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 Farmington Hills
A chimney cap and crown in Farmington Hills is what stands between your flue and Michigan’s freeze-thaw cycle, and most of the caps and crowns we see on 1970s-1980s colonials are nearing the end of their serviceable life. Crown replacement typically runs $850-$1,400 in this market. Cap installation runs $350-$750. If you’re seeing spalled mortar chips on your roof, dampness in the firebox, or water staining on the ceiling near the chase, call (980) 580-8641 now. We get a camera down the flue, show you the photos, and hand you a written price before any work begins.
Why Emberly Chimney Cleaners Is Farmington Hills’s Preferred Chimney Cap & Crown Company
Since 2009, Emberly Chimney Cleaners has inspected and cleaned more than 38,000 chimneys under the Haven Standard, and a good share of those calls took us into the colonials east of Orchard Lake Road, around Halsted, Drake, and Farmington. Our crews know what a factory-poured crown on a late-1970s volume-built brick colonial looks like after 45 winters. They know which subdivisions have chimneys where the original mortar wash has eroded down to the clay tile tops. That specific local knowledge means we arrive in Farmington Hills already knowing what to check first.
Every Chimney Cap & Crown job we do in Farmington Hills comes with a documented photo record under Clause 4 of the Haven Standard. You get to see what we see: the cracked crown slab, the rusted cap base, the exposed flue joint. We write the scope, the price, and the warranty before we start. And if it’s not done right, our 365-Day Done Right Promise means we make it right. Backed by Corrine Halstead, who runs our operations with a simple rule: evidence before invoice.
Our Chimney Cap & Crown Services in Farmington Hills
Crown Repair
A chimney crown is the concrete or mortar slab that seals the top of the chimney structure around the flue. On Farmington Hills homes built between 1965 and 1990, we routinely find crowns cracked by 40-50 freeze-thaw cycles per winter. Water works into hairline cracks, freezes, expands, and spalls off chunk by chunk. We repair sound crowns with a proper tapered repair mortar and re-flash the flue joint. If the crown is too far gone, we form and pour a new one the way it should have been built in the first place: sloped away from the flue, with a drip edge.
Cap Replacement
A missing or rusted-out chimney cap on a Farmington Hills fireplace that only burns seasonally causes problems all year. Summer rain falls straight into the flue and sits in the smoke chamber. That moisture soaks into the brick and, come winter, freezes and spalls the masonry. If your cap is rusted at the base, missing entirely, or rattling in the wind, replacement is almost always the right call. We stock replacement caps and custom fabrications from Copperfield and Olympia Chimney so we can handle most Farmington Hills chimneys in one visit.
Multi-Flue Cap
Many of the executive colonials and ranches in Farmington Hills have two or more fireplaces sharing a single chimney chase: a great room fireplace and a basement fireplace, or a master suite fireplace and a living room fireplace. A single-flue cap won’t cover that. A multi-flue cap spans the entire crown and covers both flues in one sealed unit. We build them custom when the flue spacing is unusual, which happens often in the volume-built subdivisions east of Orchard Lake Road where spec builders repeated fireplace specs block after block.
Crown Coating
If the crown is structurally sound but the surface is starting to erode, we apply a flexible crown coating that bridges small cracks and seals the concrete against water penetration. This is a good stopgap on Farmington Hills chimneys where the crown is maybe ten or fifteen years old and not yet spalling. It buys you time before a full crown rebuild. We’ll tell you honestly which one you need, and show you the camera footage so you can verify it yourself.
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.
BeforeAfterTrusted Brands We Service in Farmington Hills
We use caps, chase covers, and crown materials from Copperfield, Olympia Chimney, and Gelco, sourced through the Haven buying network to keep Farmington Hills prices honest. That means when we quote a custom multi-flue cap for a Colonial on Halsted Road or a copper chase cover for a ranch off Drake, the material cost reflects what we actually paid, not a markup stacked on a markup. We keep common cap sizes and crown repair materials stocked for Farmington Hills homes, which shortens turnaround when you need a cap replaced before burning season.
Common Chimney Cap & Crown Problems We See in Farmington Hills Homes
- Factory-poured crown cracking from freeze-thaw cycling. The late-1970s and early-1980s colonials in Farmington Hills went up fast during Oakland County’s post-automotive boom. The crowns were poured right over the flue tile with no expansion joint, and after 40-50 freeze-thaw events a year for four decades, they crack and pull away from the tile.
