Sweep & inspection
Caps & crowns
Flue relining
Masonry repair
Gas fireplace serviceLevel 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.
Fast, Reliable Chimney Inspection Across Hempstead
A chimney inspection in Hempstead typically costs $149 – $349 depending on the level, and a Level 2 inspection with a camera scan runs $249 – $349. Most Hempstead homes need that Level 2 because of what lurks behind the brick: cracked clay tiles, unlined flues, and creosote glaze you can’t see from the hearth. Flint Chimney Co Hempstead serves every corner of the village, from the pre-war colonials near Hempstead Turnpike to the garden apartment blocks off Peninsula Boulevard. Call (516) 559-6922 and we’ll give you a written price before any tool comes off the truck.
Why Flint Chimney Co Hempstead Is Hempstead’s Preferred Chimney Inspection Company
We’ve been inspecting chimneys across Hempstead long enough to know which streets have the unlined flues and which blocks get the freeze-thaw spalling. Hank Delano runs our Hempstead operation, and he insists on one rule: nothing gets recommended unless the homeowner sees the camera footage with their own eyes. That’s why Hempstead customers tell us the same thing year after year. They expected an upsell. They got a straight answer instead.
Every inspection comes with the 365-Day Done Right Promise, a written guarantee that covers any repair we perform for one full year. If a covered repair fails within that year, we come back at no charge. That’s not a vague assurance. It’s in writing on every job we quote in Hempstead.
Our technicians are background-checked, uniformed, and they show up inside the window we give you. A live person answers the phone at (516) 559-6922 around the clock, so when you call about a leak or a downdraft, you get a human being. Not a voicemail tree.
Styles & brands we work with
Level 2 Chimney Inspection in Hempstead
A Level 2 Chimney Inspection is the standard we recommend for most Hempstead homes, and here’s why: the village’s pre-WWII housing stock was built for wood and coal fires, not modern gas and oil appliances. A Level 2 inspection includes everything in a Level 1 visual check plus a camera scan of the flue interior, which is the only way to see hairline cracks in the clay tile liner or first-degree creosote building up in a short, wide flue. In Hempstead, a Level 2 inspection runs $249 – $349, and the price is written down before we begin.
Camera Scan of the Flue Interior
A camera pushed through the flue records exactly what those bricks are hiding. In the 1920s colonials near the village center, that often means a liner the previous owner never installed or one that’s shifted at the joints. We show you the footage. If it’s fine, we tell you it’s fine. If it’s not, you’ll see the crack on the screen before we quote a repair.
Oil and Gas Appliance Venting Check
When a modern high-efficiency boiler vents into a chimney built for coal, the exhaust runs cooler. Cooler exhaust means more condensation and faster creosote deposition. We check the venting path, the connector, and the flue interior, because carbon monoxide backdrafting in a Hempstead winter is a failure that starts silently.
Chimney Leak in Hempstead
A chimney leak in Hempstead usually traces to one of three places: a cracked crown, damaged flashing, or spalled brick from repeated freeze-thaw cycles near the coast. Coastal-adjacent Hempstead streets see winter moisture get into hairline masonry gaps, freeze, expand, and push the top courses apart. By spring, water stains appear on the ceiling or the damper starts dripping. A leak inspection runs $149 – $199, and we bring the camera up top, not just inside.
Crown and Top-Course Inspection
We walk the roof line with a ladder, not binoculars. The crown is the concrete cap on top of the chimney, and in Hempstead it takes the worst of the nor’easters. Hairline cracks here are the single most common leak source we find, and they’re invisible from the ground.
Flashing and Masonry Evaluation
Flashing is the metal seal where the chimney meets the roofline. In older Hempstead homes, that flashing was often installed with tar, not modern step flashing, and tar eventually fails. We check the seal, the mortar joints, and the brick face, then give you a written price for anything that actually needs fixing.
Trusted Brands We Service in Hempstead
We service and install professional-grade chimney products from Gelco, Olympia Chimney, Famco, and Copperfield. When a Hempstead liner job calls for a 316L stainless steel liner, we quote DuraFlex because it holds up to the acidic condensate from high-efficiency oil and gas appliances. Our Chimney Inspection team stocks common cap and connector parts locally, so most Hempstead repairs don’t wait on a distributor. We tell you the brand before we install it, and the written quote names the material, not just the price.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterCommon Chimney Inspection Problems We See in Hempstead Homes
- Unlined or cracked clay tile flues. Many Hempstead homes built before WWII were constructed without a proper liner, or with clay tiles that crack after decades of heating and cooling cycles. A visual-only check misses these cracks. A Level 2 camera scan catches them.
