Famco Chimney Liner & Rebuild Nationwide

Famco Chimney Liner & Rebuild in Paterson: What to Know First

Famco chimney liner and rebuild work in Paterson typically runs $2,400 to $6,800 depending on liner length, flue access, and whether the masonry crown or top courses need rebuilding. We complete most stand-alone Famco liner replacements in one day, with partial rebuilds adding a day or two for mortar to cure properly. Full tear-down rebuilds from the roofline up run higher and take three to five days. We are an independent Famco service provider, not an authorized dealer, which means we can give you an honest read on whether an OEM part is worth the wait or a quality aftermarket liner gets you running sooner for less.

Call (862) 356-5229

This page is for Paterson homeowners who own a home with a Famco chimney component and need straight answers on liner repair or rebuild: what fails, what it costs, and what we actually do when you hire us. You can reach us at (862) 356-5229 any time.

How Famco Products Fail - and How We Fix Them

Famco has made venting and termination components for decades, and we see several of their product lines regularly across Paterson’s older housing stock. Each has its own failure pattern, and knowing which one you’re dealing with changes the repair approach.

• Famco galvanized flue pipe on older vented appliances. The zinc coating thins from years of condensation, especially on gas appliances that short-cycle. Once the coating fails, the steel behind it rusts through in two or three heating seasons. The tell is rust bloom at the seams. Fix: replace with 316L stainless liner rather than another galvanized run, which adds seven to ten years of service life in a Paterson attic that freezes and thaws every winter.
• Famco flex liners with crushed or kinked sections. We see this most on installations where someone pushed the liner down a flue with offset tile and did not use a pulling cone. The liner deforms at the offset. Symptom is a whistling draft or a smoke smell when the fire burns low. Fix: pull the old liner, inspect the tile, and install a correctly sized 316Ti flex liner with a proper termination cap, not a reducer.
• Famco termination caps with failed screen wire. The screen mesh on many Famco caps is fine enough to clog and strong enough for a squirrel to rip. Once the mesh tears, birds get in, nest, and block the top of the flue. In Paterson’s row house neighborhoods near Franklin Lake, we pulled three dead birds out of one Famco cap this past March. Fix: replace the cap with one that has a wider mesh pattern, and add a proper crown wash if the masonry crown under the cap is spalled.
• Famco stainless liner showing pitting at the bottom eight inches. This is the classic Paterson pattern: liner is fine for its first ten feet, then the section just above the appliance collar looks like the surface of the moon. Cause is condensate pooling, not fuel quality. Fix: replace the liner, correct the slope and support so condensate drains to the appliance trap rather than pooling against the liner wall.
• Famco components on chimneys with original clay tile that is now cracking. The Famco component is often fine. The chimney it’s attached to is not. When you see hairline cracks in the tile and efflorescence on the brick face near the roofline, the liner needs a full rebuild context, not just a connector replacement. Fix: camera the full flue first, then give you a written read on what is liner problem and what is masonry problem before any work is scheduled.

Our Famco Chimney Liner & Rebuild Process

Here is how a Famco liner or rebuild job actually runs when you call us. Same sequence every time, starting with the camera.

1. 1
   Inspection and camera scan, always first. We run a Level 2 camera scan down the full flue, note the condition in writing, and record footage. If your Famco liner is intact and the problem is elsewhere, we tell you that and we don’t sell you a liner.
2. 2
   Written scope and written price before work starts. We hand you a line-by-line quote that names the material, the liner diameter, the length, and the labor. Clause 1 of the Haven Standard: have it in writing. This is not optional for us.
3. 3
   Parts decision: OEM Famco versus quality aftermarket. If a Famco cap or connector is available locally and the lead time works, we price it. If it’s a three-week ship and winter is a week away, we quote an equivalent 316 stainless aftermarket option and explain the trade-off. You decide, in writing.
4. 4
   The install or rebuild. For a liner replacement: out with the old, camera the flue again to confirm the tile condition, in with the new liner, top plate, cap, and rain collar. For a rebuild: we work in lifts, re-flash properly with a cricket where the roofline meets a wide chimney, and let each lift cure before loading the next.
5. 5
   Test fire, camera verification, and photo record. We run a test fire, camera the new liner from top to bottom, and hand you the footage. Clause 4 of the Haven Standard requires a documented photo record on every job. We have done this since 2009, before anybody asked us to.
6. 6
   Written warranty and the 365-Day Done Right Promise. You leave with photos, footage, and a written warranty on the liner and the labor. If something is not done right within the first year, we make it right. That is the entire promise, printed on the job record.

Before

After

What Famco Chimney Liner & Rebuild Costs in Paterson

Here are the numbers we quote most often for Famco-related liner and rebuild work across Paterson. These are installed prices, not parts-only.

• Stainless steel flex liner replacement (standard two-story Paterson chimney): $2,400 to $3,800 installed, depending on length and termination type.
• Liner repair with a partial section splice: $600 to $1,100 when the liner is in good shape above the damage point and splice is structurally sound.
• Partial rebuild at the top (top six to eight courses plus crown and cap): $3,200 to $5,500, with the price moving on chimney height, access, and whether the flue tile needs resetting.
• Full chimney rebuild from the roofline up: $6,000 to $12,000, including new liner, flashings, crown, and cap.

What moves the price: roof pitch and staging access on Paterson’s steep colonial roofs, flue offset that forces us to oval the liner, and how much tile needs to come out before the new liner goes in. We give you a written price before anyone starts. Call (862) 356-5229 for a free estimate on your exact setup.

Why Paterson Homeowners Call Level Two Chimney Paterson for Famco Work

Because we show you the camera footage before we quote anything, and we write the price in the same sentence as the scope. Corrine Halstead has been cleaning, inspecting, and lining chimneys for nearly eighteen years, and her crew has worked a long stretch of row houses near the Great Falls Historic District where the masonry is original and the Famco components are often older than the owners currently living there. We carry our own stainless inventory, and when a job calls for something outside our racks, we can draw on DuraFlex, HeatShield, and Gelco through our buying network rather than waiting on a single-brand supply chain. Every tech who shows up is uniformed, background-checked, and has a named point of contact. Calls are answered live, 24/7, not by a voicemail tree. And every job carries the 365-Day Done Right Promise.

FAQs