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 Cap & Crown Across Selden
Chimney cap and crown work in Selden usually runs between $340 and $1,900 depending on whether we’re sealing a cracked crown or fabricating a custom multi-flue cap for an oversized masonry flue. We serve every street in the hamlet from Hawkins Avenue to the neighborhoods off Boyle Road, and we quote every job in writing before any work begins. If you’ve noticed water stains on the ceiling near your chimney, spalling brick on the crown, or you simply can’t remember the last time anyone looked at the cap, call (980) 580-8641 and we’ll put a camera down the flue and show you exactly what’s going on. Corrine Halstead leads our team, and she holds every job to the same standard: written price, written scope, written warranty, documented photo record when we’re done.
Key Takeaways for Selden Homeowners
- Chimney cap replacement in Selden typically costs $340-$890; crown repair runs $450-$1,200; custom multi-flue caps start around $900 and can reach $1,900 for complex fabrications.
- Selden’s tract homes from the 1960s and 70s are now 50-60 years old, which means clay flue tiles, crowns, and mortar joints are failing together, not one at a time.
- Oil-to-gas conversions left thousands of Selden chimneys with oversized flues that condense constantly, accelerating liner and crown deterioration from the inside out.
- Salt-laden air from Long Island Sound reaches Selden and eats at exposed mortar crowns years faster than inland New York.
- Every visit includes a camera-scan inspection under NFPA 211 Level 2 and a photo record you keep. Clause 4 of the Haven Standard.
Why Emberly Chimney Cleaners Is Selden’s Preferred Chimney Cap & Crown Company
We’ve worked enough chimneys in Selden to know what we’re going to find before we set the ladder. The hamlet was built out almost entirely during Long Island’s 1960s-70s suburban tract-home boom, which means the masonry chimneys on most properties are now 50-60 years old and hitting the critical window for clay flue tile cracking, crown failure, and mortar joint erosion all at once. Because virtually the entire neighborhood aged together, our Chimney Cap & Crown team regularly uncovers liner deterioration that needs addressing, not as an occasional finding but as a near-universal condition across the housing stock. When one ranch on a Selden block needs crown repair, the neighbors usually aren’t far behind.
Our crews are background-checked and uniformed, and you get a named technician assigned to your job along with a text when they’re on the way. We don’t do voicemail roulette; a live person answers the phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. But the thing Selden homeowners tell us they value most is what we hand them before any work starts: a written price, a written scope, and a written warranty. Haven Standard Clause 1. No verbal estimates, no surprises after the fact. If you’ve got a written quote from another company, bring it. We’ll give you a free second opinion on it.
BeforeAfterOur Chimney Cap & Crown Services in Selden
Cap Installation
A proper cap keeps rain, snow, leaves, and animals out of the flue while allowing draft to move freely. In Selden’s ranch and cape cod homes, we commonly install stainless steel caps from Olympia Chimney and Famco sized to the exact flue dimensions. A correctly fitted cap also prevents the downdraft problems that plague single-flue chimneys on windy days across central Suffolk County.
Cap Replacement
If your existing cap is rusted through, bent, or the mesh screen is clogged with creosote, replacement is often the cleaner fix than repair. Homes in Selden that use wood stoves as primary heat see heavier creosote loading than occasional-use fireplaces, and that buildup backs up behind a failing cap quickly. We’ll measure the flue, show you the old cap’s condition on camera, and quote the replacement in writing on the spot.
Crown Repair
The crown is the concrete slab that sits on top of the chimney and sheds water away from the flue. In Selden, two local factors work against it: salt-laden air from Long Island Sound accelerates mortar joint erosion and brick spalling on exposed crowns, and oil-to-gas conversions left oversized flues that condense heavily and saturate the crown from below. We repair crowns with proper expansion joints and a slight slope away from the flue, which is what most original Selden tract-home crowns never had.
Crown Coating
When the crown is structurally sound but showing hairline cracks and surface wear, a crown coat from Gelco seals it against water intrusion without a full rebuild. For Selden homes where the crown is intact but aging, this is often the most cost-effective way to buy a decade or more before replacement. We’ll show you the before and after photos so you can see exactly what the coating covered.
Multi-Flue Cap and Custom Cap
Many Selden chimneys were built with a single oversized flue serving an oil furnace, then converted to gas. That leaves a flue larger than the appliance needs, and a standard single-flue cap won’t always cover the opening properly. We fabricate custom and multi-flue caps to fit the exact dimensions of the masonry crown, often combining a cap installation with crown repair in the same visit. Copperfield and Famco supply the components; we do the measuring and fabrication to match your chimney.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Selden
We stock parts for the brands widely installed across Selden homes, so we’re not waiting on supply chains when a crown job turns urgent. Our technicians work with Chimney Cap & Crown in Selden components from Gelco, Olympia Chimney, and Copperfield, and we keep common cap sizes for the single-flue masonry chimneys that dominate 1960s-70s tract housing. When a custom fabrication is needed, turnaround is typically three to five business days before we’re back on your roof. Materials are procured through Haven’s buying network specifically to keep customer prices honest, not padded with retail markup.
Common Chimney Cap & Crown Problems We See in Selden Homes
- Oil-to-gas condensation damage: Homes converted from oil to gas heat kept the original oversized masonry flue. The mismatch causes persistent condensation that has been silently eroding tile liners for decades, and by the time we’re called for a cap or crown issue, the liner often needs attention too.
