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.
Fast, Reliable Chimney Cap & Crown Across Lake Magdalene
A chimney cap and crown replacement in Lake Magdalene typically runs $425-$1,150 for a standard single-flue cap with crown coating, and $1,200-$2,400 for a full custom multi-flue setup on one of the neighborhood’s older masonry chimneys. Most jobs are scheduled within 3 to 5 business days, since our crews already work the north Tampa corridor daily. We’re the company Lake Magdalene homeowners call when their crown is spalling, their cap is rusted through, or they just want a straight answer with photos to back it up. Call (980) 580-8641 and we’ll get a written price to you before anyone climbs a ladder.
Why Emberly Chimney Cleaners Is Lake Magdalene’s Preferred Chimney Cap & Crown Company
Homeowners around Lake Magdalene Boulevard and the 33613 zip code have a specific problem: chimneys that sit dormant 50-plus weeks a year, slowly taking on moisture from a lake-fed humidity pocket and collecting debris from a mature oak and pine canopy. We see it on nearly every inspection we do here. What earns us repeat calls isn’t a sales pitch. It’s a camera scan showing exactly what’s happening inside the flue, plus a written line-item price for the fix. Since 2009, Emberly has completed more than 38,000 chimney inspections and cleanings, and every one of them included a documented photo record under Haven Standard Clause 4.
Customers in the Carrollwood Village, Lakeshore, and Forest Hills areas keep our number because we’re the ones who will say when a repair can wait. That’s rare in this trade. If your crown has hairline cracking but no structural loss, we will tell you that and document it for next year’s inspection. If your cap has failed at the mounting brackets and water is dumping into the flue, we will show you the photos and give you a written scope the same visit. The person who calls you back isn’t a call center, and the tech who shows up is background-checked, uniformed, and assigned by name before the appointment. Corrine Halstead runs this shop with a simple rule: no one recommends work without handing the homeowner camera evidence first.
Our Chimney Cap & Crown Services in Lake Magdalene

Cap Installation
A bare flue in Lake Magdalene isn’t just open to rain. It’s an invitation to chimney swifts, raccoons, and a constant drizzle of oak leaves and pine needles from the neighborhood’s old-growth canopy. We install stainless steel caps from Famco and Copperfield with screened side skirts sized to your flue dimensions, and we document the fit with photos before and after. Every cap installation includes a full crown inspection, since there’s no point capping a flue that’s sitting on a failing crown.

Cap Replacement
The galvanized caps installed on many 1970s and 1980s Lake Magdalene homes fail at the mounting brackets within a few years. Lake-elevated humidity accelerates the corrosion. We see caps that are still on the flue but so weak at the connection points they could lift off in a Tampa Bay squall line. Replacement means removing the old unit, checking the flue tile for moisture damage, and installing a stainless unit sized correctly, not just whatever was there before. We stock common sizes for the colonial and ranch profiles that dominate the neighborhood, which keeps turnaround fast.

Crown Repair
This is the most common call we get from Lake Magdalene homeowners. The concrete crowns poured on 1970s and 1980s chimneys were often mixed too wet and poured too thin. Add the lake microclimate’s humidity and you get hairline cracks within a few years, then spalling: chunks of mortar breaking away and leaving the flue liner exposed to direct rain. We repair crowns by removing the loose material, rebuilding the surface with proper slope away from the flue, and finishing with a waterproof crown coating. The fix protects the entire chimney structure, not just the top cap.

Crown Coating
A crown coating is the highest-value preventative service for a Lake Magdalene chimney, and most homeowners don’t know it exists. We apply a flexible waterproof membrane that bridges hairline cracks and stops moisture from working deeper into the masonry. On a chimney that’s only fired a handful of nights per year, the crown coat does more to extend the structure’s life than anything else we can sell you. It’s also the service we recommend most often after showing homeowners photos of surface erosion that hasn’t yet become structural. Our Chimney Cap & Crown team applies coatings from manufacturers we have used for over a decade, with a written warranty on the work.

Multi-Flue Cap
Two-story colonials off Lake Magdalene Boulevard often have two or more flues running through a single masonry chase. A multi-flue cap covers the entire chase top rather than capping each flue independently. This is the right solution when the chase crown has failed across its full width, or when the gap between flues is too narrow for individual caps. We fabricate custom stainless multi-flue caps locally for these larger footprints, so you’re not waiting on a generic unit that doesn’t match the chase dimensions.

