Famco Chimney Liner & Rebuild Nationwide

Famco Chimney Liner & Rebuild in Gaithersburg: What to Know First

We provide independent Famco chimney liner replacement and chimney rebuild work in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Most Famco liner jobs take one full day on site, and the honest price posture is this: a stainless steel liner replacement in Gaithersburg typically runs $2,400 to $4,800 depending on flue height, access, and whether the crown and top plate need attention. You’ll get a written price with photos before any work starts, never a verbal ballpark.

Call (240) 220-9395

This page is for Gaithersburg homeowners who have a Famco liner already in the flue, or who bought a house where one was installed years ago and now have questions about what’s actually happening inside that chase. Corrine Halstead and the crew at Level Two Chimney Gaithersburg have pulled Famco liners out of brick stacks all over Montgomery County, including older homes near the Rio Washingtonian Center corridor. Call (240) 220-9395 and we’ll tell you what we’d look for before we ever ask for a deposit.

How Famco Products Fail - and How We Fix Them

• Teardrop seam separation on older Famco rigid liners. Famco’s rigid stainless liners from the early 2000s used a crimped seam design that, after 15-plus winters in Gaithersburg, can separate at the seam edge. You won’t see it from the firebox. It shows on camera as a thin dark line running vertical, and it means exhaust is escaping into the chimney cavity. We replace the affected section or the full run with a new UL-listed liner and document it with before and after photos. The camera doesn’t guess. Neither do we.
• Undersized liner from original construction. We regularly find 5.5-inch Famco liners shoved into flues serving fireplaces that need a 6-inch or larger diameter to draft correctly. Builders in Gaithersburg’s 1980s and 1990s subdivisions often matched the cheapest liner to a prefab firebox, not to the actual venting math. The symptom is smoke rolling back into the room on cold starts. The fix is a correctly sized flexible or rigid liner, insulated where code requires it.
• Pitting at the bottom flex connector. On Famco flexible liner installations, the connector at the appliance collar collects condensation because that’s the coldest point in the run on a Gaithersburg January morning. Condensation plus acidic flue gas equals pinholes. We see it on gas inserts and gas water heater vents especially. We replace the connector and inspect the rest of the run before recommending anything broader.
• Galvanized outer wrap corrosion on chimneys with bad crowns. Famco liner kits include a galvanized top plate and cap. When the chimney crown underneath is cracked or spalling (concrete flaking away in sheets), water gets between the plate and the masonry. You’ll see rust staining on the plate and rust streaks down the brick. We replace the plate, rebuild the crown to shed water properly, and seal the joint.
• Mortar joint failure around the clay tile surrounding a Famco liner. This one is a Gaithersburg climate issue more than a Famco defect. Freeze-thaw cycles in Montgomery County push water into the brick, the mortar spalls, and the liner inside gets strained as the stack shifts. We rebuild the affected chimney section, reset the liner with proper standoffs, and make sure the flue path is straight and sealed.

Our Famco Chimney Liner & Rebuild Process

1. 1
   Call and schedule. A live person answers at (240) 220-9395, 24 hours a day. We text you when the tech is on the way.
2. 2
   Camera scan first. Every job starts with an NFPA 211 Level 2 inspection. The camera goes down the flue before we quote anything. You see the footage. We walk you through what it shows, plain terms, no jargon without a definition.
3. 3
   Written price and scope. We tell you exactly what needs replacement, what can wait, and what it costs. This is Haven Standard Clause 1: written price, written scope, written warranty, before anyone starts.
4. 4
   Parts decision. Famco no longer manufactures some of the older rigid liner sections still in Gaithersburg homes. When OEM isn’t available, we use UL-listed aftermarket replacements from DuraFlex, HeatShield, or Gelco, sourced through our buying network to keep the price honest. We’ll tell you which one and why, in writing.
5. 5
   The work and the test. We pull the old liner, install the new one, rebuild masonry if needed, replace crowns and caps as scoped. Then we run a draft test and a final camera scan. You get a documented photo record of the finished job, inside and out.
6. 6
   The guarantee. Every job is covered by our 365-Day Done Right Promise. If it’s not done right, we make it right. That’s stamped on the paperwork, not just said over the phone.

Before

After

What Famco Chimney Liner & Rebuild Costs in Gaithersburg

Common scenarios and price ranges

• Flexible liner replacement (gas insert or water heater vent): $1,800 to $3,200 depending on flue height and whether we need scaffolding or a roof lift.
• Rigid stainless liner replacement (fireplace flue): $2,400 to $4,800 for a typical Gaithersburg two-story single-family home.
• Partial masonry rebuild (shoulder or crown section, 2 to 6 courses of brick): $3,500 to $7,500. Price moves with brick footage, access, and whether we need to match historic brick on older Gaithersburg houses.
• Full chimney rebuild from roofline up: $8,000 to $18,000. This is a real rebuild, not a brick count. We show you the structural photos before we ever write that number down.
• Liner connection repair (pinholes at the appliance collar): $400 to $900 when caught before the liner itself is compromised.

What moves the price in Gaithersburg: chimney height and roof access, whether the crown is structurally sound, brick match requirements on older homes, and whether the chase is enclosed or exposed. You’ll never get a “call for a quote” from us. You’ll get a written estimate with photos attached. Bring us a competitor’s written quote and we’ll give you a free second opinion on it. Call (240) 220-9395.

Why Gaithersburg Homeowners Call Level Two Chimney Gaithersburg for Famco Work

The name on the side of the truck matters less than what we document on the job. We’ve inspected and cleaned 38,000-plus chimneys since 2009, and every single one got a written price before work started and a photo record when it was done. That’s not a marketing line. That’s Clause 4 of the Haven Standard, and we’ve run the archive continuously since the company started.

Our technicians are background-checked and uniformed. They show up with a camera, not a flashlight and a story. On Famco jobs specifically, we know which liner generations had the seam issues and which flex connectors corrode first in this climate. We also service DuraFlex, HeatShield, and Gelco, so when a Famco part isn’t available or shouldn’t be reused, we have options that keep the job moving and the price fair. We are an independent Famco service provider, not a manufacturer affiliate. That means our recommendation is based on what the camera shows, not what a brand rep wants us to sell.

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