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 Mount Lebanon
A chimney cap and crown job in Mount Lebanon runs $340-$1,900 depending on whether you need a standard single-flue cap, a custom multi-flue cap, or a full crown rebuild with coating. Most homes here need more than a basic replacement because the chimneys were built between 1920 and 1950 for coal, and the flues were never resized when those coal furnaces became gas boilers. That mismatch is exactly what we look for on every visit. If you’re in Mount Lebanon and your cap is rusted through or your crown is spalling, call (980) 580-8641 and we’ll give you a written price before any work starts.
Why Emberly Chimney Cleaners Is Mount Lebanon’s Preferred Chimney Cap & Crown Company
Mount Lebanon’s housing stock is not like the surrounding townships. The Tudor Revival and Colonial Revival homes along Washington Road and through Virginia Manor carry masonry chimneys with corbeled brickwork and clay tile liners now 70 to 100 years old. We inspect those liners with a camera on every visit, because a cap sits on top of a flue, and if the flue is oversized for a gas log, the cap fails early. Our Chimney Cap & Crown team has been through enough of these 1920s stacks to know what we’ll find before the camera even goes down. Homeowners in Mount Lebanon call us because we show them the photos, name the failure in plain terms, and hand them a written scope and price before anyone picks up a tool. That practice is Clause 1 of the Haven Standard, and it’s been how we’ve operated since Corrine Halstead founded the company in 2009. We coordinate dispatch for Mount Lebanon from our Philadelphia office, and local crews run the service routes. Every job includes a documented photo record, every job carries the 365-Day Done Right Promise, and every estimate is free.
Our Chimney Cap & Crown Services in Mount Lebanon
Cap Installation
Most Mount Lebanon chimneys have two or more flues side by side, which means a basic single-flue cap rarely fits the job. We measure the crown, identify each flue, and spec a cap that actually covers what’s there. A standard stainless single-flue cap installed in Mount Lebanon typically runs $340-$560, including the photo record and written warranty.
Cap Replacement
Rusted caps are common here, especially on chimneys that vent gas appliances through old coal flues. The acidic condensation eats fasteners and screen mesh faster than dry climates. We pull the old cap, show you the corrosion, and replace it with a properly sized unit. Replacement in Mount Lebanon runs $380-$620 for most single-flue setups, and higher when the flue arrangement demands a custom build.
Crown Repair
Mount Lebanon gets roughly 40 inches of snow a year, and freeze-thaw cycling on a 90-year-old mortar crown produces spalling at the corbel line. We repair crowns by cleaning out failed mortar, rebuilding the surface with a proper slope, and sealing it. Crown repairs here run $450-$950 depending on how much of the original crown is salvageable.
Crown Coating
For Mount Lebanon’s damp, overcast winters, we recommend Gelco crown coating on rebuilt crowns. It seals the crown against water penetration and stands up to the freeze-thaw that turns small cracks into spalled sections within two seasons. Coating a repaired crown in Mount Lebanon typically adds $180-$380 and is included when we do a full rebuild.
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.
BeforeAfterTrusted Brands We Service in Mount Lebanon
We stock and install caps from Copperfield and Famco, and we use Gelco for crown sealing on Mount Lebanon jobs. Olympia Chimney components come through our Haven buying network, which keeps customer pricing honest. Because Mount Lebanon’s older chimneys often need custom flue arrangements, we keep Copperfield multi-flue cap components available for fast turnaround. You’ll see the brand specified in your written scope before we order anything.
Common Chimney Cap & Crown Problems We See in Mount Lebanon Homes
- Crown spalling from freeze-thaw. Forty inches of annual snowfall plus repeated thawing breaks apart mortar crowns on 1920s masonry chimneys. The damage shows first at the corbel line, where water pools and refreezes.
- Rust-through on single-flue caps. When a coal-era chimney with multiple clay flues is vented to gas, the flues are often left oversized. Condensation rises, acidic residue forms, and the cap rusts through from the underside within a few years.
- Acidic condensation eroding crown mortar. The coal-to-gas conversion in Mount Lebanon homes produces combustion byproducts that eat through mortar and cap fasteners faster than in dry-climate markets. We see it most in Virginia Manor and along Beverly Road.
- Undersized or poorly fitted caps from previous repairs. Many older Mount Lebanon chimneys got a single-flue cap slapped on a multi-flue crown. It doesn’t cover the second flue, and that open flue takes on water every time it rains.
Pricing for Chimney Cap & Crown in Mount Lebanon, PA
Here’s what Mount Lebanon homeowners can expect to pay. Standard single-flue cap installation: $340-$560. Multi-flue or custom cap: $620-$1,100. Crown repair with coating: $580-$950. Full crown rebuild with Gelco coating: $850-$1,900. The main variables are chimney height, flue count, and whether the crown needs partial or full reconstruction. Every job is quoted in writing before work starts, and the written price includes the photo record, the warranty, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise. Call (980) 580-8641 for a free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near Mount Lebanon
Our crews cover Mount Lebanon and the surrounding region, including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, and Bethlehem. The chimney conditions in Mount Lebanon are specific to this era of streetcar-suburb housing, but the same inspection standard applies everywhere we work: camera down the flue, written price in hand, photo record when it’s done.
Serving Mount Lebanon, PA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Mount Lebanon 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 Mount Lebanon
Because Mount Lebanon’s 1920s-1940s masonry chimneys were built with two or three clay flues side by side to serve both a coal furnace and a fireplace. A single-flue cap covers one opening and leaves the adjacent flue exposed to rain and snow. We spec multi-flue caps from Copperfield when the crown layout demands it. Call (980) 580-8641 and we’ll tell you what your chimney actually needs.
Coal flues were oversized for the heat output of coal. When those flues now vent a gas log or gas boiler, the flue is too large, the draft slows, and condensation forms on the clay tile walls. That condensation is mildly acidic, and it rises, eating cap fasteners and crown mortar. In Mount Lebanon, where many homes cycled coal to oil to gas across the 1950s through the 1990s, this pattern is nearly universal.
We recommend Gelco crown coating on every rebuilt crown in Mount Lebanon. It’s designed to flex slightly with temperature swings and resist water absorption, which is the mechanism that spalls crowns after repeated freeze-thaw. A bare mortar crown in this climate typically fails again within a few years.
Yes. A crown that’s cracked or spalled lets water into the flue. Water mixes with creosote, and wet creosote is heavier, stickier, and builds up faster than dry creosote. In Mount Lebanon, where many older homes still use wood stoves as a real heat source, this compounds the loading. If you’re seeing dark streaks on the crown or inside the flue, call (980) 580-8641.
Not always required by code, but we run a camera scan on every cap and crown job anyway. If the flue underneath the crown is oversized, cracked, or lined with residue, replacing the cap only addresses the top of the problem. The inspection is included with every visit under Clause 4 of the Haven Standard. For most Mount Lebanon chimneys, replacing a cap without looking inside the flue is half a repair.
Written by Corrine Halstead, Owner at Emberly Chimney Cleaners, serving Mount Lebanon with camera-documented chimney inspections and written-price work since 2009.