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 Fireplace Services Across Fordham
Fireplace service in Fordham comes down to one thing most companies won’t tell you: the pre-war chimney stacks here were never built for modern gas appliances. If your fireplace backdrafts, smells like exhaust, or the damper won’t seat, the problem is usually the flue behind it, not the firebox itself. Our Fireplace Services team works on Fordham’s multi-flue stacks every week. We camera-inspect before we recommend anything, and we put the price in writing before work starts. Call (980) 580-8641 and you’ll reach a live person who can schedule a Fordham visit, not a voicemail.
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.
Why Emberly Chimney Cleaners Is Fordham’s Preferred Fireplace Services Company
Fordham building owners call us because we document what we find. Every inspection includes a camera run down the flue, and you walk away with photos, not a vague warning about “deterioration.” That’s Clause 4 of the Haven Standard, the inspection and pricing protocol we’ve operated under since 2009. We’ve completed more than 38,000 chimney inspections and cleanings across the metro area, and in Fordham specifically, the findings tend to be consistent: oversized clay-tile flues, failing mortar joints, and fireboxes that were converted to gas decades ago without a liner assessment.
Our technicians are background-checked and uniformed. When they arrive in Fordham, they’re assigned by name and you get a text when they’re on the way. Corrine Halstead runs the operation and has built the company around the idea that evidence matters more than salesmanship. If a liner is fine, we say so. If it’s not, we show you the footage before we hand you a price.
Our Fireplace Services in Fordham
Gas Fireplace Service
Gas fireplaces in Fordham’s pre-war buildings are rarely original. Most were retrofitted into fireboxes built for coal or wood, and vented into flues that were never sized for a gas appliance. That mismatch causes backdrafting, soot buildup, and carbon monoxide migration into apartments. We service the gas log set, check the vent connection, and camera-scan the flue path. A typical gas fireplace service call in Fordham runs $175-$295, including the camera inspection.
Wood Burning Fireplace
If you still burn wood in Fordham, your chimney needs annual attention. The Bronx freeze-thaw cycle, with temperatures crossing 32°F dozens of times each winter, stresses mortar joints that are already 80 to 100 years old. A standard wood fireplace sweep and inspection in Fordham typically runs $189-$289. We check creosote class, damper function, and flue liner condition before we quote any repair. You’ll see what we see.
Fireplace Insert
Installing an insert into a Fordham fireplace without first camera-inspecting the smoke chamber and damper is a recipe for smoke rollout and poor draft. We see it regularly: a new insert shoehorned into a firebox that was never designed for it, with the flue liner ignored entirely. Before we recommend any insert, we inspect the entire path from firebox to crown. Insert installation in Fordham, including the required liner work, typically runs $3,200-$6,500 depending on flue condition and build height.
Damper Repair
A damper that won’t fully close lets heated air escape your apartment and lets cold Bronx air pour down the flue. In Fordham walk-ups, we commonly find dampers rusted open from decades of moisture intrusion through cracked crowns, or missing entirely after a previous owner removed them during a gas conversion. Damper repair or replacement in Fordham runs $250-$650, and we always check the flue behind it while we’re in there.
BeforeAfterTrusted Brands We Service in Fordham
We work with the brands that hold up in Fordham’s conditions: Olympia Chimney for liners and caps, Gelco for chase covers and dampers, and Famco for vents and connectors. Because Fordham has such a high concentration of multi-flue stacks, we keep common liner sizes and damper parts stocked for faster turnaround. That means less waiting when a flue liner fails in the middle of heating season, which in Fordham is exactly when it tends to happen.
Common Fireplace Problems We See in Fordham Homes
- Backdrafting gas fireplaces. Fordham’s coal-era flues are oversized for gas exhaust. Cooled exhaust drops below dew point inside the flue, condenses, and eats mortar. The fix is a correctly sized liner, not another log set.
- Smoke smell when the fireplace isn’t running. That’s almost always negative pressure in a shared stack. If only one flue in a multi-flue stack was cleaned and the rest are dirty, combustion gases from an active flue can migrate into yours. It’s a cross-contamination hazard that sweeping only the reported flue makes worse.