- Freeze-thaw spalling on the crown and top courses. Coastal-adjacent Hempstead neighborhoods get repeated freeze-thaw cycles each winter, and brick faces start shedding chips called spalls. A quick sweep-and-go often misses this, leaving a leak source that grows for years.
- First-degree creosote glaze in short, wide flues. Pre-WWII Hempstead stacks were designed for hot wood or coal fires. When a modern high-efficiency furnace vents into them, lower stack temperature leads to creosote that forms a shiny tar glaze, not dusty soot. That glaze is fuel for a chimney fire.
- Smoky downdrafts from negative pressure zones. The village’s tall trees and tightly packed homes along the historic district create pressure inversions on cold, still days. Smoke gets pushed back down the flue instead of rising, and the fix is often a specialized cap or flue extension, not a damper adjustment.
Pricing for Chimney Inspection in Hempstead, NY
A Level 1 visual inspection in Hempstead runs $149 – $199. That covers checking the accessible portions of the chimney, the damper, and the firebox, plus a quick check of the exterior masonry from the ground. A Level 2 inspection, the one we recommend for most Hempstead homes, runs $249 – $349 and adds a full camera scan of the flue interior, a video review with you, and a written report. A Level 3 inspection, reserved for suspected structural damage or after a chimney fire, starts at $500 and often involves opening a portion of the masonry. Every quote is written before any work starts. Call (516) 559-6922 and we’ll give you a firm number for your specific chimney.
We Also Serve Cities Near Hempstead
Flint Chimney Co Hempstead covers the village and the surrounding communities. If you’re in Uniondale, East Meadow, Westbury, or Rockville Centre, we’ll send the same background-checked team and the same written-price guarantee. Scheduling is coordinated from our New York City office, and our crews serve the Hempstead area locally, so you’re not waiting on a crew from out of state.
Serving Hempstead, NY - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Hempstead area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About Chimney Inspection in Hempstead
Yes. A pre-WWII Hempstead chimney was built with a short, wide flue designed for hot wood or coal exhaust, and a modern high-efficiency furnace vents at much lower temperatures. That creates more condensation, faster creosote accumulation, and a higher risk of carbon monoxide backdrafting. You need a Level 2 inspection with a camera scan, not a visual-only check. Call (516) 559-6922 and we’ll show you exactly what your flue looks like inside.
A smoky downdraft in the village historic district is usually caused by negative pressure, not a faulty damper. Tall trees and tightly packed homes create low-pressure zones that push smoke back down the flue on cold, still days. The fix is often a specialized cap from Famco or a flue extension, and it takes a technician who understands the district’s wind patterns. We’ll diagnose it properly and give you a written quote for the fix.
Yes. The risk in Hempstead chimneys comes from what happens inside the flue when your heating system vents through it, not just from fires. Condensation from a high-efficiency oil or gas appliance accelerates creosote glaze formation even if you never light a log. And freeze-thaw damage to the crown happens all winter long whether the fireplace is used or not. An inspection catches both problems before they turn into leaks or chimney fires.
You can’t know from looking at the outside, and that’s the point. Unlined flues and cracked clay tiles are invisible from the hearth and usually not visible from the roof either. The only way to confirm is a Level 2 camera scan, which we run through the flue and show you on the spot. If your Hempstead home was built before WWII and has its original chimney, assume you need the camera. Call (516) 559-6922 and we’ll schedule it.
That’s freeze-thaw spalling, and it’s common in Hempstead because winter moisture seeps into hairline cracks in the concrete crown, freezes, expands, and pushes the edges apart. Once spalling starts, it accelerates, because more surface area means more water intrusion. The crown crack is usually the source of a chimney leak, and the repair involves resurfacing or replacing the crown, not just patching the brick. We’ll quote it with a written price before any work begins.
Written by Hank Delano, Owner at Flint Chimney Co Hempstead, serving the Hempstead area with documented pricing and a written guarantee on every chimney inspection and repair.