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 Repair Across Ardmore
Chimney repair in Ardmore typically costs between $225 and $1,800 depending on scope. A cap replacement usually runs $185 – $400, while mortar repointing averages $45 – $70 per square foot. The honest answer on timeline: most repairs we book are completed within 3 to 7 days of inspection.
We know Ardmore’s chimneys because we work on them every week. Our crews service homes from Cricket Avenue to South Ardmore, Wynnewood Road to the Montgomery County line, and we know what these brick structures look like 80 to 100 years in. Every job starts with a written price before we touch the roof. Call (830) 251-4560 and we’ll schedule the inspection.
If you’re reading this because something feels wrong with your chimney, here’s the short version: we run a camera, we show you photos, and we tell you if it can wait. No scare pitch, no mystery pricing.
Why Flint Chimney Sweep Is Ardmore’s Preferred Chimney Repair Company
We’re not the only Chimney Repair outfit serving Ardmore. But we run on a process most homeowners haven’t seen: background-checked, uniformed techs, a written price before work begins, and a 365-Day Done Right Promise on every repair we make. If a covered repair fails within one full year, we return and fix it at no charge. No argument, no fine print.
Hank Delano leads our team. Hank has spent his working life in chimneys and he trains every tech to the same standard: document everything, explain everything, and never recommend work the camera doesn’t justify. Ardmore homeowners get the same discipline on a tuckpointing job off Cricket Avenue as they would on a full rebuild near Haverford Road.
Dispatch for Ardmore is coordinated from our Philadelphia office, and we schedule crews to reach Ardmore without the long appointment windows other companies offer. You’ll know who’s coming and when. Phones are answered by a live person 24 hours a day, including weekends.
The Ardmore homes we serve run the full range: 1920s brick twins in the heart of downtown, mid-century split-levels off East Wynnewood Road, newer rowhouses near the shops on Lancaster Avenue. The one thing they share is that the chimney doesn’t get attention until it causes a problem. By then, the fix is usually bigger than a sweep.
Chimney Cap Installation in Ardmore
Chimney cap installation in Ardmore is one of the most common repairs we do, and it’s also one of the cheapest ways to prevent a much more expensive problem. A cap sits on top of the flue and does three jobs: keeps rain, snow, and sleet out; blocks birds, squirrels, and raccoons from nesting; and arrests sparks before they can reach your roof.
On a pre-war Ardmore chimney with an original clay-tile flue, a missing cap lets water sit inside the flue through the wet springs we get here. Water plus freeze-thaw cycles equals spalling brick and cracked mortar. For most standard chimneys, a new cap runs $185 to $400 installed, depending on flue size and whether you need a standard single-flue cap or a custom sizing.
We carry Olympia Chimney and Copperfield caps and can fit them to almost any flue size on a Ardmore home. When a cap doesn’t fit because the flue is an old odd size, we measure and order rather than forcing something on. The right fit matters more than the fast one.
What Installation Involves
We measure the flue, check the crown for cracks, then secure the cap so it can’t shift in a storm. If the crown under the cap is failing, we’ll tell you before we bolt anything down. No cap holds if the mortar beneath it is crumbling.
When You Need One
If you can see the flue opening from the yard and there’s nothing covering it, you need a cap. If you hear animals in the chimney, you need a cap. If water stains are appearing on the ceiling near the chimney chase, a missing or damaged cap is the first thing we check.
Chimney Cap Replacement in Ardmore
Chimney cap replacement in Ardmore usually means the old cap rusted through, blew off in heavy wind, or was damaged by falling tree limbs – common enough around the mature oaks on the neighborhood streets off Haverford Avenue. A replacement typically runs $185 to $400, close to new installation, and we’ll haul the old cap away.
Before we replace, we inspect the flue beneath. A cap that’s been off for months means water and debris inside. You don’t want a new cap locking existing damage out of sight. We run the camera, show you the photos, and then we decide.
Signs Your Cap Needs Replacing
Rust streaks down the crown, a cap that’s cocked at an angle, or pieces of metal in the yard after a storm all point to replacement. On older Main Line homes, we sometimes find caps installed 30 years ago that have rotted at the base and are doing nothing.
Brands We Stock for Ardmore Homes
We replace with Olympia Chimney and Copperfield caps, the same brands we install new. Both hold up to the wet winters and freeze-thaw swings Ardmore gets. We stock common sizes locally so a replacement doesn’t mean a three-week wait on a backorder.
Trusted Brands We Service in Ardmore
We build and repair with professional-grade products, and we’re upfront about which ones. DuraFlex liners for flue relining work, HeatShield for resurfacing cracked clay tile, Olympia Chimney and Copperfield caps, and Famco and Gelco components where the job calls for them. You can look up any of these names yourself and see they’re standard in the trade. For Ardmore customers, we carry common cap sizes and liner components in local stock, which means less waiting when a repair can’t wait. We don’t use off-brand parts to pad a quote, and we won’t put our guarantee behind anything we wouldn’t put in our own chimney.
Common Chimney Repair Problems We See in Ardmore Homes
- Original unlined or clay-tile flues in pre-war brick chimneys. Much of Ardmore’s housing stock predates modern building codes, so flues are often original clay tile or fully unlined. Hairline cracks and spalled mortar joints let heat and gases reach framing, and they’re invisible from the firebox. A camera inspection is the only way to know.
