Masonry repair
Sweep & inspection
Caps & crowns
Flue relining
Gas fireplace serviceLevel 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.
Famco Chimney Repair in San Antonio: What to Know First
Famco chimney repair in San Antonio typically runs $180 – $850 for common fixes like cap replacement and tuckpointing, while full rebuilds or liner work start around $2,400. Most repairs we complete in a single visit, with parts ordered and installed inside a week. We’re an independent Famco service provider, so we fix what’s actually broken instead of pushing a warranty claim game.
If you own a Famco chimney cap, chase cover, or damper system and something’s failing, this page is for you. We’ll walk through how Famco components break in the San Antonio climate, what repairs actually cost, and how our process works from the first call to the final photo. Ready to skip the research? Call (254) 276-4116 and a live person picks up, day or night.
How Famco Products Fail – and How We Fix Them
- Famco stainless steel chase covers rusting at the weld points. We see this on the north-facing sides of San Antonio homes, where morning dew lingers longest. The factory welds on Famco covers are typically solid, but the seam where the flue collar meets the flat pan collects moisture and eventually pinholes. The fix is a replacement cover fabricated to the same dimensions, because patching a rusted weld just gives you a second leak six months later.
- Famco barometric dampers sticking open after a few seasons. This one’s common on older masonry fireplaces in Alamo Heights. The damper blade itself is fine, but the hardware that holds the counterweight gets coated in acidic flue residue and seizes. We pull the unit, clean the pivot points, and replace the hardware rather than quoting a whole new damper assembly. It’s a $120 fix instead of a $400 replacement.
- Famco rain caps with dented or warped mesh screens. Hail season in San Antonio does real work on these. The cap’s base usually survives fine, but the mesh screening gets dented inward until it blocks airflow. We replace the mesh and re-anchor the cap, and if the lid itself is bowed, that’s the point where a new Famco cap becomes the cheaper call.
- Famco chimney liners cracking at the mortar joints. We’re talking about the terra cotta liner sections Famco supplied for masonry chimneys around San Antonio in the 1990s and early 2000s. The clay tiles themselves rarely fail, but the mortar between them breaks down under years of thermal cycling, and that’s where heat and gas start escaping into the chimney walls. We fix this with HeatShield ceramic reinforcement, which seals the joints without a full rebuild.
- Famco chase covers on manufactured fireplaces leaking at the base flange. The cover sits on top of the chase, and over a decade of San Antonio’s expansion-and-contraction cycles, the original caulk line dries out and splits. Water runs down inside the chase and ruins the firebox below. We pull the cover, scrape the old material, re-seat it with a high-temp sealant, and usually replace the cover if the flange itself has rusted through.
Styles & brands we work with
Our Famco Chimney Repair Process
Here’s exactly what happens when you call us about a Famco repair in San Antonio:
- 1
You call, a live person answers. No voicemail queue, no callback window. We ask what you’re seeing, where the water’s coming in, or what’s not drafting. If it helps, text us photos and we’ll look before we even schedule.
- 2
A background-checked tech arrives in a tracked window. You get live arrival updates, like a rideshare. Our tech shows up in uniform, introduces himself, and goes straight to the chimney.
- 3
We diagnose and photograph everything. Before we quote a single dollar, you’ll see photos of the failed Famco part, the surrounding damage, and our recommendation. We don’t ask you to trust a verbal “it’s bad.”
- 4
Parts decision: OEM vs quality aftermarket. Famco parts are solid, but some are overpriced for what they are. We walk through what’s worth buying from Famco and where a DuraFlex or Copperfield equivalent does the same job better or cheaper. You approve the price in writing before we touch anything.
- 5
The repair, the test, the guarantee. We fix it, test it (draft test, water test, or visual inspection as relevant), and document the completed work with photos. Every repair carries our 365-Day Done Right Promise: if it fails within a year, the second visit is free.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterWhat Famco Chimney Repair Costs in San Antonio
| Repair Type | Typical Range |
|---|---|
| Famco rain cap replacement (parts included) | $180 – $340 |
| Barometric damper hardware repair | $120 – $220 |
| Chase cover replacement (fabricated) | $650 – $1,100 |
| Tuckpointing / mortar repointing (per wall section) | $400 – $850 |
| HeatShield liner reinforcement (per section) | $1,200 – $1,800 |
| Full chimney rebuild (above roofline) | $2,400 – $4,500 |
Your price moves with access difficulty, the condition of the surrounding masonry, and whether the Famco part is still serviceable or needs full replacement. We always give a written price before work starts, and our estimate is free. Call (254) 276-4116 for exact numbers on your chimney.
Why San Antonio Homeowners Call Hadley Chimney San Antonio for Famco Work
We’ve been at this since 2003, and we’ve repaired enough Famco systems across San Antonio to know which failures are recurring and which are one-offs. That experience means we don’t throw parts at a problem; we fix the root cause and tell you plainly when a component can wait. Cory Mitchell built this business on sending customers photos of their own chimney before quoting anything, because he’d rather you see the problem and understand the fix than trust a stranger’s word. See the problem, understand the fix, then decide – that’s how it should work.
Our techs know Famco and they know what works alongside it. When a Famco liner is beyond repair, we often install DuraFlex flexible liner. When a terra cotta joint has failed, we use HeatShield. When a cap needs replacing and Famco’s price doesn’t make sense, we’ll show you a Copperfield option and let you choose. Every job gets live arrival tracking, before-and-after photos, and digital invoicing through the Relay Visibility Guarantee. And if a repair fails within a year, we come back free.
FAQs
No. Famco warranties cover manufacturing defects in the component itself, not the labor of installing or repairing it. An independent Famco service provider like us can repair or replace components without affecting the warranty on other parts, as long as the replacement parts meet the same spec. If we’re replacing a part with an aftermarket equivalent, we’ll tell you before you pay, and we’ll only recommend it when it actually holds up as well or better than the OEM.
Call (254) 276-4116 and we’ll walk you through what’s covered and what isn’t before you commit.
Yes. We source Famco parts through our distributor network with typical turnaround of two to five business days in San Antonio. Some parts, like rain caps and common damper hardware, are stocked locally and can be installed same-week. For less common Famco components, we’ll get you a clear ETA before we take the job. We’ll also show you when a DuraFlex, HeatShield, or Gelco alternative does the same job better for less.
Most basic Famco repairs – cap replacement, damper hardware, chase cover re-sealing – are done within one to two weeks of your call, and many are done the same week. Larger jobs like partial rebuilds or liner reinforcement take longer to schedule because they need good weather and multiple days. We don’t do emergency dispatch, so the fastest way to get a real answer is to call (254) 276-4116 and tell us what’s happening.
Most of the time, repairs are enough. The exception is when the masonry itself has spalled badly, or the Terra cotta liner has cracked and shifted, or the chimney is leaning. We’ll show you photos of exactly what we’re seeing and give you a repair path if one exists. We never recommend a rebuild unless we can prove it’s necessary with evidence you can see. And remember: every repair we do comes with our 365-Day Done Right Promise.
If a repair we’ve done fails within 365 days, we come back and make it right at no charge. That covers parts and labor, and it’s written into every job. We stand behind our work because we tested it, documented it, and attached our name to it. If something’s off after we leave, call (254) 276-4116 and we’ll get back out.
Ready to get your Famco chimney looked at? Call Hadley Chimney San Antonio at (254) 276-4116 for a free estimate. You’ll get a live person, a written price, and photos proving the work was done. That’s how it should work.
Written by Cory Mitchell, Owner, Hadley Chimney San Antonio at Hadley Chimney San Antonio, serving San Antonio and nearby areas.