How do I tell if my damper is open or closed?

Put your head into the firebox with a flashlight and look straight up. You should see a clear opening, not a flat metal plate blocking the throat. Never rely on the handle position alone.

Can I just leave the damper open all winter?

You can, but you will pay for it in heating. New York winters are long and cold, and an open damper lets warm indoor air run up the flue around the clock. Getting it closing again usually pays for itself over a heating season.

Why do dampers rust so badly in New York?

The whole city is coastal, so harbor and Atlantic salt air speeds up corrosion on exposed metal. Combine that with rain and snow falling down an uncapped flue and freeze-thaw cycles through the winter, and steel in the throat of a chimney has a hard life here.

Do I need a permit for this in New York City?

Permits for chimney work in New York City are issued by the NYC Department of Buildings, and the city enforces its own NYC Construction Codes rather than the statewide Uniform Code. Routine sweeping and inspection generally do not need a permit, while structural masonry work and appliance installations typically do. Call the Department of Buildings before work begins if you are unsure.

Are chimney contractors licensed in New York?

New York State does not issue a statewide chimney sweep or chimney inspection license. In New York City, contractors doing home improvement work need a Home Improvement Contractor license through the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, so you can check current requirements with that office.

Damper stuck in New York, NY

You went to open the damper and the handle would not move. Or it moved, and nothing happened. Or it will not shut again, and you can feel cold air pouring down the chimney into the room. All three are the same basic problem: the plate at the throat of the fireplace has seized in its frame and is no longer doing its job.

Call now · (866) 576-7943

Phones answered around the clock · free estimate

Rust is usually behind it. Rain and snow that fall straight down an uncapped flue land on the damper plate and the metal frame, and in New York that water sits on steel through a long heating season. Freeze-thaw cycles from roughly December through March work on the masonry around it, and humid summers keep an unused flue damp. Add the salt air that reaches the whole city from the harbor and the Atlantic, and metal at the top of a firebox corrodes faster than most people expect. In older brick and brownstone homes the damper may be original to the house.

While you wait — please don't

Do not light a fire until you know the damper is open. A handle that moves is not proof — look up into the throat with a flashlight and confirm the plate has actually swung clear, because a fire under a closed damper sends smoke straight back into the room.
Do not force a seized handle. A rusted damper can break at the frame, and once the frame goes the repair stops being a damper job and becomes masonry work in the throat.
Stop using the fireplace if smoke came into the room. Smoke in the living space means the flue is not carrying it out, and it should not be used again until someone has looked at it.
Treat carbon monoxide as an emergency. If your CO alarm sounds, or anyone in the house feels dizzy, sick or has a sudden headache while a fire or a gas appliance is running, get everyone outside first and call 911.

What the technician does

The damper is looked at, not guessed atThe technician opens up the firebox and inspects the damper plate, frame and throat to see whether it is seized with rust and soot or actually broken. You get the price before any work starts.
Freed, cleaned and re-seatedWhere the plate is sound, it is worked loose, cleaned down and re-seated so it closes flat in the frame again. A damper that seals properly stops the draught and stops the heat loss.
Hardware replacedHandles, pivots and the small pieces of hardware that carry the plate are the parts that usually fail first. These can be replaced on their own when the rest of the damper is still good.
A top-sealing damper where the throat damper is finishedIf the original frame is beyond repair, a top-sealing damper can be fitted at the top of the flue instead. It closes with a gasket from above and is operated by a chain down into the firebox.
Flue swept while it is openWith the damper freed and access clear, the flue is swept. It is the sensible moment to do it, and it lets the technician see the condition of the liner above.
A cap fitted to stop the causeRain coming straight down an open flue is what rusted the damper in the first place. A cap keeps the water off the new hardware so the same thing does not happen again.

Why this happens in New York, NY

Much of the housing in New York predates 1940 — brick and brownstone rowhouses, masonry walk-ups and prewar apartment buildings — and in those buildings chimney liners, parapets and mortar joints are a constant maintenance item. Plenty of the original fireplaces have been sealed over the years, or converted to gas, or turned over to venting a heating appliance. That matters here, because what looks like a simple stuck damper in a Park Slope or Bed-Stuy rowhouse may sit on a flue that is doing a different job now than it was built for. It is worth having someone confirm what the flue actually serves before anything is lit.

Timing follows the weather. Demand across the city climbs with the first hard freeze and the start of the heating season in late fall, and again after winter nor'easters. A damper stuck open is not dangerous the way a blocked flue is, but it costs you heat every day it stays that way — an open throat is a hole in the roof as far as your furnace is concerned. Late summer and early fall are the easier time to get this sorted, in Bay Ridge, Astoria, Forest Hills, Riverdale, St. George or anywhere else in the five boroughs.

Questions people ask

How do I tell if my damper is open or closed?: Put your head into the firebox with a flashlight and look straight up. You should see a clear opening, not a flat metal plate blocking the throat. Never rely on the handle position alone.
Can I just leave the damper open all winter?: You can, but you will pay for it in heating. New York winters are long and cold, and an open damper lets warm indoor air run up the flue around the clock. Getting it closing again usually pays for itself over a heating season.
Why do dampers rust so badly in New York?: The whole city is coastal, so harbor and Atlantic salt air speeds up corrosion on exposed metal. Combine that with rain and snow falling down an uncapped flue and freeze-thaw cycles through the winter, and steel in the throat of a chimney has a hard life here.
Do I need a permit for this in New York City?: Permits for chimney work in New York City are issued by the NYC Department of Buildings, and the city enforces its own NYC Construction Codes rather than the statewide Uniform Code. Routine sweeping and inspection generally do not need a permit, while structural masonry work and appliance installations typically do. Call the Department of Buildings before work begins if you are unsure.
Are chimney contractors licensed in New York?: New York State does not issue a statewide chimney sweep or chimney inspection license. In New York City, contractors doing home improvement work need a Home Improvement Contractor license through the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, so you can check current requirements with that office.

One call

One Call Chimney is a referral and scheduling service — we arrange the work with independent sweeps and masons, and we are not the contractor. Call (866) 576-7943 and the technician will inspect the chimney and give you the price before any work starts, for you to approve first.

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.