Chimney Services
Crown repair on Markham chimneys, step by step
Crown repair from local pros who form every new crown with slope, overhang and a drip.
Mortar washes and formed crowns
Many chimneys were finished with a layer of mortar troweled over the top course and sloped toward the edge. From the ground it looks like a crown, but it is thin, rarely reinforced and made from a mix meant for joints. The Brick Industry Association notes that mortar washes may not be as durable.
If the wash is still holding fast, a sealer and a yearly look may be enough for now. Once it is loose, cracked through or turning to sand, we recommend breaking it off and casting a proper crown with a thick edge, a projection past the brick and a drip underneath. Either way, you hear which kind of top your chimney has before any price.
Crown coatings on a sound crown
A brushable crown coating forms a flexible waterproof skin over a crown that is still solid. The data sheet for one widely sold product, SaverSystems All Weather CrownCoat, requires a surface that is structurally sound, clean and dry, and the coating is brushed on thick enough to fill voids and small cracks.
On a solid crown with fine cracks, that skin is an economical fix. On a crown that is loose, crumbling or flat, it is money spent on a surface that will fail under it. We say plainly which crown you have and quote a coating only when it can do its job.
Coating over an older coating
Crowns that have been treated before may carry a layer of old sealer, paint or patching compound. Some of it still grips well and some of it is peeling, and a new product cannot grip a surface that is coming loose.
We test how the old layer is holding, remove what is failing and clean the surface before anything new goes on. If the old material is unknown and the product maker calls for bare masonry, we strip it. You see that preparation listed on the estimate.
Leave the crown to us
A cracked crown can shed pieces without warning, and the roof around a chimney is steep, hot and often slick. Pulling at loose concrete or pouring sealer onto the crown from a ladder can make the problem worse and put you at risk.
Keep people and pets away from where pieces are falling, and tell us what you have seen from the ground. We bring the right access equipment and assess the crown from the roof. If a piece has already fallen near a door or walkway, keep that area closed off until we have looked at the crown.
