2002.