Famco Chimney Cap & Crown Nationwide

Famco Chimney Cap & Crown in Arlington Heights: What to Know First

We provide independent Famco chimney cap and crown service in Arlington Heights, with most inspections scheduled within a week and repairs completed on the next visit once parts are confirmed. A written price arrives before any work starts, and every job includes a camera-scan inspection with documented photos under Haven Standard Clause 4. If you own a Famco cap or crown and you’re seeing rust streaks, water in the firebox, or mortar crumbs on the roof, this page covers what we actually find and what it costs. Call (331) 202-2419 for a free estimate.

Call (331) 202-2419

How Famco Products Fail - and How We Fix Them

• Galvanized-steel cap rust-through on the 8″ and 10″ round models. The factory galvanizing on Famco’s economy round caps thins at the weld seams after five to seven winters in Arlington Heights’ freeze-thaw cycle. We see this most on homes near Lake Arlington where wind-driven moisture accelerates the failure. Our fix: pull the cap, assess the flue tile condition underneath, and install a stainless-steel replacement from our Haven buying network - usually a Gelco or Olympia equivalent with a lifetime warranty against rust.
• Multi-flue cap frame sag on the Famco MC series. The MC series uses a lighter-gauge top frame that can belly downward when snow load exceeds 25 pounds per square foot, which happens in Arlington Heights most winters. The sag creates a gap at the flue shoulder where water funnels straight onto the crown. We replace with a reinforced multi-flue frame or fabricate a custom cap with a steeper pitch and heavier mesh if the flue spacing is non-standard.
• Crown wash separation under Famco caps with shallow overhang. Famco caps with less than a 2-inch overhang don’t shed water past the crown edge; water hits the crown wash and works backward through hairline cracks. In Arlington Heights, this shows up as spalling on the crown’s south face where sun exposure follows freeze-thaw. We grind back to sound concrete, apply a bonded crown coat, and specify a replacement cap with a 3-inch minimum drip edge.
• Mesh screen clogging on Famco wind-directional caps. The rotating head on Famco’s wind-directional models collects cottonwood seed in late spring and creosote flakes in burning season, locking the head and blocking draft. We’ve pulled screens off Campbell Street chimneys that were 60% occluded. We clean or replace the mesh, verify the head spins freely, and flag whether the flue is overproducing particulate - often a sign of poor wood moisture or a smoke chamber issue upstream.
• Spark arrestor failure on older Famco factory-built caps. Pre-2015 Famco caps used a coarser 5/8-inch mesh that doesn’t meet current ICC requirements for wildland-urban interface zones; Arlington Heights adopted tighter language in 2018. The mesh also fatigues at the crimp points. We replace with 1/2-inch stainless mesh, secured with a continuous weld rather than spot welds, and document the upgrade for insurance or resale.

Our Famco Chimney Cap & Crown Process

1. 1
   Call and schedule. A live person answers, checks Famco part availability through our Haven buying network, and books a Level 2 inspection with camera.
2. 2
   Inspection and documentation. Corrine Halstead or a uniformed, background-checked tech runs the camera down the flue, photographs the cap, crown, and flue top from the roof, and records liner condition and creosote stage. The camera doesn’t guess. Neither do we.
3. 3
   Written price and scope. Before any repair, you receive a written price, written scope, and written warranty - Haven Standard Clause 1. If the fix is straightforward cap replacement, the price is flat. If crown work is needed, we itemize grind-and-coat versus full rebuild.
4. 4
   Parts decision. We source Famco-compatible caps through our network, or specify a DuraFlex, HeatShield, or Gelco upgrade when the OEM line has known weaknesses. We explain the trade-off and let you choose.
5. 5
   Repair and test. We install, seal, and water-test the crown with a controlled spray. The camera goes back down to confirm no debris entered the flue during the job.
6. 6
   Photo record and closeout. Haven Standard Clause 4 requires it: dated photos, camera footage, and a written summary archived to your record. Payment is due only after you review and approve.

Before

After

What Famco Chimney Cap & Crown Costs in Arlington Heights

Price moves with roof pitch (steeper = more rigging time), flue count, and whether the crown substrate is sound enough to coat or needs rebuild. We don’t recommend crown work without camera evidence you can see. Call (331) 202-2419 for an exact quote - estimates are free.

Why Arlington Heights Homeowners Call Level Two Chimney Arlington Heights for Famco Work

We’ve run camera inspections on more than 38,000 chimneys since 2009, and a healthy share of those were in Arlington Heights neighborhoods like the older colonials along Campbell Street and the split-levels near Lake Arlington. Corrine Halstead learned the trade at Apex Technical School in Manhattan before building this crew’s work across the northwest suburbs; she writes up exactly what the camera found before a single repair dollar gets discussed. Our techs know Famco’s product lines well enough to spot the difference between a cap that needs cleaning and a cap that needs replacement. When Famco parts are back-ordered, we pivot to DuraFlex, HeatShield, or Gelco equivalents through our Haven buying network - same-day availability on most standard sizes, with pricing kept honest by volume. Every job carries the 365-Day Done Right Promise and a free second opinion on any competitor’s written estimate.

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