- First-degree creosote that got ignored. Creosote builds in stages. First-degree is dry soot; second-degree is sticky; third-degree is a hard glaze that a brush won’t move. In Ardmore, we regularly find third-degree glaze in chimneys that haven’t been swept in years because the homeowner assumed “looks clean from the bottom” meant safe.
- Crown and flashing failures from freeze-thaw cycles. Ardmore’s older slate and masonry roofs put particular stress on chimney crowns and flashing. Water gets into the smoke chamber and flue long before a ceiling stain shows up. By then, the repair involves masonry, not just sealant.
- Spalling brick on the chimney exterior. The wet winters and summer heat on the Main Line work on old brick the same way they work on old roads. Bricks flake and pop, mortar joints open up, and water gets behind the structure. We see this on chimneys all over Ardmore, especially on homes with original 1920s brickwork.
Pricing for Chimney Repair in Ardmore, PA
A standard chimney cap installation or replacement in Ardmore runs $185 to $400. Tuckpointing on an average chimney runs $500 to $1,200, depending on how many courses of brick need work. A full flue relining with DuraFlex typically runs $1,800 to $4,000, and a HeatShield resurfacing lands between $1,500 and $3,500 depending on flue length and condition. Chimney waterproofing on a standard two-story home is $500 to $900.
What moves the number is what the camera finds. We price by the documented scope, not by what we think you’ll pay. Before any work starts, you get a written quote with the full scope and price. If the work can wait, we’ll tell you that directly and give you the timeline for when it should happen. Estimates are free – call (830) 251-4560 to schedule one.
We Also Serve Cities Near Ardmore
Our crews work throughout the Main Line and surrounding towns. If you’re in Narberth, Bryn Mawr, Merion Station, or Bala Cynwyd, the same written-price, camera-first process applies. Same brands, same guarantee, same live person on the phone when you call.
Serving Ardmore, PA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Ardmore 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 Ardmore
The only way to know is a camera inspection. In Ardmore, where much of the housing stock is pre-1940 brick construction with original flues, what you can see from the fireplace tells you almost nothing. A hairline crack in a clay tile liner or a spalled mortar joint in the smoke chamber is invisible from below. We run the camera, photograph every point of concern, and show you the images. If the finding is minor, we’ll say so and tell you when to re-check. If it’s urgent – like exhaust leaking past the damper into living space – we’ll tell you that too, with the photos to back it. No recommendation comes without visual evidence you can see for yourself. Call (830) 251-4560 to book an inspection, and you’ll have a straight answer either way.
Creosote is the tar-like residue that condenses on your flue walls when wood smoke cools. First-degree is dry, dusty soot – a brush moves it. Second-degree is thicker and sticky, more like a heavy film. Third-degree is a hardened, glossy glaze that brushes rarely touch; you need chemical treatment or mechanical removal. In Ardmore, with older flues and cold winters, creosote condenses faster. A chimney that hasn’t been swept in years often has third-degree glaze baked onto the walls, which is far more flammable than soot and far harder to remove. This is one of the reasons a regular sweep is so important here: catching it at first-degree is a $200 problem, not a $2,000 one.
Yes. We install and replace caps on Ardmore chimneys regularly. We carry Olympia Chimney and Copperfield caps, both trusted names in the trade. If your flue is an odd size from an older home – common around downtown Ardmore – we measure and order the correct cap rather than rig something up. The cost is the same $185 to $400 range whether it’s a new install or a replacement, and we’ll always check the crown underneath before we mount anything.
Some repairs, yes. Cap replacements and small tuckpointing jobs can often be done same-day after inspection, provided weather allows. Bigger jobs – a full relining, a partial rebuild, or a HeatShield resurfacing – take longer and are scheduled after the scope is documented. What we won’t do is compress a liner job into one afternoon to make a sale. If it’s not urgent, we’ll tell you. If it is urgent, we’ll tell you that too and work to get on your roof as soon as the schedule allows. Call (830) 251-4560 for a straight answer on timing for your repair.
Carbon monoxide is produced by every fuel-burning appliance in your home, and the chimney is the system that carries it out. When a flue liner cracks, when a mortar joint opens, or when the smoke chamber is compromised, exhaust can leak into wall cavities and living space instead of venting outside. In Ardmore, with so many original flues in older homes, this isn’t theoretical – we’ve found exhaust leaking past dampers on enough late-fall inspections to treat every repair as a CO matter first and a masonry matter second. The fix is the repair: a sealed flue, a sound liner, a functioning cap. If you smell exhaust or your CO detector has gone off, call (830) 251-4560 and get a camera in the flue before the next fire.
Call Flint Chimney Sweep for Chimney Repair in Ardmore
If your chimney needs work, don’t guess. We’ll run a camera, show you the photos, and give you a written price before anything starts. No pressure, no hidden line items, and a full-year guarantee on every repair under the 365-Day Done Right Promise. Call (830) 251-4560 to schedule an inspection. A live person answers, day or night.
Written by Hank Delano, Owner at Flint Chimney Sweep, serving Ardmore since the company’s founding in 2002.