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.
Fast, Reliable Chimney Cleaning & Sweep Across Yonkers
A typical chimney cleaning and sweep in Yonkers costs $149-$289 for a standard Level 1 inspection with sweep, while a Level 2 camera inspection runs $289-$425. Most appointments are completed in a single visit, and our Chimney Cleaning & Sweep crews serve Yonkers from our New York City dispatch office. Call (516) 927-2678 to book - estimates are free, and a live person answers every call, day or night.
We’ve been working on Yonkers chimneys for over 42 years. We know the brick two-families near Kinsley Park, the attached rows off Midland Avenue, and the hilltop homes in Dunwoodie Heights where the wind comes hard off the Hudson. The city’s housing stock is old, the flues are often older than the people living beneath them, and a brush-only sweep without a camera check can miss problems that matter. That’s not how we work. Photos you can see, a plain-English verdict. Done right - and we stand behind it.
Why Hearthstone Chimney Co. Is Yonkers’s Preferred Chimney Cleaning & Sweep Company
Yonkers homeowners call us because we’ve earned a reputation for saying what needs doing, showing why, and fixing only what we’ve proven is broken. Our 90-Day Done Right Promise is in writing, no arguing - if it’s not right, we come back. Russell Haines has led this company since its founding in 1984, and that same steady hand guides every crew we send to Yonkers.
Our technicians are background-checked, uniformed, and carry professional-grade equipment from brands like Olympia Chimney and Famco. Most jobs finish in one visit. No-hassle upfront pricing means the number on your estimate matches the number on your invoice. When we dispatch to neighborhoods like Ludlow or Fleetwood, we’re not guessing at what we’ll find - we’ve seen these chimneys before.
A live person answers our phones 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Not voicemail. Not a callback queue. If you’re smelling smoke in your living room at 10 PM or noticing white efflorescence staining your exterior brick after a wet spell, someone who can help will pick up.
Our Chimney Cleaning & Sweep Services in Yonkers
Level 1 Inspection
A Level 1 inspection is the standard annual check for chimneys with no known changes - same appliance, same fuel, no recent events. In Yonkers, we perform these during routine sweeps for homeowners in newer single-family areas or for recently relined systems. The technician examines readily accessible portions of the chimney exterior, interior, and connecting appliances. Takes about 45 minutes. If we find something that needs a closer look, we’ll show you why and recommend a Level 2 before any further work.

Level 2 Inspection
This is where we spend most of our time in Yonkers, and for good reason. A Level 2 inspection includes everything in Level 1 plus a camera run through the full flue length, attic and crawl space checks where accessible, and documentation of the flue liner condition. In Dunwoodie, we swept a 1920s attached brick home whose single exterior stack carried two flues - one serving the owner’s gas boiler, the other the neighbor’s oil furnace - and a Level 2 camera run found third-degree creosote glazing in the oil-side flue plus a cracked clay tile liner section spalling into the smoke chamber. We showed the homeowner the monitor footage before recommending a HeatShield liner repair and documented the cross-property condition for the adjoining owner. The gas-side flue, oversized for the modern low-BTU boiler, was pulling moisture and had softened mortar at the crown, so we capped it with a proper chimney cap sized to the flue and flagged the crown rebuild. No work was quoted until the homeowner had watched the same footage we had.
In Yonkers’s 1890s-1930s housing stock, Level 2 inspections aren’t optional extras - they’re how you know whether your sweep is actually safe to perform.

Creosote Removal
Creosote builds in stages. First-degree is flaky soot, easily brushed. Second-degree is crunchy flakes, common with dry wood and good draft. Third-degree is glazed, tarry, and highly combustible - the stuff of chimney fires. In Yonkers, we see third-degree creosote most often in the oil-heated flues of older row houses where oversized original coal flues run too cool for modern low-BTU appliances. The lower flue gas temperature condenses volatile compounds before they can exit, glazing the liner over seasons. A standard wire brush won’t touch it. We use mechanical de-glazing with chains and specialized heads, followed by chemical treatment where needed, then re-inspect with the camera to prove the flue is clean. Anything less leaves a fire hazard behind.

Soot Removal
Soot is the carbon residue from incomplete combustion - black, powdery, and acidic enough over time to eat mortar joints. In Yonkers’s gas-converted flues, we often find soot mixed with water staining from condensation in oversized liners. The soot itself isn’t the fire risk that creosote is, but it indicates poor combustion efficiency and accelerates masonry deterioration. We remove it with HEPA-contained vacuums and rotary brushes, then diagnose the source so it doesn’t return next season.

Annual Sweep
The National Fire Protection Association recommends annual inspection and sweeping as needed. For Yonkers homeowners burning wood regularly, that’s typically once per cord burned. For gas and oil systems, the schedule depends on what the inspection reveals - but the inspection itself should happen every year without fail. We book annual sweeps with reminder calls before the heating season, and our permanent 5% Senior and Veteran discount applies to every visit.

Fireplace Cleaning
Fireplace cleaning addresses the firebox, smoke chamber, and damper assembly - the parts you can see and the parts you can’t. In Yonkers homes with original masonry fireplaces converted to gas logs, we often find deteriorated mortar in the smoke chamber and rusted damper hardware from decades of disuse. We clean, inspect, and document with photos. If the damper won’t seal or the smoke chamber has corbelled joints catching creosote, we’ll show you and explain what it means for draft and safety.

