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EverFlame Chimney Care provides chimney sweeping, inspection, repair, liner installation, and dryer vent and air duct cleaning throughout Union Square, Manhattan. Our office in Lincoln Square is about 2 miles away. We recommend a yearly chimney inspection, ideally before the heating season starts in October.
EverFlame Chimney Care serves homeowners, co-op and condo boards, and building owners in Union Square, Manhattan, including the 10119 ZIP code. The neighborhood is about 2 miles south of our office in Lincoln Square, so it is a short trip for our crews. We sweep and inspect chimneys, repair and rebuild masonry, install liners, and clean dryer vents and air ducts. Our certified technicians work in apartments, rowhouses, and pre-war buildings, and we explain what we find in plain terms before any work starts.
Chimneys and Vents in Union Square Buildings
Union Square has mostly older multifamily housing: pre-war apartment buildings, walk-ups, and some rowhouses and townhouses. Many of these buildings have masonry chimneys. Some serve a central boiler. Others serve fireplaces in individual units. These chimneys have handled years of heating seasons, and they often have worn mortar, damaged clay tile liners, or caps that have rusted or gone missing.
Apartments add other problems. A dryer vent can run a long way through walls or a shaft before it reaches the outside. Ductwork is often shared or hard to reach. We look at how your building is actually built before we recommend anything. A walk-up fireplace and a building's boiler flue need very different work.
Services We Offer in Union Square
We offer the full range of chimney, fireplace, and vent services for Union Square homes and buildings:
- Chimney Sweep: removes soot, creosote, and debris from the flue
- Chimney Inspection: Level 1, 2, or 3, depending on your situation
- Chimney Repair: mortar, crown, and brick repairs
- Chimney Liner Installation: new liners for damaged flues or changed appliances
- Chimney Cap & Chase Cover: keeps out rain, animals, and debris
- Chimney Waterproofing: protects masonry from water damage
- Fireplace & Damper Repair: fixes sticking, warped, or broken dampers and worn fireboxes
- Chimney Rebuilding: for masonry that is too damaged to repair
- Dryer Vent Cleaning: clears lint from long apartment vent runs
- Air Duct Cleaning: for mold, pests, or heavy dust and debris
Manhattan Weather and When to Schedule
Manhattan winters bring repeated freezing and thawing. Water that gets into brick and mortar freezes, expands, and slowly breaks the masonry apart. Heavy rain and winter storms push more water into cracked crowns and uncapped flues. A good cap, a sound crown, and waterproofing go a long way toward limiting this damage.
New York City's heat season runs from October 1 through May 31. During those months, building owners must keep apartments heated to the city's minimum temperatures. A boiler chimney that is blocked or failing during heat season is a serious problem, so we suggest scheduling inspections and repairs in late summer or early fall. The NFPA 211 standard calls for chimneys, fireplaces, and vents to be inspected once a year.
Oil-to-Gas Conversions and Chimney Liners
Many older New York City buildings have switched, or are planning to switch, their boilers from oil to gas. When a building converts, the chimney has to be evaluated as part of the work. A new liner is often needed. Gas exhaust produces acidic condensate, and that moisture can corrode an unlined or poorly lined masonry flue over time.
A change of fuel or appliance calls for a Level 2 inspection, which is also the right choice when a home is sold. If we suspect a hidden problem that can only be reached by opening part of the chimney or wall, we will explain why a Level 3 inspection may be needed before we go further.
Dryer Vents and Air Ducts in Apartments
According to the U.S. Fire Administration, failure to clean is the leading factor contributing to clothes dryer fires in homes. Long or bent vent runs in apartments collect lint quickly. Signs of a clogged vent include clothes that take longer to dry or a dryer that feels very hot.
For air ducts, we follow EPA guidance. Cleaning makes sense when there is substantial visible mold growth, signs of vermin, or excessive dust and debris. The EPA notes that duct cleaning has not been shown to prevent health problems, so we will not promise that it will. We explain our process clearly, and we only use chemical treatments when there is a clear reason and you agree to them.
Nearby Neighborhoods We Serve
Our crews also work in nearby parts of Manhattan, including Midtown, Times Square, East Midtown, Turtle Bay, and Hell's Kitchen. If you manage more than one building in the area, we can plan visits to fit your schedule.
ZIP codes we serve
- 10119