Where the roof meets everything else
A chimney is a hole cut through a roof with a tower sitting in it — brick, stone, or a framed and sided chase. That junction is the single most common place water gets into a house, and it's one of the most common reasons people call us.
What we do on a chimney
Step flashing, counter flashing, crickets, and the cut reglet the counter flashing sits in. Done properly in metal, not caulked over and called done — which is what we find on most of the chimneys we're called out to.
The mortar or concrete cap on top of the chimney cracks, and then it funnels water straight down into the masonry. Repaired or rebuilt with a proper overhang and drip edge.
Repointing failed mortar joints and replacing spalled brick, so the chimney stops shedding itself onto your roof.
Masonry chimneys absorb water like a sponge. A breathable sealer on the brick and crown keeps it out while still letting the brick dry — and it costs a fraction of rebuilding one that's been soaking for a decade.
Custom caps, crowns, and chase covers fabricated in copper or galvanized metal to fit the chimney you actually have.
Not every chimney is masonry. On a framed and sided chase — common on newer houses — the failures are rotten siding, trim and corner boards, and a rusted-through chase cover on top. Same job, different material.
Before any of the above. A lot of what gets called a chimney leak is the flashing, and a lot of what gets called a roof leak is the chimney. We find the source before we quote the repair.
Seeing a stain near the fireplace?
Send us a photo of the chimney from the ground and of the stain inside. That's usually enough for us to tell you what we think it is before anyone gets on a ladder.