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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AfterFamco Chimney Cap Installation: The Long Island Owner’s Guide
We install Famco chimney caps across Long Island, and the typical installed price runs $285 to $485, including the cap, mounting hardware, and labor. We carry Famco-compatible caps on the truck, so most swaps happen in one visit, no second trip needed. The way most folks discover the cap has failed is simple: they spot rust trails on the brick, hear rain dripping inside the fireplace during a storm, or find a squirrel that clearly decided the flue was now a condo.
A chimney cap isn’t decorative. It keeps water out of the flue, keeps animals out of the house, and keeps sparks off the roof. When it fails, everything below it starts degrading faster: mortar joints, the flue liner, the damper. Here’s what you need to know about getting yours matched and replaced.
Which Famco Models This Applies To
Famco builds caps in a dozen different series, and the naming is not intuitive. The models we most often replace in Long Island homes are the FCS, FC, and FST lines, plus the multi-flue versions that cover two or three clay tiles side by side. The key identifier is not the model name. It’s the outside dimension of your flue tile, measured across the top. Most Long Island flues are 8×8, 8×13, or 13×13, and a Famco cap ordered for the wrong tile size simply won’t seat. We’ve seen it happen: an 8×13 cap ordered for an 8×12 tile, and the lag bolts chew into nothing but air.
One thing worth knowing up front: Top Hat Chimney is an independent chimney service. We’re not affiliated with Famco, and we don’t pretend to be. What we do is stock Famco-compatible caps and mounting hardware, and we know the product line well enough to tell you honestly whether you need the OEM part or whether a quality equivalent does the same job for less. For most of the standard galvanized and stainless caps, there’s no reason to pay the brand premium. Where we do recommend staying faithful to Famco is on the larger multi-flue custom sizes and the heavier-gauge stainless models where the wind load near the water on Long Island demands the thicker material.
Signs Your Famco Chimney Cap Installation Is Failing
- Water in the firebox after rain. The cap’s mesh screen has rusted through or the cap itself has shifted off the flue tile, letting rain fall straight down. You’ll see a damp spot or a small puddle on the firebox floor within a day of a storm.
- Rust streaks down the brick face. This is the cap’s steel body corroding and the runoff staining your masonry. Once the streaks show, the cap is usually years past its useful life, and the flashing around it may be failing too.
- Animal noise or debris inside the flue. The mesh screen has torn, or a corner has lifted. You’ll hear scratching, chirping, or the unmistakable smell of a nest. We’ve pulled full squirrel nests out of flues on Long Island where a cap’s screen had a hole the size of a quarter.
- Sparks or embers visible on the roof after a hot fire. The spark arrestor mesh is gone or gaping. In a dry season on Long Island, with cedar shake or old shingles, that’s a serious fire risk. The cap’s whole job is to shut that down.
- The cap is visibly tilted, loose, or gone. High winds off the Sound, ice lift in February, or just a corroded base can loosen a cap until it’s hanging by a single lag bolt. If you can see it’s not sitting flat, it’s not doing its job.
Replacement Cost & What’s Included
On Long Island, a standard Famco-compatible single-flue cap installed typically lands between $285 and $425. Multi-flue caps run higher, usually $395 to $485 installed, because the mounting is heavier and the part costs more. What drives the range is simple: galvanized versus stainless steel, standard versus custom flue size, and whether the existing cap left behind damaged mortar or a cracked crown that needs a small repair before the new cap can seat properly.
The price we give you before the job starts includes the cap itself, the mounting hardware, the labor, and cleanup. If the old cap needs to be cut off because the bolts are seized, that’s part of the labor. If the crown needs a small patch, we’ll tell you on the spot and show you what we’re seeing before adding a dime. Every job is covered by our 90-Day Done Right Promise: if it’s not right, one call brings Wendell and his crew back. And we give you the camera footage of your flue before and after, no exceptions.
DIY or Call Us?
Replacing a chimney cap involves working at height, often on a roof surface you can’t see all of from the ground. If your cap is on a single-story ranch with a gentle pitch and you have a proper ladder, a safety harness, and a helper on the ground, it’s a doable job for some homeowners. But most Long Island chimneys are not that friendly: they sit on second-story peaks, behind reroofed layers, or up against dormers that make ladder placement genuinely sketchy.
What you can safely do from the ground is inspect: use binoculars to check for rust, tilt, or missing mesh. If you see any of those, call us at (516) 968-5380. We’ll come out, take a look, show you the exact problem, and give you a number before any tool comes off the truck. If it doesn’t need replacing, I’ll tell you that first.
FAQs
A galvanized Famco cap lasts 5 to 8 years near the Long Island shore before rust compromises the mesh and base; a stainless cap lasts 12 to 20 years. Salt air converts galvanized steel’s protective zinc layer to oxide fast, and once the zinc is gone, the steel underneath goes quickly. If you’re within two miles of the water, spend the extra on stainless. Call (516) 968-5380 and we’ll help you pick the right one for your exact location.
If the damage is limited to a small torn section of mesh, it can be patched, and we’ll do that if the cap’s body and base are still solid. If the steel body is rusted through, the mounting straps are thin, or the base is warped, repair is throwing money at a part that will fail again within a year or two. Call (516) 968-5380 for an honest read on which situation you have.
A standard single-flue cap swap takes 45 minutes to an hour on site, including removing the old cap, inspecting the flue tile and crown, and installing the new cap. If we need to patch the crown or fight seized bolts, it can run closer to two hours. Call (516) 968-5380 and we’ll give you a clear window when we book.
We keep the most common Famco-compatible sizes on the truck: 8×8, 8×13, 13×13, plus common multi-flue covers. Odd sizes or custom stainless caps usually take three to five business days to source. Call (516) 968-5380 and tell us your flue measurements, and we’ll tell you what we can do the same day.
Call Top Hat Chimney
If your Famco chimney cap is rusted, loose, or gone, call Top Hat Chimney at (516) 968-5380. We’re locally owned and owner-operated right here on Long Island, and the person who answers the phone will likely be Wendell himself. We’ll give you a straight price, a real arrival window, and camera proof of every recommendation we make. We also stock parts for DuraFlex, HeatShield, and Gelco systems if the cap turns out to be just one piece of a bigger puzzle.
Written by Wendell Pike, Owner, Top Hat Chimney at Top Hat Chimney, serving Long Island and nearby areas.