Chimney sweep and repair in Somerville, NJ
Somerville is the real masonry town among the larger places we cover in Somerset County. Roughly half its housing predates 1960, most of it multi-family and built before mid-century lining practice caught up with brick chimneys, so we still find tile-lined and unlined flues here.
The short answer
We sweep and inspect old brick chimneys, work party-wall and multi-unit flues around downtown, and check the gas and electric conversions that have left more than a few abandoned or partly used stacks standing on Somerville roofs.
What we find on Somerville jobs
Just under half of Somerville’s housing predates 1960, and nearly a quarter predates 1940, which puts a lot of chimneys here on the wrong side of when lining became standard practice. That’s why the state’s own chimney verification form still carries a checkbox for unlined masonry, and in a borough like this one it gets used. The fuel mix compounds it. Somerville has the lowest gas-heat share and the highest electric share of the towns we cover, plus real pockets of oil and LP, and that kind of mixed, older fuel history is exactly what produces an abandoned or half-abandoned flue, a chimney still standing over an appliance that was swapped out or shut off years ago without anyone capping the top properly. Add in that most of the housing stock is multi-family, and a fair amount of the work is party-wall: a flue serving more than one unit, or more than one appliance, with rooftop access that a crew set up for a suburban ranch house isn’t ready for.
Where the van goes in Somerville
- Downtown along Main Street
- Somerville Historic District (Main, Division, High, and portions of Bridge and Doughty Streets)
- High Street church row
- Altamont Place
- West End Avenue
- South Somerville Street
- Washington Place
Everything we do in Somerville
- 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 Somerville
Our house is a two-family with one chimney serving both units. Is that normal here?
Very common in Somerville. Over half the borough’s housing is multi-family, and a chimney serving two units or two appliances is a standard setup downtown. It just means access and shared responsibility get worked out ahead of time, since whatever we find affects both households.
The fireplace hasn’t been used in years. Could there be an old flue behind the wall we don’t know about?
It happens more in a borough like Somerville than in a newer subdivision, because so much of the housing has gone through fuel switches over the decades. A chimney can outlive the appliance it served by a long way, and an inspection is the way to find out what’s up there before anything gets used again.
We’re in the downtown historic district. Does that affect chimney repair?
It can. Somerville’s downtown sits inside a Register-eligible historic district of late-Victorian and early-20th-century buildings, and exterior work that’s visible from the street, a rebuilt stack or a new crown, can run into review requirements a subdivision house never sees. Check with the borough before scheduling visible masonry work.
Parking and roof access are tight on our block. Does that change how you work?
It’s routine for us here. A lot of Somerville’s older housing sits close together with limited driveway or alley access, and downtown roofs are often shared or party-wall, so we plan the visit around that rather than expecting a suburban setup.
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
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