- Salt-accelerated crown spalling: Selden sits in central Suffolk County, not on the shoreline, but Long Island’s position surrounded by the Atlantic and Long Island Sound means salt-laden air reaches inland hamlets. Exposed chimney crowns deteriorate noticeably faster than same-era homes in upstate or inland New York.
- Clustered failures on tract blocks: Because Selden’s housing stock aged together, cracked clay flue tiles and crown failure appear in clusters. We’ve worked blocks where three or four neighboring homes needed crown repair within a few years of each other.
- Creosote buildup behind failing caps: Wood stoves used as primary heat in Selden’s rural pockets create heavy creosote loading. When the cap mesh clogs or the crown cracks, that creosote backs up, draft suffers, and the safe sweeping interval shortens considerably.
Pricing for Chimney Cap & Crown in Selden, NY
Here’s what Selden homeowners can expect to pay, based on what we’ve quoted across the hamlet over the past year. These are written ranges, not estimates we’ll revise after we start.
- Cap installation (standard single-flue): $340-$560
- Cap replacement with custom sizing: $450-$890
- Crown repair with mortar work: $450-$1,200
- Crown coating (Gelco sealant): $300-$650
- Custom multi-flue cap fabrication and install: $900-$1,900
What moves the number: flue size (oversized oil-era flues cost more to cap properly), crown condition (a full rebuild costs more than a coat), roof pitch and access, and whether we’re doing liner work in the same visit. Every quote is in writing before work starts, and it includes the photo record of what we found. Call (980) 580-8641 for an exact quote, free of charge.
We Also Serve Cities Near Selden
Our crews cover Selden and the surrounding Suffolk County communities, including Centereach, Coram, Holtsville, and Holbrook. If you’re one town over and need cap or crown work done, the same written-price policy and camera-scan inspection apply. Dispatch and scheduling are coordinated from our New York City office; crews serve Selden locally.
Serving Selden, NY - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Selden 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 Selden
When a Selden tract home built in the 1960s or 70s converted from oil to gas, the original oversized masonry flue stayed in place. Gas appliances produce cooler, wetter exhaust than oil burners, and that moisture condenses inside the flue constantly instead of venting out. The condensation saturates clay tile liners, wicks upward into the crown, and freezes and thaws through Long Island winters, cracking the crown from the inside. What looks like a crown repair on the surface is often a symptom of liner deterioration underneath. We’ll put a camera down the flue and show you exactly what’s happening before we recommend anything. Call (980) 580-8641 for a free inspection.
Every six months, and here’s why: wood stoves running as primary heat in Selden’s rural pockets build creosote far faster than occasional fireplaces, and that creosote clogs cap mesh and reduces draft. A clogged cap forces smoke to back up, and a cracked crown lets snow melt into the flue during Long Island winters, turning creosote into a corrosive slurry. The National Fire Protection Association calls for annual inspection at minimum, but with primary wood heat, we recommend a spring check after burn season and a fall check before it starts. Both visits include camera documentation under Clause 4 of the Haven Standard. Call (980) 580-8641 to schedule.
Yes. Selden sits in central Suffolk County, but Long Island’s geography means salt-laden air from the Atlantic and Long Island Sound reaches inland hamlets and settles on exposed masonry. Salt crystals expand and contract with temperature swings, accelerating mortar joint erosion and brick spalling on chimney crowns at a rate noticeably faster than same-era homes in upstate or inland New York. We see crowns in Selden with erosion patterns we’d expect on shoreline homes, simply because nothing blocks the air movement across the island’s flat center. A crown coat or rebuild with proper waterproofing is the standard fix. Call (980) 580-8641 and we’ll assess yours in person.
No. A cap keeps rain, animals, and debris out, but it cannot stop condensation from forming inside an oversized flue. The condensation is caused by cool gas exhaust meeting the cold walls of a flue that’s too large for the appliance, and no cap changes that. What a properly sized cap does is prevent water and snow from adding to the moisture already present. The real fix for chronic condensation is a flue liner sized to the gas appliance, usually a stainless liner from DuraFlex. When we replace caps on converted Selden homes, we almost always find liner deterioration worth addressing in the same visit. Call (980) 580-8641 for a camera inspection and written quote.
We look for three things: visible cracking that extends more than a quarter inch, spalling where the concrete surface has begun flaking away to expose aggregate, and erosion channels that let water pool instead of shedding. If the crown is intact but showing hairline cracks and surface wear, a Gelco crown coat usually buys a decade or more. If the concrete is crumbling, sloped the wrong way, or leaving sections of the flue exposed, a full rebuild is the honest answer. We’ll show you the camera footage and the photos, then give you a written price for either option. No recommendations without evidence you can see for yourself. Call (980) 580-8641.
Get a Written Quote for Chimney Cap & Crown in Selden
If you live in Selden and your chimney cap or crown needs attention, call (980) 580-8641. We’ll schedule a camera-scan inspection, show you exactly what we find, and hand you a written price before anyone touches the roof. Every job is backed by the 365-Day Done Right Promise: if it’s not done right, we make it right. Corrine Halstead and our Selden crews have inspected and cleaned more than 38,000 chimneys since 2009, every one with a documented photo record you keep. Free estimates. Free second opinions on any competitor’s written quote. Written price, written scope, written warranty. That’s how it works here.
Written by Corrine Halstead, Owner at Emberly Chimney Cleaners, serving Selden under the Haven Standard since 2009.