Chimney Services in South River, NJ

What the numbers suggest for chimneys in South River

Census estimates place 20% of South River's 5,754 housing units before 1940, 27% between 1940 and 1959 and 28% in the 1960s and 1970s. Older masonry chimneys can be built with softer brick and lime-based mortar, which behave differently from modern materials when they are repaired; our guide to lime, portland and refractory mortar explains the difference.

Utility gas is the main heating fuel in about 86% of occupied homes; electricity covers 10%. Burning gas creates water vapor, so where a furnace or water heater vents through an old masonry chimney, water in the exhaust adds to the rain the brick already absorbs.

Housing is 75% detached, with 9% in buildings of two to four units and 15% in larger buildings. In a two- to four-unit house, one chimney may carry flues for more than one household's heating equipment. These are borough-wide estimates, not a description of any particular chimney.

Why chimney brick flakes

Spalling is the face of a brick breaking off in flakes or chips. The Brick Industry Association lists cracking, spalling and disintegration from repeated freeze-thaw cycling among the results of too much water in masonry. Brick takes on water, the water freezes and expands, and the surface gives way. BIA's maintenance note groups chimneys with parapets and copings as elements under harsher exposure, which can shorten the time between repairs.

Mortar plays a part as well. The National Park Service's guidance on repointing warns that mortar stronger than the masonry units will not give, so stress is relieved through the brick instead, causing permanent damage. A chimney repointed with mortar harder than its brick can start to spall at the edges next to the joints. Once a brick is broken or heavily spalled, BIA notes, moisture gets in through it, and replacing the damaged units may be necessary. Our guide to flaking brick covers more causes.

Fix the water first, then the brick

The Park Service advises dealing with the root cause of deterioration, such as leaking roofs or gutters or extreme exposure, before masonry work begins. On a chimney that order looks like this:

1. Find the waterA cracked crown, a missing cap, failed flashing or a flue carrying wet exhaust can each keep brick saturated.
2. Replace what is lostBricks with badly spalled faces come out and new units, as close a match to the old brick as can be found, go in. See masonry repair and repointing.
3. Repoint with compatible mortarNew mortar should be no harder than the brick around it.

When spalling runs through much of the chimney above the roof, rebuilding that section can make more sense than piecing in brick, a choice covered in repair or rebuild.

Flood history along the South River

The borough's Strategic Recovery Planning Report, prepared in 2014 under a post-Sandy planning grant administered by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, records Sandy's waterline at 28 inches on Reed Street and as high as 40 inches on Washington Street, with most homes east of Water Street taking on several feet of water on the ground floor. It lists earlier floods in 1962, 1968, 1971, 1984, 1992 and 1993, and reports about 200 homes and businesses determined to be substantially damaged. When floodwater reaches a chimney's base, its cleanout or a basement furnace or water heater, those parts should be checked before the heat goes back on; see checking the chimney after a storm.

Local questions

Sources

1. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates (tables B25034, B25040, B25024), via Census Reporter
2. Brick Industry Association, Technical Note 7: Water Penetration Resistance, Design and Detailing (PDF)
3. Brick Industry Association, Technical Note 46: Maintenance of Brick Masonry (PDF)
4. National Park Service, Preservation Brief 2: Repointing Mortar Joints in Historic Masonry Buildings (PDF)
5. DuraVent: Relining Chimneys for Gas Appliances (Ventinox technical guide L1039, PDF)
6. Borough of South River: Strategic Recovery Planning Report, Post Sandy Planning Assistance Grant Program (March 2014, via NJ DCA, PDF)