Service area · Bergen County

Chimney Services in Saddle Brook, NJ

When a house switches to electric heat, the chimney does not disappear. It keeps facing the weather, and it may still be connected to something. Here is how to decide what to do with a chimney nobody uses.

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Chimney profile
What the numbers suggest for chimneys in Saddle Brook
Deciding what an idle chimney needs
Keeping it, closing it or taking it down
Local questions
Sources

Chimney profile: Saddle Brook

Census estimates for 5,623 housing units (5,530 occupied).

When homes were built

Before 1940 10%
1940–59 47%
1960–79 18%
1980–99 10%
2000 or later 15%

How occupied homes are heated

Utility gas 79%
Fuel oil 4%
Electricity 14%
Propane 3%
Wood 0%

Type of housing

Single-family, detached 64%
Single-family, attached 3%
2–4 units 21%
5+ units 12%

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 Saddle Brook

About 14% of occupied homes in Saddle Brook heat mainly with electricity, according to Census estimates, compared with about 79% on utility gas, 4% on fuel oil and 3% on propane. The Census does not say how many of those electric homes once burned gas or oil, but in an older house a change of heating system can leave a chimney with less to do, or nothing at all.

Most of the housing could have been built with a chimney. About 47% of the 5,623 housing units date from 1940 to 1959 and 18% from 1960 to 1979, with 10% older. Another 15% were built in 2000 or later, a newer group in which a factory-built fireplace is also possible.

About 64% of units are detached houses and 21% are in two-to-four-unit buildings. In a multi-unit house, one unit may have changed its heat while the other still uses the chimney, which makes it important to know what each flue still serves.

Deciding what an idle chimney needs

Confirm nothing still vents into it.A gas water heater, a second boiler or a neighbor's appliance in a two-family house may still use a flue. If anything does, the chimney is not idle, and a flue left serving one small appliance may need attention; see the orphaned water heater problem.
Decide whether you might burn again.If a fireplace or stove is likely in the future, keep the chimney usable. If not, closing it off or removing it become options.
Look at the part above the roof.An unused chimney still takes rain, freeze and thaw. The crown, the brick and the flashing need care whether or not anything burns below.
Pick the closure.The choices are covered below.

Keeping it, closing it or taking it down

Keep it ready

A stainless cap keeps birds, animals and rain out of the flue. Wildlife guidance from the Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management recommends stainless caps over galvanized ones, which rust, and warns against covering a flue with hardware cloth. For a fireplace flue, a top-sealing damper closes the flue at the top and is opened with a cable from the firebox. Used together, a cap and a top-sealing damper keep weather and animals out while leaving the flue ready for a future fireplace or stove.

Close it off

A chimney can be closed so it cannot be used by mistake. Our guide to caring for a fireplace you never use describes ways to do that and what each one leaves open later. Whatever method you choose, leave a clear note at the fireplace and in the utility area so no one lights a fire or connects an appliance to a sealed flue years from now.

Take it down

Removing a chimney, either above the roof or completely, is a structural and roofing project. Our guide on whether to remove an unused chimney walks through when that makes sense.

Whichever you pick, the CSIA points out that the NFPA 211 standard calls for chimneys to be inspected at least once a year, and that unused chimneys can still suffer from animal intrusion and deterioration.

Local questions

We heat with electricity now. Does the chimney still need inspection?

The CSIA cites NFPA 211's call for annual inspection of chimneys, fireplaces and vents, and notes that unused chimneys can still be damaged or occupied by animals. The exposed part above the roof also keeps aging.

Can I just put a screen over the top?

Wildlife guidance advises against covering a flue with hardware cloth because it rusts and can catch snow. A proper stainless cap is the usual answer.

Is it better to remove the chimney?

It depends on its condition, whether anything still uses it, and whether you might want a fireplace or stove later. Removal is permanent and involves roofing and structural work.

Will a cap keep all water out of an unused chimney?

A cap shields the flue opening. Water can still enter through a cracked crown, porous brick or failed flashing, so those parts need the same attention they would on a working chimney.

Sources

Guide