Level 1 sweep and inspection to the NFPA 211 annual standard - flue, crown, cap, and flashing checked and photographed
Chimney sweep logs do not sweep chimneys. They loosen some creosote - which then falls where a brush and vacuum still have to collect it.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterFamco Chimney Liner & Rebuild in Haverhill: What to Know First
If you own a home in Haverhill with a Famco liner and you’re seeing flue trouble, here’s the straight answer: we repair and rebuild Famco chimney liners as an independent Famco service provider, most jobs take one to two days once we’re on site, and you’ll get a written price before any tool comes off the truck. We’ve worked on Famco liners in Haverhill homes since 1999, and we’ll tell you plainly when a liner can be repaired and when it’s time to replace it. If you’re calling because someone else already gave you a quote, we’ll give you a free second opinion on it. Call (978) 724-7935 and Wendell or one of his crew will answer.
How Famco Products Fail - and How We Fix Them
- Famco Flex-Series liners showing pinhole corrosion near the flue cap. This is the one we see most in Haverhill, especially on older colonials near the Merrimack where damp air and freeze-thaw cycles work on the top three feet of liner. The cap collar traps moisture, and over a few winters the stainless steel gets thin right below it. Usually we can sleeve the damaged section if the rest of the liner is sound. If it’s not, we’ll say so.
- Famco rigid liner joints loosening after repeated chimney fires. A chimney fire doesn’t always leave a visible scar on the brick, but it does expand and contract the liner. On Famco rigid sections, that repeated stress can break the seal at the joints, letting flue gas into the chimney cavity. We find this with a camera inspection, and the fix is typically resealing the joints and checking for any warped sections that need replacing.
- Famco liner sections that weren’t sized to the appliance. We see this a lot in Haverhill when a homeowner replaced a furnace or boiler and the installer reused the old Famco liner. A liner that’s too big for the new appliance never gets hot enough to draft properly, so creosote and condensation build up faster. The right fix is measuring the appliance’s BTU output and running a correctly sized liner. Too small is worse. We’ll run the numbers and show you.
- Older Famco flexible liners kinked during original installation. Some of the early Famco flex liners were installed without enough care pulling them down the flue, and a kink or crushed section restricts draft from day one. You live with a smoky fireplace for years and think it’s just how it is. A camera inspection shows the kink in about five minutes. Usually that’s a liner replacement, and we reuse the existing crown and cap if they’re in good shape.
- Famco liners where the top plate or rain cap was never sealed correctly. Water gets between the liner and the clay flue tile, and that water works down into the smoke chamber and firebox. In Bradford and Riverside, we see this on chimneys that face the prevailing wind and rain. The liner itself may still be fine; we remove the top plate, clean and re-seal it, and replace the cap if the welds are gone.
Our Famco Chimney Liner & Rebuild Process
- 1
Call and talk to a person. You call (978) 724-7935, and a live person answers. We set a real arrival window and call you if anything changes.
- 2
Camera inspection before anything else. Wendell runs a camera down the flue and shows you the footage. You see exactly what he sees, and you get a plain-English verdict. No camera, no recommendation. That’s the rule.
- 3
Parts decision: OEM Famco or quality aftermarket. We tell you what’s available from Famco and when a DuraFlex or HeatShield component does the same job for less money. We don’t push one or the other; we show you the difference and let you decide.
- 4
The repair or rebuild. For liner repair, we clean the flue first, then seat and seal the repair section. For a full rebuild, we remove the old liner, prep the flue, and run the new one with proper insulation where code and climate call for it. Haverhill winters are hard on uninsulated liners, so we recommend insulation on exterior chimneys.
- 5
Draft test and cleanup. We light a test fire or run a draft gauge, then clean the work area. You’d have to look twice to know we were there, except the fireplace draws right again.
- 6
Paperwork and the 90-Day Done Right Promise. You get the invoice with the same number we quoted, and the written promise: if it’s not done right, one call brings us back. No charge.
What Famco Chimney Liner & Rebuild Costs in Haverhill
Famco liner work in Haverhill is priced by the job, not the hour, and here are the ranges we see most often in this area:
- Liner repair (resealing joints, patching a damaged section): $300-$650
- Flexible stainless liner replacement, single story: $850-$1,700
- Full liner replacement with insulation, two-story: $1,800-$3,400
- Partial chimney rebuild (above the roofline): $1,200-$3,800
- Full chimney rebuild from the roofline up: $3,500-$8,500
What moves the price: whether you need scaffold or ladder access, roof pitch, whether the crown needs replacing at the same time, and whether we have to cut back damaged brick. Homes in the Kirk Street historic district and older colonials up near Bradford College tend to have taller chimneys and more complicated flashing, which adds labor. You’ll get the exact price before we start, and the number you hear on the phone is the number on the invoice. Call (978) 724-7935 for a free estimate.
Why Haverhill Homeowners Call Top Hat Chimney for Famco Work
We’ve been inside Haverhill chimneys since 1999. Wendell Pike put his name on this company and he still answers the phone. When we work on a Famco liner, we know what we’re looking at, and we’re also comfortable telling you when a DuraFlex, HeatShield, or Gelco component will do the job better for your specific flue. We’re not tied to one brand, so we recommend what works, not what’s on the truck. Every job gets the camera inspection, every job gets the written quote before work starts, and every job comes with the 90-Day Done Right Promise. If it doesn’t need doing, we’ll tell you that too. And when we run into you at the hardware store on Washington Street, you can stop us and ask about anything we did. That’s the point of doing business this way.
FAQs
If your Famco liner is still under the original manufacturer’s warranty, some repairs done with non-Famco parts can affect warranty coverage. We’ll review your liner’s age and condition during the camera inspection and tell you before any work starts whether using Famco OEM parts matters for your specific situation. Call (978) 724-7935 and we’ll walk you through it.
In many Haverhill homes we can match the existing Famco liner section and repair just the damaged part, especially if the rest of the liner is structurally sound and the camera footage shows no other thinning or joint failure. If the damage is widespread or the liner is undersized for the appliance, we’ll tell you that a full replacement is actually the cheaper long-term choice. The camera footage shows you why.
Most Famco liner replacements in Haverhill take one day. Two-story homes with tall chimneys or a partial rebuild above the roofline can take two days. We’ll give you a firm schedule before we start, and we call if anything changes.
Famco makes a solid liner, and a repair is often the right call if the damage is localized and the liner still fits your appliance. But if you’re facing a full replacement, we’ll show you options from Famco alongside equivalent products from DuraFlex and HeatShield so you can compare what you’re actually getting for the money. No pressure, just the facts.
Once a year, burn or no burn. Haverhill chimneys break in the off-season too, and a small liner issue caught in July is a lot cheaper than a chimney fire in January. Call (978) 724-7935 to schedule an inspection and camera check.
Written by Wendell Pike, Owner, Top Hat Chimney at Top Hat Chimney, serving Haverhill and nearby areas.