Famco Chimney Cap Installation Nationwide

Famco Chimney Cap Installation: The Allentown Owner’s Guide

We stock and install Famco-compatible chimney caps across Allentown, with most replacements running $285 to $475 installed depending on flue size and whether your crown needs resealing. Our trucks carry the common Famco galvanized and stainless-steel sizes for standard flues, and we can usually match your model same-day. Most Allentown homeowners discover their cap has failed after a storm blows through the Lehigh Valley, or when they spot rust streaks running down the brick during spring gutter cleaning.

Call (610) 632-1394

Which Famco Models This Applies To

Famco builds chimney caps in several product lines, and the right match depends on what is currently on your flue. The galvanized-steel E series and stainless-steel S series are the two we see most often on Allentown homes built between 1960 and 1995, especially in the West Park and Hanover Heights neighborhoods where the housing stock is heavy on brick colonials with original masonry chimneys. The E series carries a baked-enamel finish that holds up reasonably well but will show surface rust after eight to ten Pennsylvania winters; the S series is 304-grade stainless and typically lasts twice as long.

To identify your model, look for a stamped label on the underside of the cap’s lid or a small tag on the mesh screen frame. If the label is gone, measure the outside dimensions of your flue tile or the existing cap itself, and note whether you have a single flue or a multi-flue setup. Famco’s single-flue caps mount with corner leg brackets that slip over the tile edges; multi-flue models sit on a flat base plate that spans the crown.

We are an independent service provider, not affiliated with Famco. For most Allentown replacements, we install OEM Famco caps when the exact match is available. If your model has been discontinued, which happens with some pre-2010 galvanized units, we source quality aftermarket equivalents from Gelco or Olympia Chimney that match the spec without the brand markup. Russell Haines has seen too many homeowners order the wrong leg depth online and end up with a cap that rocks in the wind; the measurement is simple, but it has to be right.

Signs Your Famco Chimney Cap Is Failing

• Rust stains on the chimney brick or crown. Galvanized Famco caps lose their protective coating at the weld points and lid seams first. Once moisture gets under the enamel, the steel underneath oxidizes, and every rain sends orange-brown streaks down your masonry. In Allentown’s freeze-thaw climate, this accelerates after year six.
• Mesh screen pulled loose or gaping at the corners. The spot-welds that hold Famco’s spark-arrestor mesh can fatigue from thermal cycling. A gap larger than a quarter inch lets squirrels and starlings straight into the flue; we pulled a nest from a Tilghman Street chimney last April where the mesh had detached on two sides.
• Cap sitting crooked or rocking on the flue. The leg brackets on single-flue models can corrode through at the bend point, especially if your flue gas condenses heavily during shoulder-season burns. A loose cap is a cap waiting to launch in a March windstorm.
• Water in the firebox or damp odor even when the damper is closed. The lid on a Famco cap is supposed to shed water outward. If the lid has dented from ice load or the support struts have sagged, water pools and drips directly down the flue. You will smell it before you see it.
• Visible holes or paper-thin metal at the lid center. This is the failure mode we catch most often during Level-2 inspections. The center of the lid takes the longest to dry after rain, and in Famco’s galvanized line, that is where the metal perforates first. By the time you can see daylight through it, water has been entering for two seasons minimum.

Replacement Cost & What’s Included

In the Allentown market, a standard Famco-compatible chimney cap replacement runs $285 to $475 installed. The low end covers a single-flue galvanized cap with straightforward leg-bracket mounting and no crown work needed. The high end applies to stainless-steel caps, multi-flue setups, or jobs where we need to reseal the crown with CrownCoat or similar professional-grade material to prevent water infiltration behind the new cap.

Every installation includes removal and disposal of the old cap, verification that your flue tile edges are sound enough to support the mounting, and a camera inspection of the flue interior so you can see what we see. If the flue tile is cracked or spalled where the brackets bear, we will show you the photo and explain your options before we proceed. No surprises on the bill. The cap itself carries the manufacturer’s warranty, and our workmanship is covered by the 90-Day Done Right Promise, in writing, no arguing.

DIY or Call Us?

There is nothing inherently dangerous about swapping a chimney cap if you are comfortable on a ladder and your roof pitch is walkable. What goes wrong is the diagnosis underneath. A homeowner might bolt on a new Famco cap, miss the cracked flue tile beneath it, and seal water into the gap for another two years. Or they measure the flue wrong, order a cap with six-inch legs when they needed eight, and wonder why it blows off in the first nor’easter.

We do not recommend DIY if your chimney is two stories or higher, if the roof is steep, or if you suspect crown damage beyond the cap itself. The chimney doesn’t care what it looks like from the street. We check what’s inside. Call (610) 632-1394 and we will give you a straight answer on whether this is a simple swap or something more.

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