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.
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AfterTrusted Chimney Cap & Crown for Westchester County Homeowners
A properly fitted chimney cap and a sound crown are what keep rain, snow, squirrels, and downdrafts from turning your flue into a problem. In Westchester County, where freeze-thaw cycles work on masonry all winter and raccoons treat uncapped flues like a condo listing, the cap and crown are the first line of defense. Wendell Pike has been inspecting, repairing, and replacing caps and crowns across Westchester since 1999, which means he’s seen most of these flues before they became expensive. Call (914) 537-6479 and you’ll get a live person, likely Wendell himself, who can tell you plainly whether the job needs doing.
We show up with upfront pricing before a single tool comes off the truck. The number you hear on the phone is the number on the invoice. Every cap and crown job is backed by the 90-Day Done Right Promise, in writing, on the invoice itself. It’s the same work we’d do on our own chimneys, because around here, it probably is a neighbor’s.
What Our Chimney Cap & Crown Service Includes
Not every chimney needs the same fix. Sometimes the cap is rusted through and the crown below it is fine. Sometimes the crown is cracked in four places and the cap just needs a good wire brushing. We look at both, show you the camera footage, and tell you what actually needs doing. Here’s what each piece of the service covers.
Cap Installation
A chimney without a cap is an open pipe to the sky. Rain gets in, rusts the damper, soaks the firebox, and eventually eats at the mortar joints from the inside. Squirrels, birds, and raccoons find uncapped flues in Westchester County all the time, and the cleanup after a raccoon nests in your flue costs far more than the cap ever would have. Top Hat Chimney installs stainless steel and copper caps sized to your exact flue dimensions, not a one-size-fits-most box from a shelf. We measure, we match the material to your roof and your budget, and we secure it so a nor’easter won’t take it with it.
Cap Replacement
Maybe your cap has been up there since the first Bush administration. Rusted mesh, blown-off lids, rust streaks down the chimney chase, water stains on the ceiling near the flue. These all say the cap is done. We pull the old cap, show you what failed, and fit a replacement that will actually survive Westchester winters. Where the flue allows, we suggest a cap with a screen fine enough to stop embers and big enough to keep airflow moving. You don’t need to guess whether it’s time. The camera will show you.
Crown Repair
The crown is the concrete or mortar slab that sits on top of the chimney and sheds water away from the flue. When it cracks, water gets behind the brick, freezes, and spalls the masonry apart over time. Most crowns built before 2000 were poured with regular mortar, not a proper Portland-based mix, and we see those failing all over Rye, Harrison, and Bedford. Wendell and his crew repair crowns by removing loose material, filling cracks with the right compound, and when the damage calls for it, forming and pouring a new crown with a proper overhang and drip edge. That overhang matters more than you’d think. It’s what keeps water off the brick face entirely.
Crown Coating
A crown with hairline cracking but no structural failure can often be bought years of life with a flex-seal coating rather than a full tear-out. We use sealants from manufacturers like Gelco and HeatShield that flex with temperature swings instead of cracking with them. The crown gets cleaned, the cracks get chased and filled, and the whole surface is coated to shed water. This is a fraction of the cost of a rebuild and it stops the freeze-thaw cycle from making things worse. The honest part: it’s not a forever fix on a crown that’s already badly spalled. Wendell will tell you plainly when coating will hold and when a rebuild is the only real answer.
Multi-Flue Cap
Homes in Scarsdale and Mamaroneck with two or three flues sharing one chimney need a Chimney Cap & Crown - Scarsdale service that covers the whole crown, not individual flue caps bolted side by side. A multi-flue cap sits on the crown and spans all flues, protecting the crown itself as well as each flue opening. We custom-measure the crown dimensions, account for the flue heights, and cut the cap to fit. If you have a masonry chimney with a large footprint, this is usually the cleaner, longer-lasting option. We show you the difference in price and life expectancy before any work is approved.
