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.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterTrusted Chimney Liner & Rebuild for Lawrence Homeowners
If your chimney liner is cracked, rusted through, or missing entirely, the fix is not optional. A damaged liner lets heat and carbon monoxide reach the wood framing around your flue, and in Lawrence’s older homes, that framing is often 70 to 100 years old and bone dry. Learn how much Chimney Liner & Rebuild costs in Lawrence: replacement typically runs $2,200 to $6,800 depending on liner type and chimney height, and a partial rebuild usually lands between $1,500 and $4,000. Wendell Pike has been doing this work since 1999, and he will show you the camera footage before and after so you know exactly what you paid for. Call (516) 604-2573 and a live person answers, day or night.
Key Takeaways
- A cracked liner is a carbon monoxide risk, not a cosmetic issue. We show you the camera proof.
- Most liner replacements in Lawrence take one day on site, sometimes two for full rebuilds.
- Top Hat Chimney is owner-operated. Wendell Pike puts his name and license number on every job.
- Free estimates, no trip charge in the county, and a 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing.
- We stock and service DuraFlex, HeatShield, Gelco, Olympia Chimney, Famco, and Copperfield products.
What Our Chimney Liner & Rebuild Service Includes
Stainless Steel Liner
A stainless steel liner is the long-term fix for a flue that has cracked, spalled, or was never lined to begin with. In Lawrence, many pre-1960 chimneys were built with terra cotta tiles that crack after decades of heating and cooling cycles - see our Chimney Liner & Rebuild in Lawrence. We install rigid or flexible stainless liners sized to your appliance and chimney dimensions, insulated where local code and safety require it. A stainless liner typically carries a lifetime warranty from the manufacturer, and we handle the measuring, installation, and the final camera inspection.
Flexible Liner
Flexible liners are the practical answer when your chimney has offsets, bends, or a narrow flue that would make rigid sections impossible. We use DuraFlex and Olympia Chimney flex systems because they hold up to the salt air that hits chimneys in Lawrence and the surrounding Five Towns area. Wendell will explain when a flex liner is the right call and when your chimney would be better served by rigid pipe. Either way, the liner is pulled through in one continuous piece where possible, so there are no joints to leak.
Liner Replacement
Liner replacement means removing the old, failing liner and putting in a new one, not patching over the problem. We do this when the camera shows third-degree creosote glaze that cannot be safely removed, when tiles are cracked and shifting, or when the previous liner was installed poorly. The old liner comes out, the flue is inspected for hidden damage, and the new liner goes in with a proper top plate and rain cap. You get before and after video from the camera run, so there is no guesswork and no upsell.
Partial Rebuild
A partial rebuild addresses the section of the chimney that has failed, usually the crown, the top few courses of brick, or a spalled flue tile near the top. In nearby Cedarhurst, our Chimney Liner & Rebuild team sees similar freeze-thaw damage, and in Lawrence, Wendell sees more crown failures here than anywhere else in the county. We tear down only what is compromised, match the brick and mortar as closely as possible, and rebuild it so water stays out. The point is to fix what is broken without charging you for a full chimney you do not need.
Full Chimney Rebuild
A full rebuild is the honest answer when the chimney is structurally unsafe, leaning, or crumbling past the point where a partial fix makes sense. This means tearing down to the roofline or below and rebuilding with new brick, proper flashing, a new crown, and the correct liner for your appliance. It is the biggest job we do, and Wendell will tell you plainly if your chimney does not need it yet. When it does, expect a crew of two or three, a dump trailer on site, and a job completed in two to five days on most Lawrence homes.
Liner Repair
Sometimes the liner has a single cracked tile or a failed mortar joint but is otherwise sound. Liner repair is the smaller job: a HeatShield resurfacing application can fill cracks and restore a smooth flue surface without a full liner swap. We also repair loose or shifted tiles, seal gaps with refractory mortar, and rebuild the flue tile where possible. The camera tells us which repair is viable, and if the liner is too far gone, Wendell will say so instead of selling you a patch that fails in two years.