- Spalled brick and crumbling crowns. Fordham’s thermal cycling, with freeze-thaw dozens of times each winter, forces water into already-weak mortar. Once water reaches the flue system, liner failure accelerates and water finds its way into boiler rooms below.
- Dampers rusted open or missing. Pre-war walk-ups converted to gas often lost their dampers entirely. Without one, you’re heating the Bronx sky, and stack gases drift back into the unit when the boiler next door fires.
Pricing for Fireplace Services in Fordham, NY
Here are honest ranges for what Fordham residents should expect to pay. A standard fireplace sweep and camera inspection runs $189-$289. Gas fireplace service is $175-$295. Damper repair falls between $250-$650. A new flue liner, which is the most common major repair we quote in Fordham’s pre-war buildings, runs $2,800-$5,800 depending on flue height, diameter, and whether scaffolding is required for roof access. Multi-flue stacks cost more per flue because access is tighter and the work is done from a shared roof. You’ll get a written price, written scope, and written warranty before anyone starts. If you’ve got a written estimate from another company, bring it in and we’ll give you a free second opinion. Call (980) 580-8641 for a Fordham-specific quote. Estimates are free.
We Also Serve Cities Near Fordham
If you own a building just outside Fordham, we cover the surrounding boroughs as well. Our crews serve Fireplace Services in Fordham and the wider metro area, including New York City, Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. Scheduling is coordinated from our New York City office, so a Fordham visit is usually available within the week.
Serving Fordham, NY - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Fordham 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 - Fireplace Services in Fordham
Backdrafting happens because Fordham’s original flues were sized for coal-fired furnaces, which produced much hotter exhaust than modern gas appliances. When a gas furnace vents into an oversized clay-tile flue, the exhaust cools too quickly, loses lift, and stalls. If the flue is also unlined, the problem compounds. The fix is a properly sized liner, and the only way to confirm the mismatch is a camera inspection. Call (980) 580-8641 to schedule one.
Cleaning only one flue in a shared Fordham stack can create a negative pressure differential that pulls combustion gases from active flues into the un-cleaned, adjacent flues. It’s not just a maintenance question; it’s a cross-contamination hazard that NYC DOB and fire code enforcement in the Bronx increasingly flags on multi-family inspections. We always assess the entire stack and recommend a cleaning schedule that covers all active flues. Call (980) 580-8641 for a stack-wide assessment.
The Bronx’s freeze-thaw cycle, with temperatures crossing 32°F dozens of times each winter, forces water into mortar joints that are already 80 to 100 years old. That water expands when it freezes, cracking the mortar further and letting moisture migrate into the flue system and down into boiler rooms. Once water reaches a clay-tile liner, it accelerates spalling. What starts as a cracked crown becomes a full liner replacement within two or three winters.
You know by looking at the camera footage. A cleaning clears creosote and soot. A liner replacement is needed when the footage shows cracked clay tiles, missing mortar joints, or active spalling that exposes the masonry behind the flue. In Fordham, the deciding factor is often the original flue size: if it was built for coal and never resized for gas, it needs a liner regardless of how clean it looks. We never recommend a liner without showing you the footage first. Call (980) 580-8641 and ask for a camera-scan inspection.
An exhaust smell when the fireplace is cold points to stack effect: your building’s shared chimney is pulling air down the flue and into your unit. In Fordham’s tall pre-war stacks, this is common when a neighboring flue is actively venting and yours is cold, dirty, or unlined. The negative pressure pulls combustion gases from the crown or an adjacent flue into your firebox. It’s a ventilation and liner issue, not a fireplace issue, and it should be assessed by a professional with a camera. Call (980) 580-8641 to schedule an inspection in Fordham.
If you own or manage a pre-war apartment building in Fordham, you’re dealing with chimney conditions that generic fireplace companies don’t understand. We do. Call (980) 580-8641 and talk to a live person about what you’re seeing. We’ll schedule a visit, camera-scan the flue, and hand you a written price and a photo record before any work is approved. That’s how it should work, and in Fordham, that’s how we do it.
Written by Corrine Halstead, Owner at Emberly Chimney Cleaners, serving Fordham’s multi-flue building stock since 2009.