From the street, a chimney looks like one thing. In many South Orange houses it is really three or four separate flues inside a single brick stack, each built for a different purpose and not all of them still in use. AM Chimney Sweep inspects, cleans and repairs chimneys in South Orange, and a large part of that work is simply establishing what each flue is doing today.
Why South Orange chimneys are complicated
The Village describes its housing as a mix of Tudor, Colonial and Victorian homes, and Census Bureau estimates put more than four in ten homes here as built before 1940. A house of that age has typically been heated three different ways. It started on coal, moved to oil, and later to gas. Every one of those changes left something behind in the chimney.
Sources: South Orange Village history page; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 five-year estimates.
What we typically find
Covered-over thimbles
A thimble is the round opening where a stove or heater pipe once entered the flue. When the stove was removed, the hole was often closed with a thin metal plate, then plastered or wallpapered over. It is still an opening into a flue, sometimes inches from wood framing. If that flue is in use, the old thimble needs to be sealed with masonry.
Flues that serve nothing
A kitchen range flue or a bedroom fireplace flue may have been out of use for decades but is still open at the top. Rain falls straight in, and the first sign is a stain on an upstairs wall nowhere near a roof leak. An unused flue should be covered at the top in a way that keeps water out while still letting the masonry breathe.
A fireplace flue taken over by the boiler
When heating equipment was changed, installers sometimes ran the new appliance into the nearest convenient flue, including one that belonged to a fireplace. A fireplace and a heating appliance should not share a flue. If a fireplace was bricked up at some point, this is often the reason.
Two appliances, one flue, different floors
Older houses occasionally have connections into the same flue from the basement and from an upper floor. This arrangement drafts unpredictably and is worth correcting.
How an inspection sorts it out
A chimney inspection on a house like this works from both ends. On the roof we count the flues and note which are capped. Inside, we trace each fireplace and each appliance to its flue, then run a camera through every one. You get a plain description of which flue serves what, which are idle, and the condition of each.
Homeowner questions
Can a closed-off fireplace be reopened?
Sometimes. It depends on whether its flue is still free, whether it was ever lined, and what condition it is in. That is answered by a camera, not by looking at the mantel.
We found a round metal plate on the wall behind a dresser. What is it?
Almost certainly a thimble cover. Leave it in place and have the flue behind it identified.
Do idle flues need maintenance?
They need to be kept dry. A cap or a proper cover at the top and a sound crown are usually all that is required.
Services for South Orange homes
- Inspection of multi-flue chimneys, with a report on each flue
- Cleaning of fireplace and heating flues
- Liners for flues that remain in service
- Flue tile repair
- Masonry and repointing for the stack itself
Call (862) 225-6529 or contact us online to arrange a visit. You can see completed projects in Our Work.