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 Liner & Rebuild
We install and service HeatShield because it does something no metal liner can do: it resurfaces the existing flue from the inside and restores it to a smooth, insulated, code-compliant condition without a full rebuild. We have applied HeatShield in dozens of Lawrence chimneys where the brick work was still solid but the flue was cracked and leaking. It is a real repair, not a coating that peels off in a season, and we stand behind our application with the same 90-Day Done Right Promise as everything else we touch.
On the metal side, we work with Olympia Chimney and Gelco products because their stainless holds up to coastal air and New York winters. Whether your home has an Olympia rigid liner, a Gelco flex system, or something else entirely, we can inspect it, service it, and replace it correctly. If you are not sure what liner your chimney has, call us and we will put the camera up and tell you exactly what you are working with.
Signs You Need Chimney Liner & Rebuild Right Now
- Crumbling tile pieces at the bottom of your firebox. Flue tiles crack from decades of thermal stress, and when pieces fall into the firebox, the flue is actively failing. A cracked tile is an open channel for heat and carbon monoxide into your wall cavities.
- A rusted or bulging damper. The damper sits just below the flue, and when moisture is getting down the chimney, it rusts. In Lawrence, salt air accelerates this corrosion. A rusted damper usually means water has been sitting in the flue, which means liner trouble.
- White staining or efflorescence on the exterior brick. That white powder is salt being drawn out of the brick by water inside the chimney. It tells you moisture has penetrated past the crown and into the flue and brickwork. Left alone, the brick spalls and the structure weakens.
- Smoke backing up into the room or a smell like a wet campfire. A compromised liner changes the draft of your chimney and traps smoke and moisture. If you smell the fireplace when it is not burning, the flue is not venting the way it should.
- Your home is pre-1960 and you do not know the liner’s history. Many older Lawrence homes were built without a liner or with terra cotta that has since cracked. If you cannot say for certain when the liner was last inspected, that is the sign to check it now, before burning season.
Our Chimney Liner & Rebuild Process - Step by Step
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Camera inspection, always. Before any liner or rebuild work is quoted, we run a camera through the flue and record what we see. You watch the footage with us. If the liner is fine, we say so, and you owe us nothing for the visit if you are in our service county.
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Plain-English report and a written estimate. Wendell walks you through what the camera found, what it means, and what your options are. The estimate is in writing, with the price you pay on invoice before work begins. No surprises at the door.
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Site protection and setup. On the day of the job, the crew lays drop cloths from the door to the hearth, seals off the work area, and sets up outside with a dump trailer if there is demolition. Your home stays clean, and the crew cleans up after themselves.
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The repair, liner, or rebuild work itself. Whether we are applying HeatShield, pulling a new flex liner, or tearing down and rebuilding the chimney, Wendell or his crew is on site the whole time. No subcontractors, no passing your job to a stranger.
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Final camera run and the Done Right Promise. Before we call the job finished, we run the camera again and show you the result. Then you get the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If something is not right, one call brings us back at no additional cost.
How Much Does Chimney Liner & Rebuild Cost in Lawrence?
Chimney liner replacement in Lawrence generally runs $2,200 to $4,800 for a standard single-story home with a straight flue and a stainless steel flex liner. A two-story home or a chimney with offsets can push that to $5,000 to $6,800. HeatShield resurfacing usually lands between $1,800 and $3,500, depending on how much of the flue needs treatment. Partial rebuilds, like a new crown and the top three courses of brick, typically run $1,500 to $3,000, while a full chimney rebuild starts around $6,000 and can reach $12,000 or more for a two-story chimney with complex flashing work.
Three things move the price: chimney height, liner diameter, and whether demolition is needed. A taller chimney means more liner, more staging, and more labor. A larger diameter liner for an open fireplace costs more than a narrow liner for a furnace or water heater. And if brick needs to come out, the cost reflects the demolition, disposal, and masonry rebuild. We do not pad estimates, and we will tell you if a cheaper repair is safe and smart. Estimates are free, and there is no trip charge inside the county. Call (516) 604-2573 and ask for the exact number for your chimney, not a range from a call center.
