Is a permit needed for relining in New York City?

Permits for chimney work are issued locally, and in New York City that means the Department of Buildings, not a state agency. Relining a flue as part of an appliance installation typically requires a permit, while routine sweeping and inspection generally do not. Call the Department of Buildings before work begins, since the city also applies extra restrictions to solid-fuel appliances.

Who is licensed to do this work in New York?

New York does not issue a statewide license for chimney sweeping, inspection or masonry repair. New York City requires a Home Improvement Contractor license through the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, and several downstate counties run their own programs. Verify current requirements with the licensing office where the work will be done.

My fireplace was converted to gas years ago. Does it still need a liner?

Often yes. Converting to gas without relining leaves acidic condensate attacking the masonry from inside the flue. A camera inspection will show what condition the chimney is actually in.

Can I see proof that the liner is cracked?

Ask to see the camera footage and go through it with the technician. Ask for the reasoning in writing as well, so you have the findings and the recommended repair on paper before you decide anything.

Who is One Call Chimney?

We are a referral and scheduling service that arranges chimney work with independent sweeps and masons across all fifty states. We are not the contractor and we do not perform the work ourselves. We arrange the visit; the technician inspects and quotes.

Stop using the door

Liner damaged in New York, NY

Someone has looked up your chimney and told you the liner is cracked. That liner is the inner surface of the flue — usually clay tile in an older New York chimney, sometimes stainless steel in a newer one. Its job is to carry heat, smoke and combustion gases up and out without letting them touch the brick and framing around it. When it cracks, splits or drops pieces of tile, that seal is gone. Until it is repaired or replaced, the fireplace or appliance should stay cold.

Call now · (866) 576-7943

Phones answered around the clock · free estimate

Liners fail here for reasons that are very ordinary in this city. Much of New York's housing stock predates 1940 — brick and brownstone rowhouses, masonry walk-ups, prewar buildings — and clay-tile and unlined masonry chimneys are common in that age of building. Winter freeze-thaw cycles, roughly December through March, work on crowns and mortar joints and let water into the flue. Humid summers keep an unused flue damp. And when an old fireplace is converted to gas without relining, acidic condensate goes to work on the masonry from the inside.

While you wait — please don't

Stop using the fireplace or appliance. A damaged liner lets heat and carbon monoxide reach the structure of the house, so it should not be used again until someone has verified the flue.
If anyone feels sick, get outside and call 911. Headache, dizziness, nausea or confusion in more than one person, or a CO alarm sounding, means everyone leaves the building first and calls from outside.
Don't light a fire to 'test' it. You cannot see a crack in a tile from the room, and a test fire can push hot gas straight into a wall cavity.
Don't skip inspection after a chimney fire. Clay tiles crack in a chimney fire, so the flue must be inspected before it is used again, even if the fire seemed to go out on its own.

What the technician does

Camera inspection firstThe technician runs a camera up the flue before quoting anything, so the damage is seen rather than guessed at. Ask to watch the footage with them and ask for the reasoning in writing.
Appliance and flue matchedThe liner has to suit what it vents — open fireplace, gas appliance, wood stove or heating flue. Size, material and termination are matched to the appliance rather than to the old opening.
Stainless steel liner sized and insulatedIn most cases a stainless steel liner is sized to the appliance and insulated where that is required. It is run the full height of the flue and connected properly at both ends.
Cast-in-place lining where it fits betterSome older masonry chimneys are better served by a cast-in-place lining. The technician will explain why one approach suits your chimney and not the other.
Cap and crown addressed at the same timeThere is little point sealing the flue and leaving water pouring in at the top, so the cap and crown are dealt with as part of the same job.
Price before work startsThe technician inspects, then gives you the price. Nothing begins until you approve it.

Why this happens in New York, NY

New York's enormous stock of century-old brick and brownstone buildings means liners, parapets and mortar joints are a constant maintenance item. Many original fireplaces here have been sealed, or converted to gas, or turned over to venting the heating plant — and a chimney that is still an active venting flue rather than a decorative one matters more, not less. Freeze-thaw cracks the crown, water gets in, and the damage moves down into the flue. That pattern repeats across Park Slope, Bed-Stuy, Bay Ridge, Harlem, Astoria and the rowhouse blocks of every borough.

Timing matters too. Demand climbs with the first hard freeze and the start of heating season in late fall, then again mid-winter after nor'easters and after chimney fires and draft problems. Exterior masonry work concentrates in warmer months, when mortar can cure without freezing, so a crown repair tied to a relining job may be scheduled around the weather. Note that New York City enforces its own NYC Construction Codes rather than the statewide Uniform Code, and applies additional restrictions to solid-fuel appliances — worth raising with the technician early.

Questions people ask

Is a permit needed for relining in New York City?: Permits for chimney work are issued locally, and in New York City that means the Department of Buildings, not a state agency. Relining a flue as part of an appliance installation typically requires a permit, while routine sweeping and inspection generally do not. Call the Department of Buildings before work begins, since the city also applies extra restrictions to solid-fuel appliances.
Who is licensed to do this work in New York?: New York does not issue a statewide license for chimney sweeping, inspection or masonry repair. New York City requires a Home Improvement Contractor license through the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, and several downstate counties run their own programs. Verify current requirements with the licensing office where the work will be done.
My fireplace was converted to gas years ago. Does it still need a liner?: Often yes. Converting to gas without relining leaves acidic condensate attacking the masonry from inside the flue. A camera inspection will show what condition the chimney is actually in.
Can I see proof that the liner is cracked?: Ask to see the camera footage and go through it with the technician. Ask for the reasoning in writing as well, so you have the findings and the recommended repair on paper before you decide anything.
Who is One Call Chimney?: We are a referral and scheduling service that arranges chimney work with independent sweeps and masons across all fifty states. We are not the contractor and we do not perform the work ourselves. We arrange the visit; the technician inspects and quotes.

One call

One call to (866) 576-7943 gets a relining inspection arranged for your New York chimney, and the estimate is free on every job. The technician inspects, gives you the price, and you approve it before any work starts.

Call now · (866) 576-7943

Something else in this area

One Call Chimney arranges the visit; the technician does the work and gives you the price.