Chimney sweeps in Montgomery County, PA: local permits and what to check
Updated · KeystoneProGuide editorial team
What should Montgomery County homeowners know about chimney sweeps?
That the answer to a permit or certificate question changes at the township line. Pennsylvania's construction code leaves repairs to residential buildings to local ordinances, and three Montgomery County municipalities show three different ways of using that freedom: one requires a permit to touch a chimney, one has a detailed chimney code of its own, and one wants proof that the chimney is safe before a house changes hands.
Where does chimney work need a permit?
Whitpain Township is the plainest case. Its construction standards add to the list of work that needs a permit application: to construct, install or modify a fireplace or chimney. A new liner, a rebuilt stack or a fireplace insert are the kinds of job to raise with the township before a contractor starts.
Abington Township draws the line the other way round. Its building code says minor repairs for maintenance and upkeep may be made without a permit, so long as they do not increase the capacity of the heating apparatus or involve structural changes in the permanent chimney and vents. On that wording, routine upkeep needs no permit and structural work on the chimney is another matter.
Neither rule tells you about the next township over, so ask your own building code office.
What else does Abington's chimney code say?
More than most. The section on fireplaces and chimneys, last rewritten in 1997, says it controls the design, installation, maintenance, repair and approval of chimneys, vents, fireplaces and wood stoves. Four provisions bear directly on what a sweep or mason does.
- Whenever a new chimney is completed or an existing one is altered, it shall be cleaned and left smooth on the inside, and cleanouts shall be provided at the base.
- The Building Official may require a test of any chimney or vent to make sure it is fire-safe and removes smoke and combustion products.
- Only one solid-fuel-burning appliance may be vented to a single flue passageway, and a wood stove may not share a passageway that already serves a gas or oil appliance.
- An existing chimney may not stay in use unless it meets the requirements for new ones, except where it does not endanger fire safety and the Building Official accepts it.
The published code does not say how these provisions sit beside the later statewide construction code, so treat them as questions for the township.
Which towns ask for proof that a chimney is safe at sale or lease?
West Conshohocken Borough does. Its housing code says that when title passes to a new owner, when a lease is signed or when a unit falls vacant, the building may not be occupied until the borough issues a certificate of use and occupancy. If the building has a chimney, the application must come with written proof or certification that the chimney is in good and safe operating condition. The heating unit needs its own written proof from a heating inspector.
The same section requires proof that hard-wired carbon monoxide detectors are installed within 20 feet of a heating unit in a residential dwelling. That is stricter than state law, which the next section explains.
How are Montgomery County homes heated, and why does it matter?
Close to the state average. The Census Bureau estimates that gas is the main heating fuel in 56.0 percent of the county's 335,505 occupied homes and fuel oil or kerosene in 14.5 percent. The statewide figures are 56.4 and 14.0 percent. Electricity heats 27.4 percent.
Where a gas or oil appliance exhausts through a chimney, the trade's certification body, CSIA, says the flue needs a yearly inspection: gas flues because they can be blocked by bird nests or other debris, oil flues because soot builds up on the liner. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gives the reason in one line: a chimney blocked by debris can cause carbon monoxide to build up inside the home.
Montgomery County also has more of its housing in multi-unit buildings than the state as a whole. The Census Bureau puts 26.1 percent of its housing units in multi-unit structures, against 21.0 percent for Pennsylvania, and 28.6 percent of occupied homes are rented. That brings in the state's Carbon Monoxide Alarm Standards Act. It requires an approved alarm in each apartment of a building with three or more households where there is a fuel-burning heater or appliance, a fireplace or an attached garage. The owner provides it, and the tenant keeps it working. For a one- or two-family house the act requires only that the seller disclose what detectors are installed, which is why a borough rule such as West Conshohocken's goes further.
Who do you turn to in Montgomery County if a job goes wrong?
The checks and the complaint route here are the state's. The Attorney General's contractor search can be filtered to Montgomery County and has a work type called Chimney Sweep. A company that repairs or relines chimneys should be on it, and the office asks residents to report unregistered contractors on 1-888-520-6680.
What Pennsylvania requires of chimney sweeps explains registration and contract rights, how to choose a chimney sweep covers credentials, and the cost guide has the published prices. Businesses serving the county are on the Montgomery County chimney sweeps page.
Sources
- Code of the Township of Whitpain, Part 7: Construction Standards, Township of Whitpain, Montgomery County
- Code of the Township of Abington, Chapter 62, Article I: General Standards, Township of Abington, Montgomery County
- Code of the Borough of West Conshohocken, Chapter 65: Housing Standards, Borough of West Conshohocken, Montgomery County
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 34 Pa. Code § 403.1. Scope., Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Code)
- Carbon Monoxide Alarm Standards Act (Act 121 of 2013), Pennsylvania General Assembly
- Homeowner Resources, Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA)
- Avoiding Carbon Monoxide Hazards, Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA)
- Carbon Monoxide (CO) Poisoning Basics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Home Improvement Contractor Search, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
- Home Improvement Contractor Verification, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General