AM Chimney Sweep cleans, inspects and repairs chimneys for Glen Ridge homeowners from our base in nearby West Orange. Because so much of the borough was built before World War II, most of the chimney work here is masonry work: mortar joints, crowns and flue tiles that have been through eighty or more winters.
An unusually old housing stock
Census Bureau estimates put roughly four out of five Glen Ridge homes as built before 1940. The borough’s own historic design guidelines note that the Glen Ridge Historic District takes in more than 90 percent of the borough, and they ask that a chimney’s original location, form and materials be preserved, with any reconstruction matching the original design, material and mortar joint profile. If your home is in the district, check with the borough before changing how a chimney looks from the street.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 five-year estimates; Borough of Glen Ridge Historic District Design Guidelines.
Why the mortar matters more than the brick
Brick and mortar from that era are softer and more porous than modern materials. The mortar was meant to be the sacrificial part of the wall: moisture leaves through the joints, and the joints wear away slowly so the brick does not. Trouble starts when an old chimney is patched with hard, modern portland-cement mortar. National Park Service preservation guidance describes the result: moisture that can no longer escape through the joints is pushed through the brick instead, and the brick faces begin to flake and pop off.
A sound repointing job on a pre-war chimney removes the failed mortar to a solid depth and refills the joints with a mortar that is no harder than the brick around it, matched for color and joint profile. Ask any contractor, including us, which mortar they plan to use and why.
Signs a pre-war chimney needs masonry attention
- Mortar joints that are recessed, sandy or missing, especially above the roofline
- Brick faces flaking off, often right beside an earlier hard-cement patch
- A crown (the cement cap at the very top) that is cracked or has pulled away from the flue tile
- White, powdery staining that comes back after every rain
- Pieces of clay tile or mortar turning up in the firebox or at the clean-out door
Questions Glen Ridge homeowners ask
Can the chimney be coated or parged instead of repointed?
A cement skim coat hides open joints but traps moisture behind it, and the borough’s guidelines describe parging an existing masonry chimney with cement or plaster as typically not appropriate. Repointing deals with the actual path the water is taking.
Does the whole chimney have to be rebuilt?
Usually not. The section above the roof takes nearly all of the weather, so it is common for the top courses to need rebuilding while the rest only needs repointing. A chimney inspection, with an exterior check from the roof and a camera run through the flue, shows where that line falls.
Is the inside as old as the outside?
Often, yes. Flues of this age are typically lined with their original clay tile, and some were never lined at all. If the camera finds cracked tiles or open joints, the options are an in-place flue repair or a new chimney liner, depending on what the flue serves and how far the damage goes.
Chimney services we provide in Glen Ridge
- Masonry repair and repointing for brick chimneys
- Crown repair and replacement
- Chimney inspection with an internal camera and a written report
- Chimney cleaning for fireplaces and heating flues
- Liner installation and replacement
- Chimney caps to keep rain and animals out
Schedule a visit
Call (862) 225-6529 or send us a request online with your address, what the chimney serves (fireplace, furnace, boiler or water heater) and what you have noticed. We explain what we find, and the price, before any work starts.
To see finished projects, visit Our Work, which includes a crown repair and cap installation in neighboring Montclair. We also cover the rest of North Jersey.