Custom Cap
Some chimneys aren’t a standard shape. An older home in Pelham or Eastchester might have an odd flue size, a decorative chimney pot, or a stone crown that nothing off the shelf will fit. We make caps to order for those situations, cut from stainless steel or copper, with the screen and lid details you want. If you want it to disappear against the roof, we’ll pick a finish that does that. If you want it to look like it came with the house in 1928, we can do that too. The point is the cap fits the chimney, not the other way around.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Brands We Service for Chimney Cap & Crown
We work with Gelco caps and crown systems regularly. Gelco’s stainless steel caps are built for exactly the kind of freeze-thaw weather Westchester County throws at them, and we stock their replacement parts so a repair doesn’t mean waiting six weeks for a backorder. Their crown-coating products are among the few we trust for older masonry that needs to flex.
Olympia Chimney and Famco make up most of the rest of the caps and caps-related hardware we install. These are common in Westchester because they hold up, and because parts are available when the snow finally melts and everyone discovers their chimney damage at once. Whether you currently have a Gelco, an Olympia, a Famco, or something the contractor pulled off a truck in 1987 and never wrote down, Wendell can identify it, match it, or replace it. The brand matters less than whether it fits and drains water away from the house.
Signs You Need Chimney Cap & Crown Right Now
- Water stains on the ceiling or walls near the chimney. That stain usually isn’t a roof leak. It’s water tracking down the flue or through a cracked crown. The longer it sits, the more it costs to fix the inside of the house as well as the chimney. A camera inspection will tell you within minutes whether the cap or crown is the entry point.
- Rust streaks or a missing cap after a storm. If the cap blew off in a nor’easter, the flue is now wide open. Rain, leaves, and animals get in. If you see rust on the cap that’s still up there, it’s on borrowed time. A rusted-through cap sheds sparks and lets rain straight down the flue.
- You hear animals in the chimney. A squirrel or raccoon in a flue in Westchester County means there’s no cap or the cap’s mesh has failed. The animal is annoying; the nest it builds is worse. Birds carry nesting material that can ignite from embers. Call before you light another fire.
- Brick faces are spalling or mortar joints are crumbling near the top. That’s freeze-thaw damage, and it usually starts because the crown wasn’t shedding water properly in the first place. Fixing the brick without fixing the crown means you’ll be doing the same repair again in five years. The crown is the cause; the brick is the symptom.
- You notice a draft or smoke smell when the fire is out. A missing cap or a cracked crown changes the pressure inside the flue and can push cold air and backdraft down into the house. If the living room smells like last night’s fire all the time, the air is moving the wrong way. That’s a venting issue and often a cap or crown sizing issue.
Our Chimney Cap & Crown Process - Step by Step
No mystery, no upsell. Here’s what happens when you call Top Hat Chimney for a cap or crown issue in Westchester County.
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You call and talk to a live person. Around the clock, every day. No voicemail tree. The person on the phone will ask what you’re seeing, and Wendell may well be the one who answers. You’ll get a real arrival window, not a four-hour block.
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We inspect from top to flue. Wendell or one of his crew gets on the roof, not just a ladder leaned against the gutter. He checks the crown, the cap, the flashing, the flue liner, and the firebox if it’s accessible. You get camera footage of everything, not a verbal summary.
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You get a plain-English verdict and a written price. He’ll show you the footage and tell you what he’d do if it were his house. Sometimes that means “the crown can go another few years, cap it and call me in the spring.” Upfront pricing is given before any work starts, and the number doesn’t change at the door.
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The work gets done with the right materials. Cap and crown work is done from the roof with proper fall protection and the correct sealants and fasteners for your specific masonry. We don’t use whatever is on the truck and hope it holds. The material gets matched to the flue, the climate, and the animal pressure in your specific neighborhood.
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You get the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If the crown cracks, the cap shifts, or anything else isn’t right, one call brings the crew back at no charge. That’s stamped on the invoice, not buried in fine print. Wendell stands behind it because he’ll run into you at the hardware store anyway.
How Much Does Chimney Cap & Crown Cost in Westchester County?
In Westchester County, a standard stainless steel cap replacement on a single flue typically runs $285 to $520 installed, depending on flue dimensions and roof access. For full pricing breakdowns, see our Chimney Cap & Crown cost guide. Crown repair with crack filling and sealing usually lands between $450 and $900. A full crown rebuild with a proper concrete pour and drip edge starts around $1,200 and can reach $2,400 on a large multi-flue chimney. Multi-flue caps run $700 to $1,400 depending on the crown footprint. Custom copper caps for older homes in places like Tarrytown or Bedford can push past $2,000 when the flue is nonstandard.
