Pricing Overview:

• A single flue cleaning costs $315 and subsequent flues are each $285.
• A chimney cap will range in price from $300 – 800 including installation. The price varies according to size type, necessary prep work to bricks or crown and time to install.
• A stainless steel single-flue chimney liner will cost in the range of $2100 – 3200 for typical installations. Rates vary based upon flue length, diameter, roof access and required prep.

Prices are for general purposes only and are subject to change without notice. Please use our form more information. Payment is by cash or check, to Northeast Chimney Sweeps, at the time of service.

Services and Prices Explained:

A few considerations about pricing:  Most customers find our prices to be quite reasonable, especially if compared with other like-quality professionals.

Stainless steel chimney caps – $300 – 800:  Price includes installation, for single to multiple-flue chimneys.  Chimney caps offer a permanent, non-rusting, maintenance-friendly protection, the cost of which seems small compared to that of removing raccoons or squirrels from your chimney (or living room).

Chimney cleaning – $315 for a single-flue cleaning. All cleanings include a Basic Inspection of the flue that is cleaned. Well worth the price of avoiding a chimney fire in a fireplace flue, or removing a pile-up of soot and debris restricting the draft in a furnace flue.  (Subsequent flues are $285.)

Waterproofing – $300 – 1000, depending on surface area.  This is a water-repellent application from Saver Systems that has its primary benefit preservation of brick surfaces, the avoidance of damage caused by water absorption, deterioration, and freeze / thaw damage.  Always much less expensive than fixing masonry structures that were never protected.

Chimney liners – $2100 – 3200 including installation:  A chimney liner system is a complete single-flue package that includes all supports and connector / adapter components, as well as connection to the appliance; i.e. oil burner. Chimney lining is certainly our most expensive service.  While most customers quickly understand the importance of having a strong and healthy path through which their heating system can “exhale”, a few wonder if there is another way to return their flue to health.  The truth is there IS another choice.  Your chimney has given 40, 50 or more years of service.  If you would like to return it to its original condition, it can be entirely torn down and rebuilt, brick by brick, clay liner by clay liner.  As you have probably guessed, this alternative is impractical, messy, time consuming, and as much as 15 times more expensive.  It is an alternative chosen by no one.  On the other hand, a new stainless steel liner system is completely installed in one day with no mess and little disruption to the customer’s daytime routine.  Once installed, it provides a permanent correction to a worn-out flue, truly  making your chimney new on its important side, the inside!

 

TERMS:  No deposit is required, except on certain specialty work.  Payment in full is required upon job completion for all services.  Every project in unique.  Installations will vary according to chimney construction, manufacturer’s instruction, code requirements, and preferred materials.

Payment Explanation:

NECS accepts cash or checks for payment.  Sorry, but we do not accept credit cards.  This keeps things simple for us, and keeps costs lower for you.  You will always know the exact cost of any job before we begin.

Deposits:

We will occasionally require a “1/3 – 1/2 deposit” on custom jobs such as more complicated or larger liners or special order chimney caps.  However, most of the time, we will do your work from start to finish without asking or a penny up front.  Our customers are good people and consistently pay on time; and we trust them!

We do ask that you bear in mind and take very seriously that we will be expecting payment in full on the day of job completion.  Whether your job is small or large, we will have, by completion, invested at least our time in it.  In many cases, where materials have been used, we have already paid for them by the time they arrive at your home.

Please be ready to “settle up” when we are finished.  Thank you!

Safety Information

Attention all Wood stove and Fireplace users

If you are one of our many wood-burning customers, you are aware that you have an enemy when it comes to your chimney safety- that enemy is CREOSOTE.  Creosote is a black, tarry or glazed material that can coat every surface inside your flue system that is on the path of your smoke’s exit from the chimney.  Creosote is a carbon residue that accumulates as a by-product of the combustion of wood.  As smoke travels up the chimney, some of it condenses and turns to soot and creosote.  It is especially prone to building up at chimney “cool” spots (such as the smoke chamber of the fireplace, or the very top of your flue), and at bends in the flue.  Creosote is your enemy because it is flammable– it can ignite inside your flue system and become fuel for a chimney fire.

The most important way to avoid creosote build-up is to have your chimney cleaned regularly.  For most woodstove burners, that means every year, or after 2 cords of wood.  For standard fireplace users, once every 3 years is usually right, because the average FP customer takes that long to burn 2 cords.  However, please read about ACS (below).  We cannot remove the most-hardened creosote deposits using regular sweeping methods.  ACS can help.