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.
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AfterTrusted Brands We Service in Lake Magdalene
We work with materials from Famco and Copperfield, and we keep a rolling stock of the most common cap sizes, brackets, and crown coatings so Lake Magdalene jobs don’t stall waiting on parts. The stainless units we install hold up to the Tampa Bay humidity cycle far better than the galvanized steel caps originally put on most of these homes. If you have an existing cap from another manufacturer that’s still sound, we’ll service the crown and flashing around it rather than selling you a replacement you don’t need. That’s the whole point of the camera scan: see the evidence, then decide.
Common Chimney Cap & Crown Problems We See in Lake Magdalene Homes

- Uncapped flues becoming wildlife dens. A dormant chimney on a quiet street off Shaw Road or Livingston Avenue is prime real estate for chimney swifts. Once birds are nesting, federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act protections mean we have to pause the job and wait for the nesting season to end before we can safely cap the flue. We will tell you that on the phone before anyone drives out.
- Spalling crowns on 1970s-80s masonry chimneys. The concrete crowns poured on these homes break down under Lake Magdalene’s humidity, and the first sign is often mortar chunks in the firebox or on the smoke shelf. By the time you see debris inside the house, the flue liner top has been exposed to rain for at least a season.
- Rusted-out cap brackets on galvanized steel. The cap is still sitting there, so it looks fine from the ground. But the mounting brackets have corroded through, and one good thunderstorm gust can send the whole unit into the yard. We check bracket integrity on every single visit, even when the cap looks newer.
- Oak and pine debris loading on decorative fireplaces. Even a fireplace that’s never lit will accumulate leaves, pollen, and small branches from the canopy overhead. That organic material holds moisture against the flue tile and accelerates liner degradation. A screened cap stops it, and it’s cheap insurance compared to a liner replacement.
Pricing for Chimney Cap & Crown in Lake Magdalene, FL
A standard stainless single-flue cap installation in Lake Magdalene runs $425-$650 for a home under 2,000 square feet, depending on flue access and whether we’re also doing a crown inspection. Cap replacement on a 1980s colonial with a chase-mounted unit typically runs $550-$900, since the old cap removal and mounting surface prep take real time. Crown repair involving partial rebuild and coating lands between $700 and $1,200 on most Lake Magdalene homes. Full custom multi-flue caps start around $1,200 and go up based on chase dimensions and the number of flues. If you have a competitor’s written estimate, bring it. We offer a free second opinion on any written quote, and our price comes in writing before work starts, per Haven Standard Clause 1. Call (980) 580-8641 and we’ll schedule the camera scan.
What changes the price: roof pitch and chimney height (many Lake Magdalene two-story colonials need a taller ladder setup), whether the existing crown needs repair before a cap can be mounted, and whether the flue tile top is intact. We do not quote over the phone without seeing photos. We do not charge for the inspection.
We Also Serve Cities Near Lake Magdalene

Emberly Chimney Cleaners serves Chimney Cap & Crown in Lake Magdalene and the surrounding metro. Our scheduled routes cover Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, and Miami, so if you’re a little outside the neighborhood, we can still get to you. Crews are based locally for north Hillsborough County work, and dispatch is coordinated from our Miami office.
Serving Lake Magdalene, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Lake Magdalene 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 Lake Magdalene

Yes, and often more urgently than a heavily used fireplace. A chimney that sits dormant 50-plus weeks a year isn’t staying clean. It’s collecting moisture from Lake Magdalene’s humidity microclimate and organic debris from the surrounding oak canopy, both of which corrode metal components and accelerate crown deterioration. The cap is what keeps that moisture and debris out of the flue. If yours is missing or rusted through, the flue liner is taking direct weather exposure even though you never light a fire. Call (980) 580-8641 for a camera scan, and we’ll show you exactly what’s going on up there.
Spalling means the concrete crown is breaking apart in pieces, and on a Lake Magdalene chimney it usually traces back to moisture working through the concrete, freezing or expanding in the heat cycle, and popping the surface off. Once the crown starts spalling, rain reaches the flue liner and the upper masonry, and the damage accelerates quickly. It also means chunks of mortar can drop into the firebox or smoke chamber. This is fixable with a crown rebuild and coating, but it is not a “wait and see” item. Schedule an inspection and get the written scope before the next rainy season.
If the nest belongs to chimney swifts, no. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act protects active nests, and we will not disturb one. What we do is document the situation, advise you on the nesting timeline, and schedule the cap installation for after the birds have left for the season. We can also do the crown inspection and any non-intrusive work in the meantime. The important thing is not to try to smoke the birds out or remove the nest yourself; that’s both illegal and unsafe. We will tell you exactly what we’re seeing and what the legal path looks like.
Every year, without exception. The lake humidity and canopy debris load don’t stop because the fireplace isn’t used, and decorative fireplaces are the ones where crown damage goes unnoticed longest. We recommend an annual camera-scan inspection under NFPA 211 Level 2 protocol, which includes crown assessment, flue condition, and cap integrity. It’s the same standard we have used since 2009, and you get photos from every visit to compare year over year. That archive is the only way to know if a hairline crack is growing or stable.
A custom stainless multi-flue cap with a screened side skirt almost always makes sense for these homes. The chase tops on 1980s colonials tend to be wide, and individual caps often leave gaps where one flue meets another. A multi-flue unit covers the full chase, keeps the oak and pine debris out, and allows us to mount it to a properly repaired crown. We measure the chase, fabricate to spec, and install with a written warranty. Call (980) 580-8641 and we’ll bring the camera, the ladder, and a straight answer.
Written by Corrine Halstead, Owner at Emberly Chimney Cleaners, serving Lake Magdalene under the Haven Standard since 2009.





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