Chimney sweep and repair in Manville, NJ
Manville is the most consistently old and consistently post-war town we cover in Somerset County. Over 60 percent of its housing predates 1960, most of it small brick homes built around the Johns-Manville plant, with the furnace and water heater tucked into the basement. Sitting at the Raritan and Millstone confluence adds a wrinkle nowhere else in the county has to think about.
The short answer
We sweep and inspect the modest brick chimneys and short flues that Manville’s post-war housing was built with, and we pay particular attention to basement-installed furnaces and water heaters given how often this stretch of the Raritan has flooded.
What we find on Manville jobs
Manville is the one town in the county built almost entirely in a single stretch, small brick houses from the 1940s and 50s clustered around the old Johns-Manville plant, and that shows up in the work as short, modest flues rather than the tall stacks or framed chases we see elsewhere. What’s specific to Manville is where the appliances sit. This borough sits at the confluence of the Raritan and Millstone, and the river gauge here has recorded its three highest crests in over a century of record-keeping since 1999, which means a furnace or water heater in a Manville basement has a real chance of having been under water at some point. That changes what’s worth repairing versus what’s worth relocating higher in the house. Nearly every household here heats with utility gas, the highest share of any town we cover, so almost every one of them has a live vent running, and under state rules a home like that needs a working carbon monoxide alarm before it can change hands. The factory-built fireplace subdivisions that dominate the rest of the county barely touch Manville at all.
Where the van goes in Manville
- Lost Valley
- North Main Street
- South Main Street
- Camplain Road corridor
- Brooks Boulevard
Everything we do in Manville
- Chimney sweepingThe camera goes down before any brush does
- Chimney inspectionLevel 1 or Level 2, with a written report
- Chimney repairCrowns, caps, flashing and liners that let water in
- Fireplace & stovePilot lights, dampers and door gaskets
- Dryer vent cleaningThe whole run cleared, from the dryer to the outside hood
- Air duct cleaningWe tell you when cleaning will not help
- Duct repair & replacementCrushed, split or fallen duct runs repaired
What homeowners say on our Google listing
A selection of our 5-star reviews on Google.
Work was carried out by an expert who knew just what proportions of air to fuel were required for a brick fireplace system to burn cleanly.
It was no longer a strong pick. The service fixed the damper and got rid of the sticky creosote. Now it's easy to start fires and they burn constantly. Every time we light it, we can see the difference.
Top-notch service! They showed up right on time, which is rare these days. The technician took the time to explain everything and showed me exactly how much soot was clogging the flue. Fast, clean, and very reasonably priced. I will definitely be using them every year from now on!
Questions from Manville
Our furnace is in the basement and we’re worried about flood damage. What should we know?
Manville sits at the Raritan and Millstone confluence, and the gauge there has recorded its three highest crests in over a century of records since 1999. A basement furnace or water heater in that part of town has a real chance of having been affected before, and that should weigh on the choice between repairing the equipment and moving it higher up.
Our house is one of the older brick ones near Main Street. What’s typical for chimneys like ours?
Most of Manville’s housing went up in the 1940s and 50s around the old Johns-Manville plant, and the chimneys built with it are small brick stacks with short, straightforward flues rather than the tall factory-built systems common elsewhere in the county. Age and basement moisture are the usual things we’re checking for.
We’re selling the house. Do we need anything specific for the chimney or the appliances?
Nearly every Manville household heats with gas, which means a live vent in most homes, and New Jersey requires a working carbon monoxide alarm meeting the current UL standard before a one- or two-family home can change hands. Worth confirming your alarm and appliance venting are both in order ahead of the sale.
Does Manville have the same subdivision-style fireplaces as the rest of Somerset County?
Not really. Only a small share of Manville’s housing was built from 1980 onward, which is when the factory-built firebox and framed chase became standard elsewhere. Most of what we find here is older masonry, which is a different inspection and a different repair than the metal systems common in the newer townships.
Find us on Google
Open the map to see our Google listing, or open the listing itself to read our reviews.
Royal Chimney Sweep & Repair Readington NJ
View the map