What happens when you call
- 1
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.
Trusted Brands We Service in Yonkers
We stock and install professional-grade materials from DuraFlex, HeatShield, Gelco, Olympia Chimney, Famco, and Copperfield - no builder-grade substitutes, no special-order delays that leave you waiting through January. When a Yonkers chimney needs a new cap, liner, or crown repair, we’ve got the right parts on the truck. That means most jobs complete in a single visit, and you’re not paying for a second trip because we had to order something basic.
Common Chimney Cleaning & Sweep Problems We See in Yonkers Homes
- Oversized coal-era flues converted to gas. The original masonry was built for coal furnaces throwing 150,000 BTU up a wide flue. Modern 80% efficient gas boilers might vent 40,000 BTU. That mismatch means flue gases move too slowly, condense moisture, and deposit first-degree creosote that sweep-only services misdiagnose as simple soot. We camera every suspicious flue to confirm what’s actually coating the liner.
- Spalled clay tile liners from age and thermal shock. Yonkers’s clay tile liners are 80-130 years old. Cracks and spalling are near-universal. A spinning brush can knock fragments loose into the smoke chamber without the technician ever seeing the damage. We camera before and after any sweep on these systems. No exceptions.
- Shared party-wall chimneys with undocumented flue conditions. In dense south and central Yonkers neighborhoods, many brick row houses share party-wall masonry. A single chimney structure can serve flues for two or more separately owned properties. A technician sweeping only the paying unit’s flue can miss a blocked or deteriorating flue actively creating carbon-monoxide risk next door. We document and flag cross-property conditions every time.
- Wind-driven downdraft on hilltop chimneys. Yonkers rises more than 200 feet from the riverfront to neighborhoods like Dunwoodie Heights and Greystone. Hilltop chimneys experience stronger wind pressure than valley-floor flues, causing smoke rollout, pilot light failure, and accelerated cap deterioration. We size caps and draft solutions to the specific exposure, not a generic catalog part.
Pricing for Chimney Cleaning & Sweep in Yonkers, NY
| Service | Typical Range in Yonkers |
|---|---|
| Level 1 Inspection with Sweep | $149 - $219 |
| Level 2 Camera Inspection | $289 - $425 |
| Creosote Removal (mechanical de-glazing) | $189 - $340 additional |
| Fireplace Cleaning (firebox, smoke chamber, damper) | $159 - $249 |
| Chimney Cap Installation (standard) | $285 - $450 |
What moves the needle: accessibility (steep roof pitches common in Greystone add time), flue condition (third-degree creosote requires more labor), and whether the liner is intact enough to sweep safely. We give you the full price before any work starts. A square deal: no surprises on the bill. Call (516) 927-2678 for an exact quote - estimates are free.
Current offers: $50 off any repair over $250, free second opinion on any written estimate, $89 seasonal tune-up, and a standing 5% Senior and Veteran discount.
We Also Serve Cities Near Yonkers
Our crews work throughout lower Westchester and the Bronx border - Chimney Cleaning & Sweep in Yonkers is our home territory, and we regularly dispatch to Bronxville, Tuckahoe, Pelham, and New Rochelle. Same standards, same camera documentation, same 90-Day Done Right Promise. If you’re in a nearby ZIP like 10710 or 10466, you’re in our service area.
Serving Yonkers, NY - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Yonkers area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Chimney Cleaning & Sweep in Yonkers
You need a Level 2 inspection. In Yonkers’s attached brick housing, shared party-wall chimneys with multiple flues are standard, and a Level 1 visual check cannot assess the condition of flues serving other units or verify that your flue liner is intact enough to sweep safely. Our camera inspection documents every flue in the structure, flags cross-property conditions, and gives you photos you can share with your neighbor or insurance if needed. Call (516) 927-2678 to schedule - estimates are free.
Third-degree creosote looks like shiny black tar, feels like hardened enamel, and won’t flake off with a standard brush. In Yonkers, we find it most often in oil-heated flues of converted coal-era chimneys, especially in neighborhoods like Dunwoodie and Lowerre. Only a camera inspection can confirm the extent and location. If we find it, we explain the mechanical de-glazing process, show you the before-and-after footage, and never proceed without your go-ahead. Call (516) 927-2678 for an exact quote - estimates are free.
Elevation and exposure. Yonkers’s topography rises sharply from the Hudson, and hilltop chimneys catch stronger northwest winds that create downdraft pressure, especially when wind hits the chimney top directly. Valley-floor flues in areas near the river have more shelter. We address this with properly sized chimney caps, draft inducers where appropriate, and sometimes flue resizing. A Level 2 inspection includes draft measurement and recommendations specific to your chimney’s exposure. Call (516) 927-2678 to schedule - estimates are free.
We camera first, then decide. In Yonkers’s housing stock, 80-130-year-old clay tile liners are commonly cracked or spalled. A brush sweep on a deteriorated liner can dislodge fragments into the smoke chamber or worsen hidden cracks - we’ve seen it happen. If the camera shows intact tiles with minor staining, a sweep may be safe. If we find spalling, missing sections, or gaps at the mortar joints, we document it and recommend HeatShield cerfractory resurfacing or a DuraFlex stainless liner. Nothing is quoted until you’ve seen the same footage we have. Call (516) 927-2678 for an exact quote - estimates are free.
Yes. The NFPA 211 standard applies to all chimneys, fireplaces, and venting systems - regardless of use frequency. In Yonkers, we’ve found bird nests, deteriorated caps, and water-damaged liners in fireplaces that hadn’t been lit in years. Moisture intrusion from our freeze-thaw cycles and Hudson Valley humidity damages masonry whether you burn or not. An annual inspection catches these issues before they become expensive repairs or safety hazards. Call (516) 927-2678 to schedule - estimates are free.
Written by Russell Haines, Owner at Hearthstone Chimney Co., serving Yonkers and surrounding communities since 1984.





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