- Original mortar wash eroded to the clay tile tops. We see this especially in the volume-built subdivision homes east of Orchard Lake Road. The original mortar cap was thin from day one. Add forty Michigan winters and the tile tops sit exposed to direct rain and snow, letting water straight into the smoke chamber.
- Missing or rusted-out caps on seasonal-use fireplaces. Farmington Hills summers are humid, and lake-effect moisture from Lake Erie and Lake Huron keeps masonry damp. If the cap is gone or rusted through, that moisture collects in the firebox and smoke chamber. By the first cold snap in October, the fire smells like wet creosote and the draft pulls poorly.
- Spalling brick below the roofline. When water gets past a failed crown and into the brick below, the faces pop off in spring. We find spalled brick on chimneys throughout Farmington Hills, especially in the neighborhoods where chimneys sit on the north elevation and catch the worst of the freeze-thaw exposure.
Pricing for Chimney Cap & Crown in Farmington Hills, MI
Here are straight numbers for Farmington Hills. A standard cap replacement runs $350-$750 depending on flue size and whether we need a custom fabrication. Crown repair with a flexible sealant runs $450-$800. A full crown rebuild with proper form, slope, and drip edge runs $850-$1,400. A custom multi-flue cap for a two-fireplace chase runs $900-$1,800 depending on chase dimensions and material. Crown coating as a stopgap runs $350-$600.
What drives the price? Whether the flue tile is still intact, how much of the old crown needs demolition, whether scaffolding or a lift is required for a steep pitch, and whether we’re matching a copper cap to an existing copper detail. You get a written price before anything starts, and a Free Second Opinion on any competitor’s written estimate. Call (980) 580-8641 and we’ll get you scheduled.
We Also Serve Cities Near Farmington Hills
Our Farmington Hills crews regularly work in Detroit, Warren, Sterling Heights, and Clinton Township. If you’re in one of those cities and need chimney cap or crown work, the same camera-scan inspection and written-price standard applies. Schedule by calling (980) 580-8641.
Serving Farmington Hills, MI - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Farmington Hills 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 Farmington Hills
Because the damage starts where you can’t see it: the underside of the crown and the joint between the crown and the flue tile. Farmington Hills goes through 40-50 freeze-thaw cycles every winter. A crown poured in 1978 didn’t have an expansion joint around the flue, so it’s been flexing and cracking for forty-plus years. What looks intact from the lawn is often a slab of concrete with a full-length crack just waiting for one more winter. That’s why we run a camera inspection on every visit, and you see the photos. Call (980) 580-8641 to get yours scheduled.
You should not. A cap does more than keep sparks in. It keeps rain, snow, oak leaves, maple seed helicopters, squirrels, and raccoons out of your flue. Farmington Hills sits in a freeze-thaw zone, and any water that enters an uncapped flue in October stays trapped in the smoke chamber all winter, freezing and expanding against the masonry. Even with seasoned wood, the moisture problem has nothing to do with what you burn. Call (980) 580-8641 and we’ll cap it before the next freeze.
Because those streets were built in the same two-to-three-year window by volume builders who repeated the same fireplace specs block after block. Same crown mix, same thin mortar wash, same missing expansion joints, same construction crew. We’ve replaced identical spalled crowns on three homes in a row on some Farmington Hills streets. If your neighbors on the same street are getting crown work done, your chimney was very likely built the same way. A camera inspection will tell us for sure. Call (980) 580-8641.
Yes, if both fireplaces share one chase. A single-flue cap won’t cover both flues, which means one flue stays exposed to rain and snow. Many Farmington Hills colonials have a great room fireplace and a basement fireplace sharing a single chimney, and those need a multi-flue cap spanning the entire crown. We measure the chase dimensions, check the flue spacing, and fabricate the cap to fit. Call (980) 580-8641 for a written quote.
Every five to seven years for a coating, and only if the crown is structurally sound. A crown that’s already cracked through or spalled needs rebuild, not coating. The freeze-thaw cycling in southeast Michigan is aggressive enough that sealant alone won’t save a crown that’s already spent. We’ll show you the camera footage and tell you straight whether you’re a coating candidate or a rebuild candidate. Call (980) 580-8641 and we’ll get it sorted.
Written by Corrine Halstead, Owner at Emberly Chimney Cleaners, serving Farmington Hills under the Haven Standard since 2009.