Chimney Repair for Bogota chimneys
Bogota's chimneys are mostly brick and mostly old, built when coal and later oil heated these houses. Many have since been converted to gas without relining, and the clay tile liners inside, where they exist at all, have cracked and lost their joints. On two-families, a single chimney often vents two heating systems.
River humidity and freeze-thaw are hard on masonry. Mortar joints erode, crowns crack, and brick on the weather side absorbs water and spalls. Flashing on older roofs has often been tarred over repeatedly instead of being replaced.
We inspect, clean, reline, rebuild crowns, install caps, repoint, waterproof and reflash, and we can rebuild the top of a chimney when the brick above the roof has failed. Since we roof as well, the chimney and the roofline get fixed together.
Bogota housing
Bogota is a compact, mostly residential borough developed largely in the first half of the twentieth century. Frame single-family houses from the early 1900s through the 1930s, including foursquares, colonials and gabled homes with front porches, sit on narrow lots alongside two-family houses. Later infill added some capes and ranches. The commercial district has older one- and two-story buildings with flat roofs, and there are a few apartment buildings.
Weather & exposure
The borough sits along the Hackensack River, and the lower blocks near the water are subject to river humidity and, in places, flooding during heavy storms. Mature street trees shade many roofs and fill gutters each fall. Houses close together mean roofs and gutters often drain toward a neighbor's wall or a narrow side yard, and old brick chimneys take a steady beating from freeze-thaw.
Repair, repoint or rebuild in Bogota
If your Bogota chimney has loose bricks, a cracked crown, missing cap, white staining or tile fragments falling into the cleanout, have it inspected. Most problems are repairable with repointing, a crown, a cap and waterproofing. A chimney with failed brick above the roof or no usable liner may need a partial rebuild and relining.
If your heating was converted to gas and the chimney was never relined, ask us to check it. Estimates are free and come with photos.