What drives the price up is roof pitch, chimney height, and the condition of the masonry beneath the crown. A steep slate roof on a three-story colonial takes longer to work on safely than a low ranch. What drives the price down, sometimes dramatically, is catching the crown before it spalls and needs a rebuild. Coating is always cheaper than rebuilding.
The most expensive mistake in Westchester is paying for a crown repair that doesn’t address the actual crack. Half the crown jobs we see are re-dos from another company that smeared sealant over loose mortar and called it done. A free estimate from Top Hat Chimney includes camera footage and a written quote with the exact scope. We also give a free second opinion on any competing written estimate, and every repair over $200 gets $40 off. Seniors and veterans save 10% on every job, every time.
Chimney Cap & Crown Near Westchester County - Our Service Area
Top Hat Chimney is based in Westchester County and works throughout the county regularly: Chimney Cap & Crown in White Plains, Chimney Cap & Crown in Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Harrison, Pelham, Rye, Eastchester, Mamaroneck, Scarsdale, Bedford, and Tarrytown. Since we’re local, not a franchise that rotates in from another state, we can usually get to a cap or crown job within a few days of your call. Inside the county, there’s no trip charge. Call (914) 537-6479 and ask Wendell when he can get up on your roof. It’s usually sooner than you’d expect.
Serving Westchester County, NY - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Westchester County area and know this community well, including our Chimney Cap & Crown in White Plains. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
Frequently Asked Questions - Chimney Cap & Crown in Westchester County
The cap is the metal cover over the flue opening; the crown is the concrete or mortar slab that tops the chimney and sheds water away from the brick. You need both because the cap keeps rain and animals out of the flue while the crown keeps water out of the masonry itself. One without the other leaves a gap. In Westchester County, where winter freezes and thaws come in waves, either one failing will eventually damage the other.
Most cap replacements and crown coatings are done in a single visit, usually two to four hours. Full crown rebuilds with forming and new concrete take longer, often a full day plus curing time before heavy rain. Wendell will give you a time window before he starts and call if anything slips. The goal is one visit, done right, with no return trip required.
A typical cap replacement runs $285 to $520; crown repair runs $450 to $900; a full crown rebuild starts around $1,200 and can reach $2,400 on large multi-flue chimneys. The exact number depends on roof access, flue size, and the condition of the masonry underneath. Call (914) 537-6479 for a written estimate with camera footage included, and remember there’s no trip charge inside Westchester County.
Yes. We install and service Gelco, Olympia, and Famco caps regularly, and we stock replacement parts for all three so repairs don’t sit in a warehouse queue. If your cap is from another brand or so old the label is gone, Wendell can identify it and match it. Call (914) 537-6479 and describe what’s on your chimney, and we’ll tell you what you’re looking at.
If your cap blew off in a storm and the flue is wide open, call us. We keep room in the schedule for exactly that. We can’t promise a specific hour, but in Westchester County we can often get someone to a damaged cap or crown within a day or two, sooner if it’s truly open to the weather, including Chimney Cap & Crown in Port Chester. A live person answers around the clock, so call (914) 537-6479 and tell us what happened.
Every completed job is backed by the 90-Day Done Right Promise, in writing, on the invoice. If the cap shifts or the crown cracks within 90 days, one call brings the crew back at no additional cost. Beyond that, the manufacturers we use, Gelco, Olympia, and Famco, stand behind their materials with their own warranties. The point is you’re never stuck with work that wasn’t done right the first time.
Clear anything fragile away from the fireplace opening, since roof work can send a little dust down the flue. Make sure we can get a ladder to the side of the house with the chimney, and unlock any gate. No need to cover furniture or move everything out of the living room. Wendell and his crew work clean and will lay down drop cloths if they need to come inside to inspect the firebox.
Schedule Your Chimney Cap & Crown Service in Westchester County Today
If water is getting in or animals have taken up residence, don’t wait for the next storm. Call (914) 537-6479 and talk to a live person, around the clock, who can tell you honestly whether you need a new cap, a crown repair, or just a second opinion. Estimates are free, there’s no trip charge inside Westchester County, and the price we quote on the phone is the price on the invoice. That’s how Wendell has done it since 1999. Home service, done right.
Written by Wendell Pike, Owner at Top Hat Chimney, serving Westchester County since 1999.