Chimney repairs, repointing and rebuilds

Signs your chimney needs repair

• Open or crumbling mortar joints or bricks that are spalling (the face flaking off).
• Cracked flaunching or pots that have loosened or tilted.
• A stack that visibly leans.
• Damp patches or staining on the chimney breast inside or in the loft around the stack.
• Pieces of mortar or brick in the gutter or on the ground below.

Chimney work we carry out

• Repointing: raking out failed joints and repointing in a mortar that suits the brick; lime for older, softer bricks.
• Flaunching: renewing the mortar cap around the pots so water runs off the top of the stack.
• Pots, caps and cowls: replacing broken pots and capping disused flues with a ventilated cap, so they stay dry but can breathe.
• Rebuilds: taking an unstable stack down to sound brickwork and rebuilding it, with a new lead tray where needed.
• Removals: taking a disused stack down below the roofline and tiling over.
• Leadwork: aprons, step flashings and back gutters, covered in detail on our chimney leadwork page.

Removing a chimney: what to check first

Taking a stack down below the roof removes a common leak point and a maintenance cost, but check a few things first. On a listed building, removal needs listed building consent. In a conservation area, some councils use Article 4 directions to bring chimney removal under planning control. If a chimney breast has already been removed inside, the stack above may be relying on support that needs checking before anything changes. And a stack shared with a neighbour needs their agreement and may fall under the Party Wall Act.

We'll talk you through each of these before we quote.

What affects the cost of chimney repairs

The height and position of the stack, access (most chimney work needs scaffold to be done safely), the amount of brickwork and pointing, whether leadwork is included and matching bricks or pots on older houses. Doing chimney repairs and leadwork in one visit shares the scaffold cost. Free photographed inspection, written quote.

Brickwork and lead, one team

Many chimney contractors do the brickwork and leave the lead; many roofers do the reverse. We do both, so the whole stack is watertight from pot to tiles and one team is responsible for it.