Your Local Westchester County Chimney Team

Estates, Queen Annes and railroad suburbs

Westchester grew along its rail lines and rivers, and its houses show it. Northwest Yonkers has many Victorian-era homes and 19th-century estates looking across to the Palisades. New Rochelle counts more than 11,500 single-family houses, and its older neighborhoods are full of Queen Anne, Tudor Revival and Colonial Revival homes from the Gilded Age boom. Scarsdale's suburban growth began after it became an express stop on the Harlem line in 1877.

Many river villages were carved from estates. After World War I, large Irvington estates were split into smaller lots, and Sleepy Hollow Manor has winding streets of houses from the 1920s and 1930s. Bronxville built many noted houses during its early-1900s arts colony years. Recent Census estimates place about 28% of the county's housing units in buildings from 1939 or earlier, with another large share from the 1950s.

The southern cities add density. Mount Vernon's early growth came from a cooperative that built homes for tradesmen and people of small means, and large co-ops line Gramatan Avenue in its Fleetwood neighborhood. In White Plains, the 10605 ZIP code covers much of the residential area and is mostly single-family housing. Ardsley grew in two booms, one between World War I and the Great Depression and one after World War II, and well-off New Yorkers once built estates on the Hastings-on-Hudson hillsides.

Snowier than the city, windy by the Sound

Winters in Westchester are cold, wet and occasionally snowy, with more snow inland at higher elevations, and snow is more common here than in New York City. In January, inland lows run from about 21 to 26 degrees, while coastal areas such as New Rochelle stay a few degrees warmer. Winds can be heavy, especially by the coast.

That combination is hard on masonry. Snow piles against a chimney on the roof, melts on sunny afternoons and refreezes at night inside the brick and mortar joints. Crowns crack, bricks spall, and flashing pulls loose where wind works at it.

Village historic districts come first

Westchester's villages and cities set many of their own preservation rules. Tarrytown passed a law in 1979 to create designated historic districts after urban renewal took down historic houses, and its North Grove Street district is on the National Register. Irvington's Main Street area is a state-designated historic district, Bronxville's Lawrence Park is a National Register district, and New Rochelle has the Rochelle Park-Rochelle Heights Historic District. If your house is locally designated, exterior chimney work can need approval from the local historic preservation body; otherwise, check with your village or city building department.

Oil, gas and the flue

Recent Census estimates show fuel oil heating about 24% of occupied homes in Westchester and utility gas about 54%. Oil exhaust leaves soot and acidic residue in a masonry flue; gas exhaust brings moisture that condenses in an oversized or cold one. A Tudor or Victorian chimney may also be serving a boiler that is far newer than the flue it vents into, which is a common reason relining is recommended.

Larger estate houses often have several flues in one stack, some for fireplaces and one for the boiler. Each flue needs its own check, because a fireplace flue that is rarely used can hide a blockage for years.

Looking after an older Westchester chimney

NFPA 211 calls for chimneys, fireplaces and vents to be inspected at least once a year, cleaned when deposits build up, and inspected again after a chimney fire or any event that may have damaged them. For Westchester homes, it also pays to have tall decorative stacks checked for loose upper courses after windy winters, to keep caps secure, and to confirm a fireplace is lined before using it regularly. Pro 1 Chimney sends its own licensed and insured crew to Westchester homes.