Fast, Reliable Chimney Repair Across Hollis
Chimney repair in Hollis typically runs from $850 for mortar repointing up to $8,500 for a full stack rebuild, and most jobs are inspected and quoted within 48 hours. If your Hollis home was built between the 1920s and 1950s — the brick Tudors and Colonials that dominate this Queens neighborhood — your chimney was almost certainly sized for coal, later converted to oil, and may be running without a proper flue liner. That combination is why we get so many calls from Hollis homeowners who’ve discovered spalling brick, water stains on ceilings, or the smell of oil soot drifting into living rooms.

We’re based in New York City and regularly work the Hollis area, from homes near the intersection of Hillside Avenue and Francis Lewis Boulevard to the quieter blocks around 111th Road. Our Chimney Repair team — led by Robert Garcia, our owner and lead technician — carries the camera equipment, stainless liners, and masonry supplies needed to handle the specific problems these 70-to-100-year-old chimneys develop. Call (866) 884-9512 for a free estimate. We inspect, quote, and schedule without the runaround.
Why Apex Chimney Cleaning Greater New York Is Hollis’s Preferred Chimney Repair Company
We’ve earned our reputation in Hollis the hard way: by showing up, climbing the roof, and explaining exactly what we find. Robert Garcia doesn’t dispatch anonymous crews — he’s the one on the ladder, running the camera, and talking you through the footage. Over 17 years of chimney-only work, we’ve documented more than 1,096 customer outcomes with a 4.7-star average, and a significant share of those reviews come from Queens homeowners who’ve watched us work on their aging brick stacks.
Our response time to Hollis is typically same-day or next-day for inspections, and we carry the parts and materials — DuraFlex liners, HeatShield resurfacing products, professional-grade crown mixes — that let us complete most repairs without waiting on deliveries. That matters in Hollis, where the coastal freeze-thaw cycle doesn’t pause for backorders.
We also know the regulatory territory. Hollis sits under NYC Department of Buildings jurisdiction, not Nassau County’s. Fuel-conversion jobs here require permitted relines and DOB sign-off, a layer of bureaucracy that catches less experienced contractors off-guard. We’ve navigated it hundreds of times.
Our Chimney Repair Services in Hollis
Mortar Repointing
The mortar joints on Hollis chimneys take a beating. Queens’ coastal position — caught between Jamaica Bay and the Atlantic — subjects these stacks to repeated freeze-thaw cycles every winter. Water seeps into hairline cracks, expands overnight, and gradually grinds the mortar to powder. On a 1930s Colonial near Belmont Park, we recently ground out and repointed three courses of weathered joints that had turned nearly to sand. Repointing a typical Hollis chimney runs $850–$2,200 depending on accessibility and how many courses need work. Caught early, it prevents the far more expensive step of rebuilding.
Spalling Brick Repair
Spalling — the flaking and crumbling of brick faces — is epidemic in Hollis, and it’s not always visible from the ground. The root cause is often an unlined flue from a 1950s oil conversion. Decades of acidic condensation have saturated the brick from the inside, freezing and expanding until the face pops off. We recently repaired a 1929 Tudor on 111th Road in Hollis where the original coal-to-oil conversion left the flue unlined; decades of acidic condensation had spalled the brick nearly halfway through the wall. Our crew installed a DuraFlex stainless liner and rebuilt the crown — the homeowner avoided a full rebuild because we caught it in time. Spalling repair with partial rebuild runs $1,800–$4,500 in Hollis.
Chimney Waterproofing
Hollis’s older brick is porous, and the driving rains off the Atlantic don’t help. We apply breathable, vapor-permeable sealers — never the cheap film-forming products that trap moisture inside — to chimney stacks that still have sound masonry but need protection. Waterproofing a standard Hollis chimney costs $450–$950 and buys 5–10 years of protection against the saturation that leads to spalling and interior leaks. It’s often the right call after repointing, when the mortar is fresh and the brick is clean.
Flashing Repair
The step flashing where Hollis chimneys meet pitched roofs is a common leak point, especially on homes that have had multiple roofing layers without proper flashing replacement. We fabricate and install custom flashing — copper where the budget allows, heavy-gauge aluminum where it doesn’t — and we always check the cricket or saddle behind wider chimneys. Flashing repair in Hollis runs $650–$1,800 depending on roof pitch, chimney width, and whether the surrounding decking has rotted.
Chimney Rebuilding
When spalling has compromised multiple courses, when the stack is visibly leaning, or when a camera inspection reveals that the interior flue has deteriorated beyond relining, we rebuild. This is the most significant investment a Hollis homeowner can make in their chimney, and we don’t recommend it lightly. A partial rebuild (from the roofline up) runs $3,500–$6,500; a full stack rebuild on a typical Hollis semi-detached home runs $6,500–$8,500. Robert Garcia oversees every rebuild personally — the same person quoting the job is the one laying the brick.

What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees — you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Hollis
We install professional-grade materials from the same suppliers that serve commercial chimney contractors: DuraFlex stainless-steel liners for the relines that Hollis’s unlined flues so often need; HeatShield cerfractory resurfacing for flues that have minor cracking but sound structural walls; and Gelco and Copperfield components for caps, dampers, and accessories. We stock the common Hollis sizes — 6-inch and 8-inch round liners, standard rectangular flue dimensions — so we’re not waiting on freight while your chimney sits open to the weather. Fast turnaround matters when rain is getting past a cracked crown and into your flue.
