Level 1 sweep and inspection to the NFPA 211 annual standard - flue, crown, cap, and flashing checked and photographed
Chimney sweep logs do not sweep chimneys. They loosen some creosote - which then falls where a brush and vacuum still have to collect it.
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AfterOlympia Chimney Chimney Cap & Crown in Reading: What to Know First
Olympia Chimney cap and crown work in Reading typically runs between $340 and $1,900, with the spread driven by whether you need a simple cap replacement or full crown rebuilding plus custom fabrication. We’re an independent Olympia Chimney service provider, not an authorized dealer, so our recommendations don’t come with a sales quota attached. Most jobs are completed in a single visit, and you’ll get a straight answer before any work begins.
This page is for homeowners in Reading, Exeter, Wyomissing, Shillington, and the surrounding Berks County towns who own an Olympia Chimney product and want the cap or crown done right. If you’ve got water staining near the flue or a cap that’s rusted through after a few Pennsylvania winters, call (484) 209-0837 and we’ll talk it through.
How Olympia Chimney Products Fail - and How We Fix Them
- Olympia stainless caps rusting at the weld points. We see this most on the Olympia standard mesh caps installed before 2015 around Reading. The issue isn’t the steel itself: it’s moisture collection where the cap skirt meets the flue tile, combined with Berks County’s freeze-thaw cycles. Once the weld fails, the mesh loosens and animals get in. We replace these with Olympia’s current stainless line or a thicker-gauge equivalent when OEM isn’t the best call.
- Crown cracking from Pennsylvania ice expansion. Olympia’s pre-cast crowns hold up well in dry climates, but Reading winters punish them. Water seeps into hairline cracks, freezes, and widens them over three or four seasons. By the time you see efflorescence on the brick below the crown, the crown is usually compromised. We grind out the cracks and apply a flexible crown coat that moves with the temperature swings instead of against them.
- Improper cap sizing from original installation. More common than you’d think. A cap sized for a 13×13 flue gets dropped on a 13×17 tile because it “close enough.” The overhang is wrong, draft suffers, and rain drives in at an angle. On Olympia multi-flue setups, this gets worse because one cap has to cover two different flue sizes. We measure each flue, not the outside of the chimney, before ordering anything.
- Debris nesting inside Olympia chase covers. Prefab Olympia chimneys with metal chase tops collect leaves and twigs around the flue pipe inside the chase. When the chase pan rusts through, water drops straight into the house structure, not the firebox. You won’t see it from the ground. Sometimes the first sign is a stain on the ceiling near the fireplace. We pull the chase cover, inspect the pan, and replace or seal before it gets to framing.
- Galvanized base plates on Olympia caps corroding in coal-country air. Reading’s older neighborhoods, especially near the river and out toward Muhlenberg, still carry traces of coal soot in the atmosphere from decades past. It’s acidic and eats galvanized hardware faster than you’d expect. We see Olympia caps with bases thinned to paper in six or seven years. We upgrade to stainless bases and hardware when this shows up.
Our Olympia Chimney Chimney Cap & Crown Process
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Call and talk. A live person answers, around the clock. You describe what you’re seeing, we ask about the chimney’s age and whether you’ve noticed water or draft issues. You’ll get an estimate before we set foot on your roof.
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Arrival and inspection. Wendell or one of his crew shows up in a marked truck, in uniform. We look at the cap, crown, flue tiles, and brickwork. Camera goes down the flue when the cap condition suggests moisture has been getting in.
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Plain verdict. If the cap is fine and you don’t need work, that’s what we tell you. If it’s bad, we show you photos. You decide before any tools come off the truck, and the price quoted on the phone is the price on the invoice.
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The repair. For cap jobs, we remove the old unit, clean the flue tile ledge, and install the replacement with proper mechanical fastening, not just friction. For crowns, we grind, fill, and seal. Custom caps get measured and fabricated to your flue dimensions.
