Crown Point Chimney Sweep, from the Square to the Subdivisions
Mark Jason grew up in Crown Point and has spent 34 years on its roofs. The old houses near the courthouse and the new ones on the edges need very different work.
By Mark Jason, owner of NWI Chimney Sweep · born and raised in Crown Point
Why is Crown Point really two chimney towns?
Crown Point has a nineteenth-century centre and a large ring of recent housing, and a single median year of 1991 hides both. The city was established in 1834, incorporated as a town in 1868 and as a city in 1911, and it is governed by the City of Crown Point. At its heart is the Old Lake County Courthouse, the “Grand Old Lady”, built in 1878 with wings added in 1908 and 1928.
Around it are the Courthouse Square Historic District, the Holley and Sunnyside residential historic districts, and the Lake County Sheriff’s House and Jail, from which John Dillinger escaped on March 3, 1934. The Lake County Fairgrounds, with historic brick exhibition buildings, sit beside Fancher Lake. Students from both halves of the city attend Crown Point High School.
| Older homes near the square | Newer subdivisions on the edges | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical chimney | Tall brick stack, soft lime mortar, clay tile that has deteriorated or no liner at all | Factory-built metal chimney in a framed chase, or a direct-vent gas unit |
| What it vents | Often a shallow former coal fireplace plus a furnace added decades later | One wood-burning or gas fireplace; heating appliances vent separately |
| Common finding | Open mortar joints inside the flue, loose bricks above the roof | Rusted chase cover, unserviced pilot assembly, clouded glass |
| Usual first step | Level 2 camera inspection | Gas fireplace tune-up or prefab chimney sweep |
What goes wrong in an unlined brick chimney?
In an unlined chimney the flue gases touch brick and mortar directly, and both materials lose that contest over time. Houses built before clay liners became standard practice relied on the brickwork alone. The lime mortar of the period is soft, and decades of acidic exhaust, first from coal and later from gas, erode the joints from inside until there are gaps between the flue and the house framing.
The remedy is relining with an insulated stainless steel liner listed to UL 1777 and sized to whatever the flue now serves. On the outside, old brick must be repointed with a mortar no harder than the brick. Modern Portland-heavy mortar is rigid; when the wall moves with temperature, the soft brick gives way instead of the joint and its face breaks off. Matching the mortar is the difference between masonry repair that lasts and repair that causes the next failure.
Historic district homes
If your house stands in one of the historic districts, ask the city whether exterior masonry changes need approval before work begins.
What do the newer Crown Point neighbourhoods need?
Homes from the 1990s onward mostly need care for sheet metal and gas parts, with little masonry involved. That means a sound chase cover, the correct listed cap, clean refractory panels and a yearly check of the gas valve and pilot. Covers and caps are explained under caps, chase covers and crown work, and no figures appear on this page because all of them live on our starting-price list.
From Crown Point our Lake County crew continues east to chimney service in Winfield and southwest to Cedar Lake chimney and stove sweeping. See every Northwest Indiana town we cover.
Crown Point chimney questions
Is it safe to use the original fireplace in an older Crown Point home near the square?
An original fireplace in an older Crown Point home should not be used until it has been inspected. Many were built as shallow coal grates, and their flues may be unlined or have gaps where mortar has eroded. A video inspection shows whether it can be used, relined or kept as decoration.
How do I find out whether my Crown Point chimney has a liner?
To find out whether a Crown Point chimney has a liner, someone has to look inside it. From the roof, a clay liner shows as a square or rectangular tile standing above the crown, and a metal liner as a round pipe with a top plate. Bare brick all the way down means no liner.
Why should modern mortar not be used on a historic Crown Point chimney?
Modern high-Portland mortar should not be used on a historic Crown Point chimney because it is harder and less permeable than old brick. Moisture that once escaped through soft joints is forced out through the brick face instead, and movement that the joint used to absorb cracks the brick. A lime-rich mortar matched to the original lets the joint remain the sacrificial part.
Can an old coal fireplace in Crown Point be converted to burn wood?
An old coal fireplace in Crown Point usually cannot burn wood as it stands, because the firebox is too shallow for logs and the flue too small for the smoke volume. The practical routes are a gas insert or a small listed insert, each with its own correctly sized liner.
What does a Level 2 chimney inspection include for a Crown Point home sale?
A Level 2 chimney inspection for a Crown Point home sale includes everything in a basic visual check plus a video scan of the whole flue and a look at the chimney where it passes through the attic, basement or crawl space. NFPA 211 calls for this level whenever a property is sold or transferred.
Do newer Crown Point subdivisions need a different chimney service from downtown homes?
Newer Crown Point subdivisions do need a different service from downtown homes. A factory-built fireplace is swept with poly brushes and inspected for chase cover rust, cap condition and panel cracks, while a gas unit gets its pilot, sensors and glass seal checked. Downtown, the work is masonry: tile, mortar joints, crowns and liners.
My Crown Point chimney leans slightly. Is that urgent?
A Crown Point chimney that leans should be looked at promptly and not used in the meantime. A lean above the roofline generally means mortar joints have eroded more on the weather side; a lean along the whole height points to the footing. Either way the flue liner inside is no longer aligned.
Who owns NWI Chimney Sweep, and what is his connection to Crown Point?
NWI Chimney Sweep is owned by Mark Jason, who was born and raised in Crown Point and has worked in the chimney sweep trade for 34 years. He is 55 and a father of four. The company relies on word-of-mouth referrals.
Talk to a Crown Point native about your chimney
Phone any day between 7am and 9pm; old brick or new prefab, we will know what you are describing.
Call (219) 203-9797