Heating & cooling across Connecticut

Chimney and Flue Services across Connecticut

Connecticut burns more heating oil than any state in the country. That single fact shapes most of the chimney work here: what forty years of acidic oil condensate does to a flue, and what has to happen to it when a household switches to gas.

Call (844) 785-4066 Browse services

Sweeping, inspection and camera survey
Relining after an oil-to-gas conversion
Crown, masonry and flashing repair

What we cover

Every heating and cooling job, across the state

Seventeen services, each with its own page explaining what the work involves, what moves the price, and what to ask before you agree to anything.

Chimney Inspection Annually, on a property transfer, after a chimney fire, and — the Connecticut one — whenever the fuel changes. Chimney Sweeping Once a year on any appliance, including oil-fired ones. Chimney Relining After an oil-to-gas conversion, when a camera finds cracked or spalling tile, or when the liner has corroded through. Chimney Masonry Repair Open mortar joints, loose brick above the roofline, or spalled faces on the weather side. Chimney Crown Repair A cracked crown, or interior water with no other explanation. Chimney Cap Installation Any open flue, and any cap that has corroded or blown off. Chimney Flashing Repair Ceiling stains near the chimney, particularly after driving rain. Chimney Waterproofing Porous but sound brick, after any repointing has been completed. Chimney Damper Repair A damper that will not seal, or one rusted open on a fireplace nobody uses.

All 17 services

Bridgeport New Haven Stamford Hartford Waterbury Norwalk Danbury New Britain West Hartford Meriden Bristol Hamden Milford Stratford Middletown West Haven Bridgeport New Haven Stamford Hartford Waterbury Norwalk Danbury New Britain West Hartford Meriden Bristol Hamden Milford Stratford Middletown West Haven

Connecticut runs on oil, and the flue pays for it

Six regions, one dominant fuel

An oil-fired appliance vented into masonry produces acidic condensate, and it attacks the flue tile and the mortar from the inside — where nobody can see it and a visual inspection from the roof will not find it. A camera survey will. If your house has heated with oil for decades and nobody has ever put a camera down the flue, that is the single most useful thing you can have done.

The other half of the same story is what happens at conversion. A modern gas appliance produces a fraction of the flue gas an old oil boiler did, so the flue it inherits is far too large. Gas condenses in an oversized flue, the condensate is acidic, and the damage compounds. Relining to the appliance manufacturer’s diameter is part of doing the conversion properly.

Sweeping, inspection and camera survey
Relining after an oil-to-gas conversion
Crown, masonry and flashing repair
Coastal and historic work

How it works

Three steps, no obligation at any of them.

1

Call and tell us what is wrong

Describe the problem and give us your ZIP code. We match you with a chimney company covering your area — there is nothing to fill in and nothing to pay us.
2

A local contractor gets in touch

A local chimney company contacts you to discuss the problem and arrange a visit. What they charge to attend or diagnose is theirs to set, so agree it with them up front.
3

You decide

Book the work, wait a season, or get a second quote. There is no obligation to go ahead with the contractor we introduce you to, and nothing to pay us either way.

What is worth knowing before you call anyone

Four things worth knowing first

Connecticut registers contractors, and you can check Home improvement contractors register with the Department of Consumer Protection and there is a free online lookup. Ask for the HIC number and use it. CSIA certification is the separate technical credential for sweeping and inspection, and a company doing this properly will hold both and volunteer them.

Oil condensate damages flues invisibly Nearly four Connecticut homes in ten heat with oil, and oil soot is acidic. It attacks flue tile and mortar from the inside, where a visual inspection from the roof cannot see it. If your house has burned oil for decades and nobody has ever put a camera down the flue, that survey is the most useful thing you can buy.

A gas conversion is a relining job too This is the one that catches people out on cost. The flue that vented a large oil boiler is far too big for a modern gas appliance, and an oversized flue condenses. A correctly sized stainless liner is part of the conversion, not an extra. Have it quoted at the same time as the boiler.

Salt reaches further inland than people expect Along the Sound and through the southeastern shoreline, galvanized caps and chase covers corrode within a few years and stain the masonry below. Stainless is the only specification worth fitting near the water, and the price difference is small next to doing the job twice.

Where we cover

Check your town

Do we cover your area?

Enter your ZIP code — we serve 185 ZIP codes across Connecticut.

Largest markets

Questions

Frequently asked

How often does a chimney need sweeping in Connecticut?

Annually for anything burned regularly, plus an annual inspection whatever the use. Oil-fired appliances need their flue checked every year too — people assume sweeping is only for wood, and oil soot is both acidic and corrosive.

We are converting from oil to gas. What happens to the chimney?

It almost certainly needs relining. The new appliance is far smaller in output than the oil unit it replaces, so the existing flue is oversized for it, and an oversized flue condenses. A stainless liner sized to the appliance is the standard answer. Get it priced as part of the conversion rather than discovering it afterwards.

What is a Level 2 inspection and when do I need one?

A camera survey of the entire flue plus the accessible attic, crawl space and basement. It is required on a property sale, on any change of fuel or appliance — which includes an oil-to-gas conversion — and after a chimney fire. In Connecticut the fuel-change trigger is the one that comes up most.

There are white stains on my chimney. What is that?

Efflorescence — mineral salts carried out of the masonry by water moving through it. It is not harmful in itself but it is proof that water is getting in and travelling through the brick, which means the crown, the cap or the flashing needs attention before the freeze does structural damage.

Do I need a cap if I never use the fireplace?

Yes, arguably more. An unused flue with no cap is an open pipe collecting rain, leaves and nesting birds, and it is doing that all year with nobody noticing. An uncapped disused flue is where the worst interior damage tends to be found.

Is my chimney worth repairing or should it be rebuilt?

It depends how far down the damage goes. Deterioration confined to the last few courses above the roofline is a rebuild of that section and a routine job. Cracking that runs down into the structure, or a flue that has failed along its length, is a different conversation. A camera survey answers it; a look from the ground does not.

What does it cost?

It depends on what the chimney turns out to need, and nobody can quote it honestly over the phone. The contractor you are introduced to sets their own prices. Ask what the inspection costs before they attend, and ask for the findings in writing.

Tell us what it is doing

We will put you in touch with a licensed contractor covering your town. Free to use, and there is nothing to pay us.