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Test and document. We check draft, verify the cap is seated and secured, and photograph the finished work. You get the pictures.
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Cleanup and the promise. We drop cloths, magnet-sweep for screws and metal shavings, and haul the old cap away. Every job carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If it’s not right, one call brings us back.
What Olympia Chimney Chimney Cap & Crown Costs in Reading
Straight numbers. A standard Olympia stainless cap replacement runs $340 to $620 for most single-flue homes in Reading. Multi-flue caps, especially custom-sized Olympic units, land between $550 and $1,100. Crown repair, including grinding, filling, and sealing with a flexible elastomeric coat, runs $480 to $850 depending on crown size and how much of the original surface needs rebuilding. Full custom crown casting starts around $1,000 and tops out near $1,900 when the existing crown is structurally gone and we’re forming and pouring new.
What moves the price: flue count, roof pitch, whether the chimney is stone or brick, and whether you’ve got an Olympia prefab that needs a chase pan replacement at the same time. We’ll tell you the exact number before work begins, and the free estimate is just that. Call (484) 209-0837 and we’ll put a figure on it.
Why Reading Homeowners Call Top Hat Chimney for Olympia Chimney Work
We’ve worked these chimneys since 1999. Wendell Pike started Top Hat Chimney with a pickup and a brush, and he’s been pulling caps off Reading rowhouse chimneys and stone fireplace stacks ever since. If you live near Pagoda Hill, there’s a good chance one of those old brick chimneys has our work on it. You’re not getting a rotating crew with a corporate script. You’re getting the same face on the job and in town on Saturday.
Some jobs need more than an Olympia part. That’s where knowing the other brands helps. If your Olympia chase needs a liner replaced at the same time, we carry and service DuraFlex, HeatShield, and Gelco, so we’re not guessing at compatibility. And when competing estimates get expensive, bring us the written one. We’ll give you a free second opinion with no pressure. Ten percent off for seniors and veterans, always.
FAQs
No. As an independent Olympia Chimney service provider, we install cap replacements that meet or exceed the original specifications, and using quality aftermarket components does not void your chimney’s structural warranty. The warranty on Olympia’s prefab pipe and chase systems covers manufacturing defects in the chimney itself, not the accessories added at installation. If you’re unsure, keep the old cap and photograph the replacement. We also offer the 90-Day Done Right Promise on our work, so if something’s off with the fit or function, one call fixes it. Call (484) 209-0837 with your model number and we’ll check compatibility before ordering anything.
In most Reading homes, yes. If the crown still has structural integrity and the cracks are less than a quarter-inch wide, we grind out the damaged material, fill the voids, and apply a flexible crown coat designed for freeze-thaw climates. If the crown is spalling, heavily deteriorated, or you can lift chunks off with a putty knife, recoating won’t hold. We’ll tell you which situation you have. If it doesn’t need replacing, we’ll be the first ones to say it.
Expect six to ten years from a galvanized Olympia cap in Reading’s climate, and twelve to twenty from stainless. Acidic coal residue near the river and industrial corridors shortens that for galvanized models. If you’re near Muhlenberg or along the Schuylkill, we recommend stainless from the start. It costs more up front and less over time.
Maybe not every year, but caps fail from the top down. The base plate, the weld seams, and the mesh fasteners are the first things to go, and you can’t see any of them from your driveway. Every chimney sweep we do includes a visual cap check from the roof as standard. If the cap looks intact, we leave it alone. If it’s on its way out, we show you the photos before recommending anything.
Most cap and crown work is scheduled within one to two weeks during the fall rush, and faster in spring and summer. Water-damage situations where an exposed flue is actively leaking into the house get priority, so call (484) 209-0837 and tell us what you’re seeing. We’ll give you a real arrival window, and if anything slips, we call you first.
Written by Wendell Pike, Owner, Top Hat Chimney at Top Hat Chimney, serving Reading and nearby areas.