For many customers, regular cleanings are all that is necessary to keep creosote levels to a minimum.  Additionally, all wood-burners should observe the following rules:

• Burn clean, seasoned hardwoods (avoid pine).
• Don’t burn trash, paper, or newspaper (a piece or two to get started is OK)
• Place a woodstove thermometer on your stove.  Check it often.
• Don’t run your stove too low.  Burning at 200 degrees saves on wood, but causes excessive creosote build-up.
• Don’t run your stove too high.  Over-firing can damage your stove and may start a chimney fire.
• Don’t put a large stove in a small room.  You will be tempted to run it too low.
• A good temperature is 400-500 degrees.
• When you start your fire, let the chimney warm up gradually.  Shocking it can crack the inner brickwork or clay liner.
• Have a plan for a chimney fire- keep a fire extinguisher ready.
• Use ACS – Anti-Creosote Spray! We cannot overstate the value of this helpful maintenance product.  Simply spray on the burning logs.  About 10-15 pumps per day will work, but you can double that for stubborn creosote problems.  The agents  in the liquid react at 300 degrees, and attack the tarry creosote, which is transformed into a dry, crunchy, and less flammable substance.  The new substance is much easier for us to loosen and remove during normal chimney sweeping operations.   ACS should be kept away from kids and pets and will stain fabrics, so be careful.  ACS can be purchased at some hardware stores.  Alternatively, we are glad to deliver it to your door for $15 per bottle.  We suggest that you use 1 bottle per 1 cord of wood burned.

The Best Way to Upgrade your Woodstove Safety

• We strongly suggest that all our wood-burning stove customers consider having us upgrade the installation of their stove.  Many of you had your stove installed 10,15 or even 20 years ago.  Installation codes and techniques have advanced every year since.
• Simply put, we suggest the installation of a direct-connect stainless steel chimney liner with hook-up to the smoke outlet of your woodstove.  The advantages of this system are many:
• Smoke is contained inside an extremely strong and durable sleeve and is carried directly to the top of the chimney.
• The new liner is a consistent size and shape.  This eliminates cool-down spots (such as your smoke chamber spill area) and by-passes any unseen cracks / flaws in your existing flue.
• Flue temperatures are kept more consistent, lessening the build-up of creosote.
• Draft is usually improved.
• Annual cleanings are more thorough – there are no unreachable crevices that creosote can collect in.
• Finally, if a chimney fire were to start inside your chimney, it would be contained, and would likely burn itself out.  In an un-lined or even clay-lined flue, chimney fires often damage the chimney’s inner walls; in a worst case, those cracks allow heat and flame to spread to the wood framing surrounding your chimney.  A home fire could result.

TESTIMONY:  The author (Joe) has a large wood-burning stove, through which 4 cords of wood are burned each year.  Along with use of Anti Creosote Spray, and a cleaning each spring, I elected to reline my woodstove’s flue with a stainless steel liner, though I already had a clay liner inside the chimney.

I can sincerely say that it was well worth my time and expense.  The benefit to me was the knowledge of a job well done with no safety compromise, increased performance, ease of cleaning, and the peace of mind that allows me to load up my stove, set the damper, and leave the house for the day with no worries.

Please talk to us if you would like to upgrade.

Links

A good name is worth more than gold.

Our company has been serving the Woburn, Massachusetts area since 1978. We value the relationships we have built with our customers over the years. Not only have we developed a strong reputation with these customers, we have also earned the trust of some the area’s best trades professionals.

Look at some of the top companies recommending Northeast Chimney Sweeps!

• Lawrence V. Sweet Plumbing and Heating Corporation –
  Lexington, MA (781) 862-1387
• Arlington Fuel Oil Company – Arlington, MA
• Jim’s Heating Service – Woburn, MA
  (781) 553-3601
• K and N Oil Service –
  Woburn, MA  (781) 933-2452
• Circle’s Choice is a great place to read about our company from a customer’s viewpoint.
• S M Hodson Oil Company –
  Reading, MA
• William Fitzmaurice Electrical Contractors –
  Arlington, MA (781) 648-4120
• Scally Plumbing –
  Woburn, MA (781) 933-1758
• ProCare Inc. – Woburn, MA
• A M Busa Construction –
  Bedford, MA (781) 275-5999
• Beth Stakem / Remax Heritage – Reading, MA
• Don Coughlin Remax Leading Edge Agency – Winchester, MA
• Sven Andersen – The Andersen Team – Winchester, MA

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