Common Chimney Repair Problems We See in Hollis Homes
- Unlined flues from 1950s oil conversions are disintegrating internally. The brick has absorbed soot moisture and is crumbling, invisible from the outside until a camera probe reveals it. Standard sweeps without camera equipment miss this entirely — we’ve found flues that looked sound from the top but had missing brick sections you could put your hand through.
- Freeze-thaw cycling from Queens’ coastal climate cracks mortar joints on stacks over 70 years old. This causes leaky roofs and chimney leaks that require repointing or crown replacement. The damage accelerates dramatically after the first few cycles each winter.
- Oversized flues — originally built for coal — cause modern oil appliances to condense more acidic soot. The flue walls stay cooler, moisture condenses, and the acidic residue eats the brick faster than in properly sized systems. This is why so many Hollis chimneys that “just need a cleaning” actually need a liner and structural assessment.
- Crown cracks let water straight into the flue structure. On flat or poorly sloped crowns common on 1940s Hollis builds, standing water freezes and lifts the crown material, opening channels that funnel rain directly onto the flue lining — or onto bare brick, if there is no liner.
Pricing for Chimney Repair in Hollis, NY
Here’s what chimney repair costs in Hollis’s market, based on the 70-to-100-year-old housing stock we work on most:
| Service | Typical Range in Hollis |
|---|---|
| Camera inspection + written report | $250–$400 |
| Mortar repointing (partial stack) | $850–$2,200 |
| Spalling brick repair with partial rebuild | $1,800–$4,500 |
| Stainless-steel flue liner installation (DuraFlex) | $2,800–$5,500 |
| Crown rebuild or replacement | $1,200–$2,800 |
| Chimney waterproofing | $450–$950 |
| Flashing repair/replacement | $650–$1,800 |
| Partial chimney rebuild (roofline up) | $3,500–$6,500 |
| Full chimney rebuild | $6,500–$8,500 |
What moves the needle: height and accessibility (three-story stacks cost more), the extent of interior flue damage, and whether DOB permitting is required for fuel-conversion relines. We quote upfront — no open-ended estimates. Call (866) 884-9512 and we’ll inspect for free, run the camera, and give you a number that doesn’t change.
We Also Serve Cities Near Hollis
Our chimney repair work extends to Bellaire, Terrace Heights, Queens Village, and Hillside — the same 1920s–1950s housing stock, the same coastal climate challenges, the same NYC DOB jurisdiction. If you’re in Richmond Hill or Rochdale Village and your chimney’s showing age, we cover those neighborhoods too. The same crew, the same materials, the same owner on the job.
Serving Hollis, NY — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Hollis area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage — if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs — Chimney Repair in Hollis
You need a camera inspection to know for certain; visual inspection from the top or bottom cannot confirm liner presence in these older conversions. We run a chimney camera on every Hollis inspection because we’ve found too many unlined flues that looked sound from the outside. The 1920s–1940s brick Tudors and Colonials built for coal and later converted to oil often lack any flue liner at all — the acidic oil combustion has been eating the bare brick for decades, a hidden defect that standard chimney sweeps will miss without a camera inspection. Call (866) 884-9512 to schedule; estimates are free.
Yes — any fuel-conversion reline in Hollis requires a permit from the NYC Department of Buildings and sign-off before the job is closed out. Hollis sits squarely in NYC jurisdiction under the NYC Department of Buildings and NYC Fire Code, meaning every fuel-conversion chimney job — and there are many, as Queens has one of the highest concentrations of #2 heating-oil homes in the country — requires a permitted reline reviewed by the DOB, a regulatory layer that does not apply just across Hillside Avenue in Nassau County. We handle the filing, the inspection scheduling, and the sign-off. Most homeowners never deal with the paperwork. Call (866) 884-9512 and we’ll walk you through what’s needed for your specific conversion.
Patching spalled brick without addressing the cause — usually an unlined flue or failed crown — is a temporary fix that wastes your money. We first run a camera to check the flue condition, then quote either spalling repair with liner installation or, if the damage is too extensive, partial rebuild. The 1930s Colonials in Bellaire share the same coal-to-oil conversion history as Hollis proper, so we expect to find unlined flues or deteriorated terra-cotta liners behind the spalling. Call (866) 884-9512 for an inspection — we’ll show you the camera footage and give you options.
A full chimney rebuild in Hollis runs $6,500–$8,500, while a DuraFlex stainless-steel liner installation runs $2,800–$5,500 — roughly half to two-thirds the cost. The liner is almost always the better investment if the exterior masonry is still structurally sound. We’ve saved Hollis homeowners thousands by catching deteriorated flues early and lining them before the exterior brick failed. The key is the camera inspection — it tells you which path makes sense. Call (866) 884-9512 for a free inspection and honest guidance on rebuild vs. liner.
Yes — soot odor inside the house indicates combustion gases or particulate are leaking from the flue into your living space, which is a carbon monoxide and fire risk. In Hollis’s unlined or oversized flues, this often happens because the flue walls are too cool to draft properly, or because gaps in the masonry are letting exhaust escape. We treat these calls as priority inspections. We’ll run the camera, check the draft, and determine whether you need a liner, masonry repair, or both. Don’t wait on this — call (866) 884-9512 today and we’ll get there fast.
Written by Robert Garcia, Owner at Apex Chimney Cleaning Greater New York, serving Hollis and Queens since 2007.