Chimney Services in Livingston, NJ

What the numbers suggest for chimneys in Livingston

About 36% of Livingston's 10,699 housing units were built from 1940 to 1959, and another 26% from 1960 to 1979, according to Census estimates. A masonry chimney from that period has a crown that has already been through 45 to 85 winters, and some will have been patched or replaced along the way. About 20% of units date from 2000 or later, so a large group of newer chimneys is also in town; their crowns are younger but face the same freeze and thaw.

Utility gas heats about 89% of occupied homes and electricity about 8%. About 85% of units are detached houses and 7% are attached.

Heating fuel does not change how a crown ages, since the crown's enemy is water from above. Fuel does decide what the flue below it carries, and a crack that lets water into the chimney can affect a gas appliance flue as much as a fireplace flue. Our guide to the crown and the cap explains how the two parts share the job of keeping water out.

What a well-built crown looks like

Masonry Magazine's checklist for weather-resistant chimneys gives a useful standard to compare against:

• the crown extends beyond the chimney walls and has a drip edge, so water falls clear of the brick;
• it slopes away from the flue tile toward the edges;
• a gap of about 3/8 to 1/2 inch between the crown and the flue tile is filled with a flexible sealant, letting the tile expand without cracking the crown;
• it is built from reinforced concrete, metal or masonry, not a simple mortar wash, which the article says usually cracks from shrinkage soon after construction.

You can check some of this from the ground with binoculars. A crown flush with the brick, with no overhang, is one clue. Streaks or white staining just below the top courses of brick are another; see our guide to white staining on brick.

Coating or rebuilding: how the choice is made

A crown coating is a flexible waterproof layer applied over an existing crown. A rebuild removes the old crown and forms a new one. The choice follows from what the inspection finds:

1. Is the crown's design sound?If it is a flat mortar wash with no overhang or slope, a coating seals a shape that still sends water down the brick. That points toward a rebuild.
2. How deep do the cracks go?Fine surface cracks in a solid, well-shaped crown are what coatings are made for.
3. Is anything loose?Pieces that lift, rock or have fallen onto the roof mean the crown has failed as a unit.
4. Is the flue tile bonded tight to the crown?A crown cast hard against the tile with no expansion gap tends to crack again. A rebuild lets the gap be formed correctly.

Our comparison of crown coating and crown rebuild covers each option's lifespan drivers, and our crown repair service starts with photos of the crown from above. Both a new crown and a coating need dry weather to cure, so scheduling depends on the forecast.

Local questions

Sources

1. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates (tables B25034, B25040, B25024), via Census Reporter
2. Masonry Magazine (MCAA): Masonry Chimney Checklist for Weather Resistance