Service area · Cape May County

Chimney Services in Lower Township, NJ

Lower Township points residents to FEMA flood maps and elevation certificates, and some owners in flood-prone areas consider lifting their houses. A masonry chimney does not simply ride up with the house, so it belongs in the plan from the first meeting.

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Chimney profile
What the numbers suggest for chimneys in Lower Township
Flood information from Lower Township
What lifting a house means for the chimney
Where a chimney inspection fits in the project
Local questions
Sources

Chimney profile: Lower Township

Census estimates for 15,436 housing units (10,862 occupied).

When homes were built

Before 1940 6%
1940–59 19%
1960–79 34%
1980–99 27%
2000 or later 14%

How occupied homes are heated

Utility gas 67%
Fuel oil 2%
Electricity 25%
Propane 5%
Wood 0%
Other or none 1%

Type of housing

Single-family, detached 80%
Single-family, attached 9%
2–4 units 2%
5+ units 6%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, tables B25034, B25040 and B25024, via Census Reporter. Estimates have margins of error; small categories are approximate.

What the numbers suggest for chimneys in Lower Township

Census estimates spread Lower Township's 15,436 housing units across several building eras: 34% from 1960 to 1979, 27% from 1980 to 1999, 19% from 1940 to 1959 and 14% from 2000 on. Masonry chimneys are likely on the older houses and factory-built fireplaces on many of the newer ones.

Among the 10,862 occupied homes, about 67% heat with utility gas, 25% with electricity and 5% with propane. A gas or propane furnace or water heater may vent into a chimney flue, which ties the chimney to any decision about moving that equipment.

Some 80% of units are detached houses. As with any Census profile, these numbers describe the township in aggregate and are not a finding about your chimney.

Flood information from Lower Township

The township's flooding information page sends residents to FEMA's flood map address lookup and a property flood mapping center, recommends pairing the Stevens Institute tide prediction tool with a property's elevation certificate, and offers a document on flood damage-resistant materials requirements. The township is the place to ask how those rules apply to your house before any elevation or repair work.

What lifting a house means for the chimney

FEMA's homeowner guide to retrofitting notes that features such as chimneys add to the cost of lifting a house, because they must be either braced or removed during the lift. A heavy masonry chimney on its own footing does not move with the frame around it. FEMA's later edition adds that the enclosed area under an elevated house must have its service equipment raised above the design flood elevation, so a furnace or water heater in that space would have to move up as well.

Questions to settle with the elevation contractor and engineer early:

Will the chimney be braced and lifted, taken down and rebuilt, or removed for good?
If the furnace or water heater moves, how will it vent in its new spot: the old flue, a new liner, or a vent the appliance maker specifies?
Is the fireplace being kept, and if so, who checks the firebox, hearth and flue joints after the lift?
Who redoes the roof flashing if the chimney is rebuilt?

Our guide to removing an unused chimney covers the take-down option.

Factory-built fireplaces, with their metal chimneys, are another matter. The unit is framed into the house and may travel with it, but the manufacturer's instructions govern any disassembly, reassembly or change to the chimney's height and supports.

Where a chimney inspection fits in the project

House lifting is structural work for the elevation contractor and engineer. The chimney side comes before and after it:

BeforeRecord the chimney's condition in photos, plus a camera run through the flue where it can pass, so everyone works from the same starting point.
During planningSettle the venting for any appliance that will move, through an inspection before a new appliance.
AfterBefore the first fire or heating cycle, have the flue, connectors and flashing inspected for cracks, gaps or misalignment caused by the work.

Local questions

Can a brick chimney be raised along with the house?

FEMA's retrofitting guide says chimneys are either braced or removed during a lift. Which approach suits your house is a question for the elevation contractor and engineer, informed by the chimney's condition.

If we remove the chimney, how will the furnace vent?

Through whatever venting the appliance's manufacturer allows, which may be a new liner, a dedicated vent or a different appliance. That should be decided before the chimney comes down.

Our house was lifted last year. Is the fireplace safe to use?

Do not assume so. Have the firebox, flue and connectors inspected first, since movement during the work can open joints or crack tiles where you cannot see them.

How do I find our flood zone?

Lower Township's flooding page links to FEMA's flood map address lookup. The township can explain how the maps and building rules apply to your property.

Sources

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