Our Services
Getting a rebuilt chimney right in Indian Mound Village
How we plan a rebuild on your Indian Mound Village chimney, from the first sound course to the new cap.
When the problem starts at the footing
A chimney that leans, pulls away from the house or cracks from the ground up may be telling you about its footing. Florida's residential code sets the footing under a chimney at 12 inches thick or more, in concrete or solid masonry, projecting at least 6 inches past the chimney on every side.
Rebuilding the top of a chimney that is still settling at the bottom only moves the problem upward. When the signs point below grade, we say so before quoting a rebuild and recommend that a structural engineer look at the footing first. That advice can change the whole plan, and it is better heard at the start.
Signs we look for include cracks that widen toward the ground, a chimney base that has dropped relative to the house foundation and gaps that are wider at the top than at the bottom.
Stepped-out brick and corbel limits
Many chimneys step outward where they change size, a detail called corbeling. The Florida Building Code, Residential, sets limits on it. Corbeling from a wall or foundation may not exceed half the chimney wall's thickness, and a wall thinner than 12 inches can carry a corbeled chimney only when the chimney projects equally on both sides.
When a rebuild reaches a corbeled section, the new courses have to follow those limits even if the old work did not. We check the existing steps before planning the rebuild and explain any change to the chimney's shape that the code requires, before any brick is ordered.
Corbeled steps are also places where water sits on the top of each ledge, so we check those ledges for washed-out mortar and plan a properly shaped wash or tooled joint on each one.
Keeping weather out during the rebuild
A chimney taken down to the roofline is an open hole in the house until the new courses and crown are finished. Brick industry guidance calls for covering the tops of walls and open work with a waterproof cover at the end of every workday and during any stoppage.
We cover the flue and the fresh masonry each evening and before any rain, and we protect the roof and attic around the opening. If weather stops work for a day or two, the chimney stays covered until we are back. You are never left with an open chimney overnight, and the attic side is checked before we close up.
The cover is weighted and tied so wind cannot lift it, and it sheds water away from the open flue and the roofing instead of channeling rain toward the attic.
