Fort Greene heats with basement boilers venting through some of the oldest chimneys in Brooklyn. The pre-war elevator buildings and walk-ups along Myrtle Avenue, the townhouses facing Fort Greene Park, the converted rowhouses near the Navy Yard — nearly all of them send boiler exhaust up masonry flues built long before the current boiler existed. When those flues deteriorate, the boiler is the first thing that feels it: repeated shutdowns, soot in the boiler room, exhaust odors, or a CO alarm nobody can explain.
Our boiler chimney inspection is built for exactly this building stock. We send a camera from the boiler room to the roof and check seven points: flue blockage, soot and creosote buildup, cracked or missing liner tiles, masonry deterioration, backdrafting and spillage, flue sizing against the connected boiler, and carbon monoxide safety. In pre-war buildings like Fort Greene’s we pay special attention to oversized flues — a chimney built for a coal boiler in 1920 rarely drafts correctly for today’s gas unit, and the resulting condensation quietly destroys the liner.
You get photos from inside the flue and a written report: what is safe, what needs monitoring, and what should be repaired before heating season.
Carbon monoxide safety: CO has no smell and no color. If the CO alarm sounds, or anyone in the building has headaches, dizziness or nausea — get everyone out, call 911, and do not go back inside until emergency responders say it is safe.
Before installing a new boiler in Fort Greene
Inspect the flue before the new boiler is installed. A camera inspection reveals the true interior size and the condition of the liner, so the installer sizes the venting to the boiler — not to a guess. This is how you avoid draft problems, condensation damage and voided warranties in the first year.
Pricing
Boiler chimney inspections follow Level 2 pricing: starts at $199 in Brooklyn. If the flue needs relining, stainless-steel liner installation starts at $3,000 including labor and materials.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my boiler keep shutting off?
One of the most common causes is a venting problem: a blocked or poorly drafting flue trips the boiler’s safety controls. A chimney inspection finds blockages, soot and sizing issues that a boiler service alone does not check.
What does a boiler chimney inspection actually include?
A camera scan of the full flue from boiler room to roof, checking blockage, soot, liner cracks, deterioration, backdrafting, flue sizing and CO safety — with photos and a written report.
My boiler runs fine — does the flue still need inspecting?
Yes. Venting problems are silent until they are not: a liner can be cracking and a flue partially blocked while the boiler keeps running. Annual inspection per NFPA 211 catches that deterioration before it becomes a mid-winter shutdown or a CO incident.
Can soot around my boiler mean a carbon monoxide problem?
It can be a warning sign. Soot or staining near the draft hood means exhaust is spilling back into the boiler room instead of going up the flue — and that exhaust can include carbon monoxide. If the CO alarm sounds: get everyone out, call 911, and do not re-enter until emergency responders say it is safe.
Call (347) 297-9646 or message us on WhatsApp — we answer 24/7, calmly and without pressure. Heating season is here — slots fill fast, book before the rush.
Sweeps Chimney Services INC, 68 Jay Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201, (347) 297-9646.
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