Chimney Cap Installation
The cheapest repair on any chimney: a stainless hood and screen that keeps weather and animals out.
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Stove Flues Swept,Ready for Winter
Wood Stove Chimney Cleaning in Binghamton, NY
Stoves and Inserts Swept With an Inspection, $250Binghamton Master Chimney Sweep handles wood stove chimney cleaning in Binghamton for the stoves and inserts that heat half the houses out past the city line. The first flue is $250 with an inspection after the brushing; each extra flue on the same house is $150.
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How We Sweep a Wood Stove Chimney
A wood stove that runs from October to April sends a lot more smoke up its flue than a fireplace lit on holidays. When the air is turned down low overnight, that smoke cools and sticks. Creosote on a stove flue builds faster than most people expect, especially in the stovepipe.
Here's how a stove sweep goes:
1. Cool Stove, Drop Cloths Down
Let the stove go out the night before; we can't brush a hot flue. We lay drop cloths from the door to the stove and run a vacuum while we work, so soot stays out of the room.
2. Chimney Sweep for Wood Stove Flues From the Top or Bottom
Depending on the chimney, we brush from the roof down or from the stove up, using rods and a brush sized to the flue. A 6-inch round liner gets a 6-inch round brush, not whatever happens to be on the van.
3. Wood Stove Cleaning Inside the Firebox and Baffle
Most of what falls ends up on top of the baffle, the plate at the top of the firebox. We drop it, clear it, and clean the stovepipe joints, which is where creosote hides on many stoves.
4. Fireplace Insert Flues and Their Liners
A fireplace insert usually has a liner running from its top up the old chimney. Sometimes the insert has to slide forward a few inches to reach the connection. We tell you before we move anything.
5. An Inspection Before We Pack Up
After the brushing, we check the liner, the cap, the gaskets on the stove door and the clearances. You hear what we found before we roll up the drop cloths, and nothing gets added to the bill without your OK. We include that inspection in the $250 every time.
How much does wood stove chimney cleaning cost?
Wood stove chimney cleaning in Binghamton costs $250 plus tax for the first flue, and that includes an inspection. Each extra flue on the same house is $150. Lisle, Greene, Whitney Point, Owego, Apalachin and Deposit add $20, and glazed creosote is priced after we see it.
- First flue, with an inspection: $250 plus tax
- Each extra flue on the same house: $150 plus tax
- Lisle, Greene, Whitney Point, Owego, Apalachin, Deposit: add $20
- Glazed or tar-like creosote: priced extra, after we see it
- Time: most stove sweeps take 60 to 90 minutes
Flat prices, written down. If your flue needs heavy creosote removal, we show you first and price it before anything changes.
What a Stove Flue Sweep Includes
- Drop cloths and a vacuum running the whole visit
- Flue brushed top to bottom with a brush sized to the liner
- Baffle, smoke shelf and connector pipe cleared
- Cap screen brushed clear so the stove can breathe
- Door gasket and glass seal checked for leaks
- A plain-English report on what we saw
How Often Should a Wood Stove Chimney Be Cleaned?
Sweep a wood stove chimney at least once a year, and again mid-winter if you burn more than three or four cords or your wood isn't fully dry. The usual trigger is 1/8 inch of creosote on the flue walls, about the thickness of two credit cards stacked together. Past that, a chimney fire becomes a real risk.
Signs the Stove Flue Needs a Sweep Now
- Smoke rolls into the room when you open the stove door
- Fires are slow to catch and hard to keep going
- Black flakes on the roof or in the yard below the chimney
- A strong tar smell from the stove on humid days
- The glass on the door blackens within one evening
Dry Wood Makes the Biggest Difference
Seasoned firewood, split and dried to around 20% moisture or less, makes far less creosote than wood cut last spring. A $25 moisture meter settles the argument: split a piece and test the fresh face. If you ask us, buying next year's wood this year is the cheapest chimney upkeep there is.
Book Before the Rush
August through November is when every stove owner in Broome County remembers the chimney at once. Book in spring or early summer and you get your pick of days. Around Windsor and the other wood-heat towns, we'd rather sweep it in June than put out a fire in January.
Bought a house with a stove already in it? A chimney inspection with the camera is worth doing before the first fire, since you don't know how the last owner burned.
Brush first.Then the camera.30 years in Broome County
How We Work on Every Chimney
- Southern Tier30 YrsOn the roofs
- Every sweepCamInspection
- First flue$250Flat price
- Every hearthHEPAClean room
- Own crew100%No subs
Questions we hear
Wood Stove Chimney Cleaning FAQs
Can I clean my own wood stove chimney?
You can, if you have rods, a brush that fits the liner and a safe way onto the roof. What you won't get is the inspection: cracked liner joints, a loose cap or a rusted thimble are easy to miss from the top. Plenty of homeowners brush mid-winter and have us do the full sweep once a year.
Do creosote sweeping logs work?
They help a little. A creosote sweeping log dries out some of the sticky buildup so it flakes off, but the flakes still land on the baffle and in the pipe, and nothing gets brushed out. Use one mid-season if you like, but it doesn't replace a yearly sweep and inspection.
Do you clean pellet stove vents?
Ask when you contact us. A pellet stove vent is a small sealed pipe rather than a chimney, and the cleaning is different from a wood flue. If your pellet stove vents into a lined brick chimney, we can sweep that part the same way we sweep any wood stove chimney, and we check the cap while we're up there.
Our Other Chimney Services
Chimney Crown Repair
Hairline cracks sealed, broken crowns rebuilt with a real overhang so rain drips clear of the brick.
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Chimney Inspection
A yearly look with every sweep, or a camera run down the flue before you buy or switch stoves.
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Chimney Liner Installation
A stainless sleeve inside a cracked clay flue, sized to the stove, insert or furnace that uses it.
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Chimney Repointing & Masonry Repair
Chimney repointing, tuckpointing and brick repair: worn joints repacked and flaking brick replaced before the freeze gets further in.
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Chimney Waterproofing
Leaks traced to the source, then sealed with a breathable repellent and flash seal.
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Wood Stove Chimney Installation
A new prefab chimney or liner for the stove you just bought, cleared to code.
Read moreWhere We Do This Work
Contact Binghamton Master Chimney Today
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