Chimney Liner & Rebuild Near Lawrence - Our Service Area
Top Hat Chimney works all over the Five Towns and the South Shore, from Lawrence into Woodmere, Hewlett, Cedarhurst, Inwood, Atlantic Beach, East Atlantic Beach, Island Park, Barnum Island, East Rockaway, and South Valley Stream. If you are in the county, there is no trip charge to come out and see us, and we are usually on site within a day or two of your call. We also keep full service pages for our Chimney Liner & Rebuild work in Woodmere and Chimney Liner & Rebuild services in Hewlett if you live closer to those neighborhoods. Whether it is a liner replacement on a 1920s Lawrence colonial or a flue repair in Bay Park, the same owner shows up. Wendell Pike lives here and has run into his customers at the hardware store for 29 years.
Serving Lawrence, NY - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Lawrence area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
Frequently Asked Questions - Chimney Liner & Rebuild in Lawrence
A chimney liner is the inner passage that carries smoke and exhaust up and out of your home, and the rebuild is the masonry work that restores the chimney’s structure around it. In Lawrence, this usually means replacing a cracked terra cotta flue with stainless steel or resurfacing it with HeatShield, then rebuilding whichever part of the brick or crown has failed - the same approach we take for Chimney Liner & Rebuild - Inwood. The liner protects your house from heat and carbon monoxide, and the rebuild keeps water and weather out. It is one of the few home repairs that is both a safety fix and a structural one.
Most liner replacements are one day on site. The old liner comes out, the new one goes in, and the camera run happens before the crew leaves. A partial rebuild typically takes one to two days, and a full rebuild runs two to five days depending on chimney height, access, and weather. We will give you a real arrival window and call you if that window moves at all.
In Lawrence, expect $2,200 to $6,800 for a liner replacement, $1,800 to $3,500 for HeatShield resurfacing, and $1,500 to $12,000 for rebuild work depending on scope. The exact number comes down to chimney height, liner diameter, and how much masonry has to come out. Every estimate is free, in writing, and the number you hear on the phone is the number on the invoice. Call (516) 604-2573 and we will give you a firm quote.
Yes. We install and service HeatShield resurfacing systems and Olympia Chimney stainless steel liners, along with DuraFlex, Gelco, Famco, and Copperfield products. If you have one of these brands already installed, we can inspect it, service it, or replace it correctly. If you have a different brand, we will tell you honestly what you are working with and what your options are.
It can be. If your liner has failed and you are burning wood or running a gas appliance through that flue, you have a carbon monoxide risk that should not wait. Phones are answered by a live person 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and Wendell will tell you over the phone whether you need to stop using the chimney immediately and how soon we can get there. In Lawrence, we can usually be on site within a day or two for a liner emergency.
Every liner or rebuild we complete is covered by our 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If the work is not right during that window, one call brings Wendell and his crew back at no additional cost. Stainless steel liners from DuraFlex and Olympia also carry manufacturer lifetime warranties, and HeatShield carries a 20-year manufacturer warranty on properly applied systems. The warranty details go in your paperwork before we start, not after.
Clear the area around your fireplace or stove by about six feet, and move anything fragile off the mantel. If you have pets, plan to keep them in another room while the crew is working. We handle everything else, from drop cloths to dump trailers to the final cleanup. A parking spot near the house helps, but is not required.
Schedule Your Chimney Liner & Rebuild Service in Lawrence Today
The flue does not care how the fire looks. It cares how it breathes. If your liner is cracked or your chimney is crumbling, call (516) 604-2573 and Wendell will put a camera up, show you exactly what is going on, and give you a written estimate before any work starts. Free estimates, no trip charge in the county, and a 90-Day Done Right Promise on every job. One call, one owner, one honest answer.
Written by Wendell Pike, Owner at Top Hat Chimney, serving Lawrence and the Five Towns since 1999.