Chimney Services in Middle Township, NJ

What the numbers suggest for chimneys in Middle Township

A third of Middle Township's 10,381 housing units, 33% by Census estimates, were built in 2000 or later, with 24% more from 1980 to 1999 and 25% from the 1960s and 1970s. Newer houses may have factory-built fireplaces in framed chases or direct-vent units with no chimney at all. The 1960s and 1970s houses are likelier to carry masonry chimneys.

Utility gas heats about 63% of occupied homes, electricity 18% and propane 13%, with oil at 5% and wood at 0.8%. Propane furnaces, water heaters and fireplaces vent much as natural gas ones do, through a chimney flue or a dedicated vent.

Seven in ten units are detached houses. The estimates describe the township and are no measure of any one chimney.

Flood information from Middle Township

The township's flood hazard information page says Middle Township is subject to tidal flooding along the Delaware Bay front and along the back bays near Grassy Sound, Stone Harbor Manor and Avalon Manor, and it directs residents to the Cape May County mapping system for flood plains. For new construction in flood zones, it states that electrical and mechanical equipment must sit above the required elevation. A furnace or water heater raised for that reason changes how it vents, which is the job of an inspection before a new appliance. The township can confirm how these rules apply to a particular property.

What to photograph, and when

The NJ Department of Banking and Insurance advises making a home inventory with pictures or video before severe weather, and photographing damage to the house and contents afterward for claims. For the chimney, a dated set of photos taken on a calm day in late summer gives you a baseline:

• Each face of the chimney or chase from the ground, including where it meets the roof.
• The top: cap, chase cover or crown, zoomed in from a safe spot on the ground.
• Inside: the firebox, the damper, and the ceiling and walls next to the chimney.
• In the attic, the framing and roof deck around the chimney if you can reach them safely.

A chimney inspection adds what you cannot see yourself, since findings come with photos, along with camera footage from inside the flue where the flue permits. Keep that report with your own pictures.

Photos are easiest to compare when they match. Stand in the same spots each year, shoot in similar light, and store copies somewhere other than the house, such as an online folder, so a storm cannot take the record with it.

Wind, flood and wear are separate questions

State guidance is plain on one point: flooding is not covered under standard homeowners policies, including flooding that comes with a hurricane. The same page notes that a policy may carry a separate wind or hail deductible or a hurricane deductible. After a storm, it advises covering openings in the walls or roof to limit further damage and keeping receipts for those repairs. How your insurer treats a particular chimney loss is between you and the insurer; our guide to chimney damage and insurance covers what to ask.

Local questions

Sources

1. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates (tables B25034, B25040, B25024), via Census Reporter
2. Middle Township: Flood hazard information
3. NJ Department of Banking and Insurance: Insurance and extreme weather