Buffalo chimney service: Felgemacher Masonry & Chimney of Buffalo for area code 716

What chimneys face in the 716/624 area

Geographically, 716/624 covers Western New York (with the 624 overlay), from Buffalo, Cheektowaga, Amherst and Tonawanda to Niagara Falls and Lockport, south through Hamburg and Orchard Park to Jamestown and the Southern Tier towns along the Pennsylvania line. It is an old housing stock: of about 630,000 homes and apartments, roughly 77% were built before 1980 and 31% before 1940, and the median home dates from the 1950s. About 62% are single-family detached houses.

Buffalo sits on the eastern shore of Lake Erie at the head of the Niagara River, on the border with Canada. The city had 278,349 people at the 2020 census, and the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metro area, with over 1.23 million residents, is the second largest in New York State after New York City's.

Heating season runs long. NOAA's 1991–2020 normals for Buffalo, NY show about 6,466 heating degree days a year, a January average of 25.5°F, and about 95.4 inches of snow. Those freeze-thaw cycles slowly break down masonry. A cracked crown, spalling brick or a missing cap lets water in, and water is what does the most damage to a chimney.

By Census count, about 82% of households heat mainly with utility gas and about 9.6% with electricity. Wood is the main heat in fewer than 2 in 100 homes, so most fireplaces here are for cool evenings, and gas fireplaces and inserts are common. It sits in IECC climate zone 5A. Wood, gas or oil, the NFPA 211 standard says chimneys, fireplaces and vents should be inspected once a year.

Sources: Census ACS 2018–2022 (B25034, B25040, B25024); NOAA Climate Normals 1991–2020, Buffalo, NY (USW00014733); IECC 2021 climate zones by county (PNNL-33270); NFPA 211; Wikipedia: Buffalo, New York.