Montgomery CountyLocal guide
Chimney Care in Montgomery County, PA: What Homeowners Should Know
Montgomery County mixes Main Line estates, colonial landmarks and the big postwar suburbs that grew around them. Many chimneys here vent a boiler or furnace as well as a fireplace, and they live through cold, wet winters. Yearly inspections, sound liners and good caps are the core of care, with approval needed first on historic properties.
Estates, Main Line suburbs and postwar growth
Lower Merion sits at the heart of the Main Line, named for the old Pennsylvania Railroad line that crosses it, and only became a suburb after World War II; before that it was farmland. Its Gladwyne, Mill Creek and Bryn Mawr College historic districts and the 1704 Harriton House show how far back it goes. In Cheltenham, wealthy Philadelphians built large estates in the late 1800s and early 1900s; many were later replaced by houses, and today homes by Frank Furness, Horace Trumbauer and Frank Lloyd Wright stand beside split-level, twin and row houses. It has 13 National Register listings, more than any other municipality in the county.
The postwar boom remade much of the rest. Upper Dublin was mostly farmland until the 1950s and grew from about 6,000 people to nearly 20,000 by 1970. New highways in the late 1950s set off a building boom around King of Prussia. Older centers remain in Norristown, county seat since 1784, in railroad-era Lansdale, and in Pottstown, founded in 1761, with its High Street and Old Pottstown historic districts. Abington, incorporated in 1704, is one of the county's oldest communities and takes in 17 unofficial communities such as Glenside, Roslyn and Willow Grove, which itself grew as a colonial crossroads of inns and blacksmith shops on an old Lenape trail. In Norristown's East End, dozens of townhouses, apartments and condominiums have gone up since the early 2000s.
A climate on the edge of freezing
Most of the county has a hot-summer humid continental climate, while the southern areas and the Schuylkill River valley, Pottstown included, fall in the humid subtropical zone. In Pottstown, January averaged below freezing until the most recent climate figures, and heavy snow is still possible. Winters that hover around freezing mean many cycles of freeze and thaw, which is how mortar joints open and crowns crack. The hardiness zone is 7a across most of the county and 7b in most areas south of Interstate 276. Snow and ice tend to linger on north-facing roof slopes, which keeps chimneys there wet for longer after each storm.
Historic properties: ask before you rebuild
Cheltenham's Grey Towers Castle, the King of Prussia Inn, which began as a cottage in 1719, and Graeme Park in Horsham, with the Keith House, the only remaining home of a colonial Pennsylvania governor, are among the county's landmarks, and many private homes sit inside historic districts. If yours is one of them, ask the local historic preservation body whether exterior chimney work needs approval. For other houses, check with your township or borough building department.
Care that holds up here
Older stone houses on the Main Line and in Cheltenham often have several flues and decorative chimney tops, and unused flues are common. Each one should be capped or sealed, because an open flue nobody uses still collects rain, leaves and nests.
Pro 1 Chimney is family-owned and works with its own licensed and insured crew across the county.
- A yearly inspection of every flue, as the NFPA 211 standard calls for chimneys, fireplaces and vents
- A cleaning when deposits build up, whether from wood fires or an oil burner
- Crowns and caps that shed water, and flashing sealed tight at the roof
- Repointing with mortar that suits the age of the brick or stone
