Famco Chimney Cap & Crown Nationwide

Famco Chimney Cap & Crown in Greenwich: What to Know First

We provide independent Famco chimney cap and crown service throughout Greenwich, CT. Most Famco cap replacements and crown repairs in Greenwich are completed in a single visit, and every job gets a written price before any work begins. A typical Famco cap replacement starts around $385 for a standard single-flue galvanized unit and runs to $900+ for a multi-flue stainless cap with custom sizing. This page is for Greenwich homeowners who own, or just inherited, a Famco cap or crown and want to know what’s actually failing, what it costs to fix, and whether the repair is worth doing now or can wait. Call (516) 399-5497 for a written estimate.

Call (516) 399-5497

How Famco Products Fail - and How We Fix Them

• Famco galvanized cap bases rust through at the rivet points. The economy-grade caps, especially the Famco GC and QF series installed across Greenwich, use steel rivets that hold the mesh to the base ring. Road salt and coastal air from Long Island Sound work into those rivet holes first. We often see a cap that looks fine from the ground with the mesh completely detached at the back. Fix: full cap replacement with a stainless unit, or if the base is intact, we drill out and replace the rivets with stainless hardware and re-secure the mesh.
• Famco crown coatings crack from freeze-thaw cycling. Greenwich winters swing above and below freezing dozens of times a season. A Famco crown with a factory-applied acrylic coating typically lasts 4 to 6 years before hairline cracks appear. Water gets in, freezes, and spalls the concrete underneath. Fix: we grind the loose coating, patch any spalled areas with a polymer-modified cement, and apply a proper crown sealer like Gelco or ChimneySaver, which flexes with the temperature swings.
• The multi-flue Famco MC series doesn’t always match Greenwich’s odd flue spacing. Older colonials in Cos Cob and Riverside often have two flues set at non-standard distances apart. The standard Famco MC base plate assumes a particular spacing. When it doesn’t line up, installers sometimes force it, which deforms the base and leaves a gap. Fix: we measure flue centers before ordering, and when the standard base won’t fit, we cut a custom base plate in the shop or order a made-to-measure Famco unit with the correct spacing.
• Famco single-flue caps get installed without proper fastening, then blow off. A lot of Greenwich chimneys have flue tile that’s slightly out of round. The Famco slip-fit caps with pressure screws will hold on round tile, but on oval or chipped tile, the screws never seat. The cap survives one wind storm and ends up in the neighbor’s hydrangeas. Fix: we use a through-bolt fastening method on tile that can accept it, or we install a properly sized clamp-style base.
• Famco chimney crowns crack at the flue tile joint. The crown is the concrete pad that caps the masonry around the flue. Famco caps sit on top of the flue tile, but the crown itself is almost always site-poured, not a Famco product. The failure point is where the flue tile emerges through the crown: cement shrinks, a gap opens, and water follows the tile down into the house. Fix: we cut out the failed joint, backer-rod it, and seal with a flexible polyurethane caulk rated for high heat, then coat the full crown.

Our Famco Chimney Cap & Crown Process

1. 1
   You call (516) 399-5497, and a live person answers. You tell us what you’re seeing: a cap that’s gone, rust staining on the crown, water in the firebox. We book a time. We text you the name of the tech and a photo before they show up.
2. 2
   We inspect the cap and crown with a camera. Not a guess from the ground. We get a ladder, a camera, and documentation of exactly what’s failed: the base, the mesh, the crown, the joint, or a combination. Clause 4 of the Haven Standard requires a photo record on every job, and you get those photos.
3. 3
   We write the price. You get a written scope and a written number before anything is touched. If the fix is a Famco replacement, we quote the exact unit or the custom-equivalent spec. If a repair makes more sense, we quote that. Never “call for a quote.”
4. 4
   We do the work. On a simple Famco cap swap, we’re done in under an hour. Crown coating or joint repair can take a few hours, depending on drying time and condition. For multi-flue jobs, we often fabricate on-site or bring the pre-ordered custom base.
5. 5
   We test and document. The new cap gets a tug test to confirm it’s seated. The crown joint gets checked with a moisture meter where applicable. You leave with photos and the written record, backed by our 365-Day Done Right Promise: if it’s not done right, we make it right.

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What Famco Chimney Cap & Crown Costs in Greenwich

What moves the price: flue count, whether the base is standard or custom, ladder access, and whether the crown needs patching before coating. Greenwich chimneys on rear elevations with steep grade access add labor because of the setup required. We don’t charge a fee for a second opinion: bring us any competitor’s written estimate and we’ll review it line by line. Call (516) 399-5497 for an exact quote. Written price, written scope, written warranty. Before any work starts.

Why Greenwich Homeowners Call Level Two Chimney Greenwich for Famco Work

We’re an independent Famco service provider, not a factory-authorized shop, which means we can tell you honestly when an aftermarket part is better than the OEM, and when you should stick with Famco. Corrine Halstead runs the Greenwich crew, and she spent years doing inspections across Fairfield and Westchester before Level Two put her name on the trucks. She writes up what the camera shows, nothing added. The camera doesn’t guess. Neither do we. We also work regularly with DuraFlex, HeatShield, and Gelco products, so when a Famco cap needs to integrate with a liner or crown system already in place, we’re not learning it on your roof. Every job gets the 365-Day Done Right Promise, and every visit since 2009 has included a documented photo record. Not as an add-on. As the standard.

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