Chimney Repair
Stopping water at the chimney
A free inspection comes first, and the repair is priced in writing before any work begins.
Base flashing along the roof
Base flashing is the metal that lies on the roof and turns up the chimney face. Along the sides it is often installed as step flashing, woven into each course of shingles so every piece sheds water onto the course below.
When base flashing has been bent, nailed through or covered with sealant instead of properly lapped, water runs under it. We replace failed sections to follow the roofing maker's details and the building code. If the shingles around the chimney are too brittle to lift, we explain how the roofing will be handled before work starts.
Damage the leak has already done
Water that has been entering for a while leaves damage of its own. Damper plates rust, firebox mortar softens and the smoke chamber surface begins to crumble.
Once the entry point is fixed, we check these parts and tell you which ones still work and which need repair. They are listed separately in the estimate, so you can see what the leak has cost inside the chimney and decide what to repair now and what to plan for.
Paint and coatings on brick
Paint and glossy sealers form a film on the brick surface. Water that gets in through a crack or joint cannot leave through that film, so it stays in the masonry and pushes the surface off.
Where a coating is part of the leak problem, we explain the options, from repairing the cracks it covers to removing failing coating before a breathable treatment. Each step is priced separately, and none is recommended unless the brick underneath needs it.
Crown coatings for hairline cracks
A crown with fine surface cracks but sound concrete underneath can be sealed with a flexible coating made for chimney crowns. The coating bridges the cracks and sheds water while the crown keeps its shape.
A coating is not a substitute for a crown that is broken through or holding water. We tell you which condition the crown is in and why, and the coating is applied to its maker's instructions on a clean, dry surface.
