Chimney Repair & Rebuilding

Chimney Flashing: Where Most Leaks Start

A chimney needs two layers of flashing working together: step flashing woven into the roofing courses up both sides, and counter-flashing let into a groove cut in the mortar joints and folded down over the top of it. If a previous contractor simply ran a bead of roofing tar around the base — and we see this constantly — that seal has a life of a few years at best, and every winter shortens it. When it fails, water runs straight down the outside of the chimney into the roof deck.

Chimney Services

• Chimney tuckpointing and repointing
• Partial and full chimney rebuilding above the roofline
• Chimney crown replacement and repair
• Chimney cap and rain cap installation
• Step and counter-flashing replacement
• Spalled and cracked brick replacement
• Waterproofing and breathable masonry sealing
• Removal and roof-in where a chimney is no longer used

The Crown Is Not The Cap

The crown is the sloped concrete or mortar slab across the top of the chimney that sheds water away from the masonry below. The cap is the metal cover over the flue opening. Both matter, and a cracked crown is one of the most common and most damaging chimney faults we find — water goes straight down into the chimney core, freezes, and destroys it from the inside out. A crown should be a properly formed, sloped, reinforced slab with an overhang and a drip edge, not a smear of mortar troweled across the top.