Famco Chimney Cap Installation Nationwide

Famco Chimney Cap Installation: The Lawrence Owner’s Guide

We stock and install Famco chimney caps and related components throughout Lawrence, with most cap replacements running between $285 and $475 installed, depending on the cap size, mounting surface, and whether the existing base can be reused. If you’re calling us about a Famco cap, it’s usually because the mesh has rusted through, the lid has blown loose in a coastal storm, or the cap is so plugged with creosote that your draft has collapsed. The good news: we carry Famco-compatible caps on the truck, and in most Lawrence homes we can have the old one off and the new one seated in under an hour. Top Hat Chimney is an independent service provider, not affiliated with Famco, but we’ve been installing their products long enough to know which models hold up on the South Shore and which ones don’t.

Call (516) 604-2573

Which Famco Models This Applies To

Famco builds a few distinct chimney cap lines, and the model you have changes how we approach the swap. The most common cap we see on Lawrence chimneys is the standard galvanized or stainless cap that mounts directly to a clay tile flue liner. Famco makes those in sizes from 6-inch round up to 13×13 square and larger. If you can still read the label on the underside of the mesh, it will list the size. If you can’t, we measure the flue tile itself, not the cap, and order accordingly. A common mistake we see is when a homeowner buys a cap for an 8×8 flue but the tile actually measures 8.5×8.5 on the outside, so the cap doesn’t seat. Famco sizing runs off the flue’s outside dimensions, not nominal dimensions. That detail alone accounts for a fair number of returns at the big-box stores.

On the OEM versus aftermarket question: Famco’s stainless caps are well built, and if your flue is standard sized, we usually recommend sticking with a Famco-compatible part rather than a generic equivalent. The screen mesh on the aftermarket versions is often a lighter gauge, and around Lawrence, where salt air and nor’easter winds do their work, that lighter screen rusts through in three or four years. The Famco stainless screen, by comparison, is heavier, and we routinely see them last eight to twelve years before the mesh holes start opening up. The one exception is if you have an odd-sized flue or a multi-flue chase, where a custom-fabricated cap is sometimes the better call. We’ll tell you straight if that’s the case.

Signs Your Famco Chimney Cap Installation Is Failing

• The mesh is rusted or blown open. Salt air near the Five Towns corridor eats galvanized mesh faster than folks expect. Once the mesh has holes, birds, squirrels, and wind-driven rain get through. The cap is no longer doing its job. Cause: thin-gauge screen plus years of coastal moisture.
• Water streaks down the chimney face or water in the firebox after a storm. If the cap lid has warped, cracked, or blown askew, rainwater runs directly down the flue. In Lawrence, where spring storms come in off Jamaica Bay, this is one of the most common calls we field. Cause: bent lid from wind or corroded mounting feet.
• Draft problems that started in the last year. A partially plugged cap screen restricts airflow. You might notice the fireplace is harder to light, smoke puffs back into the room, or the furnace flue struggles to vent. Cause: creosote glaze or nesting material blocking the mesh.
• Animal noise from the flue. Chirping, scratching, or the pitter-patter of little feet means something has found its way past a failed cap. Lawrence’s older oak-lined streets are a bird thoroughfare. Cause: missing cap or a screen rotted through.
• The cap looks tilted or sits unevenly on the tile. High winds, ice heaved, and the occasional curious raccoon can knock a cap askew. A tilted cap lets water in around the edges. Cause: loose or weakened mounting legs, or improper seating from an earlier install.

Replacement Cost & What’s Included

For most single-flue chimneys in Lawrence, a Famco-compatible chimney cap installation runs $285 to $475 fully installed. That includes the cap itself, removal of the old cap, a quick visual check of the flue tile beneath it, and sealing the new cap securely with the proper mechanical fasteners or a high-temp sealant, depending on your setup. Larger multi-flue caps or custom work for odd tile sizes can run higher, and we’ll give you the exact number before any work starts. Coastal grade is worth the small upcharge in this zip code, and we’ll say so plainly if your current cap failed early. Every job includes our 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing: if the cap shifts, leaks, or isn’t right, one call brings us back at no additional cost.

DIY or Call Us?

If your chimney is a single-story cap-and-clay-tile setup, the cap is what we call accessible. In that case, you can safely do your own visual check from the ground with binoculars and note whether the mesh is intact and the cap is level. That’s useful information for us over the phone. What we don’t recommend is pulling the ladder out and climbing up yourself. The cap sits at the top of a roof, the footing is usually uneven, and the tile edges are sharp. We see ladders set on soft ground around Lawrence’s older homes more often than we’d like. The real risk with a quick DIY cap swap is dropping the wrong-sized cap onto the flue, which leaves you with a false sense of security and flue gases not venting the way they should. Let Wendell Pike and his crew handle the ladder work. Call (516) 604-2573 and we’ll have a look.

FAQs

Contact Top Hat Chimney

If your Famco cap is shot, tilted, or letting water into the flue, call (516) 604-2573 for a free estimate. Wendell Pike and his crew have been working chimneys in Lawrence and the surrounding Five Towns area for years, and we’ll give you the same thing we give everyone: an upfront price before any tool comes off the truck, and a written 90-Day Done Right Promise on the work. We also stock parts from DuraFlex, HeatShield, and Gelco if your chimney needs more than a cap. Seniors and veterans always save 10%, and if you’ve got a written estimate from another chimney company, we’ll give you a free second opinion. The number is (516) 604-2573. If it’s clean, we’ll tell you it’s clean. If it’s not, we’ll show you the camera footage and explain exactly what needs doing.

Written by Wendell Pike, Owner, Top Hat Chimney at Top Hat Chimney, serving Lawrence and nearby areas.