Famco Chimney Cap Installation Nationwide

Famco Chimney Cap Installation: The Staten Island Owner’s Guide

We stock and install Famco-compatible chimney caps across Staten Island, with most jobs running $340-$620 installed depending on flue size and whether your crown needs repair before mounting. If you have your Famco model number or can measure your flue opening, we’ll match the right cap and typically get it done in a single visit. Most Staten Island homeowners discover their cap has failed after a storm blows it loose, they spot rust streaks down the brick, or squirrels start appearing in the firebox.

Call (516) 613-3035

Which Famco Models This Applies To

Famco caps fall into a few distinct series, and getting the match right matters more than you’d think. The stainless-steel wind-directional caps, the standard galvanized multi-flue models, and the custom copper line each use different base flange designs. We see the 8″×12″ and 13″×13″ single-flue stainless units most often in Staten Island’s pre-war bungalows and mid-century ranches, but newer construction in neighborhoods like Great Kills often has the larger multi-flue covers.

To identify yours, check the stamped model number on the underside of the lid if the cap is still reachable, or measure the flue tile’s outside dimensions at the crown. The critical gotcha: Famco’s older galvanized caps share outer dimensions with their stainless line but use a lighter 24-gauge base that warps faster. If you’re replacing a galvanized unit, we typically recommend stepping up to 304 stainless or at minimum a heavier 26-gauge galvanized, which Famco specifies for coastal-adjacent zones like ours where salt air accelerates corrosion.

We’re an independent service provider, not affiliated with Famco. We carry OEM Famco caps and also stock quality equivalents from Gelco and Olympia Chimney when the original spec has been discontinued or when a homeowner wants a different material finish.

Signs Your Famco Chimney Cap Is Failing

• Rust streaks running down the chimney face. On Famco galvanized caps, the spot-welded seams are the first failure point. Once moisture breaches the seam, capillary action draws water into the flue every rainstorm, and you’ll see orange-brown staining on the brick within a season.
• The cap sits crooked or rocks in the wind. Famco’s base flange is designed to straddle the flue tile with tension screws. After fifteen to twenty years of freeze-thaw cycling, the flange metal fatigues and loses its grip. A cap that shifts even half an inch is no longer protecting the flue properly.
• Water in the firebox or a damp, musty smell after rain. This means the cap’s mesh screen has corroded through or the lid overhang has deformed, allowing direct water entry. In Staten Island’s clay-heavy soil zones like Tottenville, that moisture wicks into the firebox and can degrade the smoke shelf.
• Animals or nesting debris in the flue. Famco’s standard mesh is 5/8″ galvanized hardware cloth. Squirrels can pull loose corners free, and the mesh itself can tear at the weld points after a decade. If you’re hearing scratching or finding twigs, the cap’s animal guard has failed.
• Visible holes or daylight through the cap lid. The wind-directional models have a rotating hood that takes the brunt of coastal storms. The pivot pin seizes, stress cracks form at the mounting bracket, and eventually you have a perforated lid that still looks intact from the ground.

Replacement Cost & What’s Included

What drives the range: flue tile condition, whether the existing fasteners are seized or broken off, and if the crown surface needs leveling before the new cap’s base flange seats properly. We photograph the crown before quoting, so you see what we see. The price we agree to is the price on the invoice. Every cap installation carries our 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing, no arguing, and the stainless units we install are rated for the salt-air exposure Staten Island gets.

DIY or Call Us?

There’s a safe middle ground here. You can check your cap’s condition from the ground with binoculars, note any model numbers visible from below, and measure your flue tile’s outer dimensions with a tape measure from the roof edge if you’re comfortable on a ladder. What you should not do: climb onto a steep roof to wrestle with seized fasteners, or attempt to bend a new cap’s base flange to fit a damaged crown. The flange needs uniform pressure all around, or it will leak within a year.

We’ve also seen homeowners install the right cap on the wrong flue in multi-flue chimneys, creating a downdraft problem that fills the house with smoke. If the chimney’s sound, we’ll say so. If it isn’t, you’ll hear that too. For a look with a camera and a straight estimate, call (516) 613-3035.

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