Chimney Repairs

Stacks take the worst weather on the house — kept sound, top to flashing.

A chimney stack stands proud of the roof and takes wind and rain from every direction with no shelter — while its mortar bakes, freezes and soaks through more cycles than any wall below. It's the most maintenance-hungry structure on the house, and because it sits above bedrooms and front doors, its failures matter twice: water damage inside, and masonry that can fall.

Working from the top down, the usual suspects are: flaunching — the mortar cap holding the pots — which cracks and lets water straight into the stack's core; pots that loosen as the flaunching goes; brickwork that spalls (faces popping off) once water gets behind failed pointing; and the flashings at the roof junction. Most "mystery" damp on chimney breasts starts at one of these.

We repair all of it: re-flaunching, re-bedding and replacing pots, cutting out and replacing spalled bricks, fitting caps and cowls to redundant or open flues, and rebuilding the upper courses of stacks that have moved beyond patching.

Benefits

Why choose Chimney Repairs

Whole-stack assessment — one visit covers every fault up there
Damp on chimney breasts traced to its actual source
Caps and cowls for open and unused flues
Partial rebuilds where movement has gone past repair
Photographs of everything — you never see your own stack

Features

What's included

Re-flaunching and pot re-bedding
Spalled brick cutting-out and replacement
Chimney caps, cowls and bird guards
Upper-stack rebuilds in matching brick
Flue ventilation for capped chimneys

Repair options

Repair or replace

Chimney economics reward doing everything at once: access — ladders, tower or scaffold — is a large share of any stack job, so repointing, flaunching, flashing and a cap done together cost far less than done serially. The genuine repair-or-rebuild line: hairline movement and weathered mortar repair well; a stack that's visibly leaning, or whose core is saturated and washing out, wants its upper courses rebuilt — and if the chimney is redundant, we'll honestly include removal-to-below-roofline in the options, though that's building work beyond roofing alone.

Common questions

Frequently asked

How do I know if my chimney needs work? +

From the ground with binoculars: crumbling or hollowed mortar joints, cracked flaunching visible as a broken line at the pots, white staining (salts washing out — water is in the stack), spalled brick faces, or any visible lean. Inside: damp patches on chimney breasts, especially after prolonged rain.

Should an unused chimney be capped? +

Yes — an open flue on a redundant chimney funnels rain (and birds) straight into the house's core. The right cap keeps water out while still ventilating the flue so the stack can dry; sealing it airtight causes damp of its own. It's a modest job with outsized benefit.

Can you repair a chimney without scaffolding? +

Depends on height, position and the work: some caps and minor repairs are safe from ladders or a tower, full repointing or rebuilds need proper access. We price access transparently — and it's the standing argument for bundling every stack job into the one visit.