Chimneys
Chimney repairs, rebuilds and removal
Repointing, new lead flashings, caps, cowls and pots, rebuilds for stacks that are past repairing, and redundant chimneys taken down below the roofline.
Damp chimneys
Where chimneys let water in
A chimney stands above the roof with wind and rain on every side. When there's damp round a chimney breast, it's nearly always coming from one of these.
- Pointing
- Mortar washed out of the joints, letting rain soak into the brickwork
- Flashings
- Lead at the base of the stack that has split, slipped or come out of its joint
- Back gutter
- The lead on the uphill side of the stack, where water and leaves collect
- Flaunching
- The mortar round the pots, cracked so water runs down inside the stack
- Open pots
- An uncapped flue taking rain straight down to the fireplace
- Condensation
- A flue sealed with no air through it, staining the chimney breast from inside
What we do
Chimney repairs
We look at the whole stack, top to bottom, before we price it. Most chimneys only need one or two of these.
Repointing
Old mortar raked out and the stack repointed. Older stacks get a lime mortar, because a hard cement mortar traps water in soft brick and makes it crumble.
Lead flashings
New lead apron, stepped flashings and back gutter, set into the brickwork and pointed in. Leadwork
Flaunching
Cracked flaunching hacked off and re-run round the pots, sloped so the water runs off.
Pots, caps and cowls
Cracked pots replaced and re-bedded. Vented caps for flues you no longer use, and cowls or bird guards for the ones you do.
Rebuilds
Stacks that are leaning, cracked through or crumbling are taken down to sound brickwork and rebuilt, reusing the old bricks where they're good enough.
Taking stacks down
Chimneys you no longer use taken down below the roofline, and the roof slated over to match.
Access
Cherry picker or scaffold
Smaller chimney jobs can often be done from a cherry picker, which saves putting a scaffold round the stack. Bigger work still needs a proper platform.
From a cherry picker
Inspections, caps, cowls, flaunching, and small pointing and flashing repairs, where we can park close enough to reach.
From scaffold
Rebuilds, taking stacks down, and full repoints on large stacks, where the work takes days and the materials need somewhere to sit.
How we decide
At the survey we check the reach, the ground and any overhead cables, and the quote says which one we'll use. Cherry picker access
Options
Repair, rebuild or take it down
If you use the fireplace, or the chimney is part of the look of the house, it stays. If it's redundant and needs work, taking it down can be the better option.
| Option | What's involved | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Repair | Repointing, new flashings and flaunching, a new cap or cowl | Often done from a cherry picker on a smaller stack |
| Rebuild | Taken down to sound brickwork and built back up, with new lead | Needs scaffold. A listed building or conservation area may need consent if it will look different. |
| Take down | Stack removed to below the roofline, flue capped and vented, roof slated over | The chimney breasts inside stay. A stack shared with next door can need a party wall notice. |
Taking out the chimney breasts inside the house is structural work for a builder, and Building Control will need to be involved.
Removal
Taking a redundant chimney down
A chimney you don't use still needs repointing, new flashings and a cap from time to time. Taking it down ends that.
- Step 1
Check
Whether anything still uses the flue, whether the stack is shared with next door, and whether consent is needed.
- Step 2
Scaffold
A chimney scaffold goes up round the stack, with the slates below protected.
- Step 3
Take down
The stack is taken down by hand to below the roofline. The flue is capped and vented so the breast below stays dry.
- Step 4
Make good
The gap is filled in with new battens and membrane, and the roof slated over to match.
Questions
Chimney questions
Do I need permission to take a chimney down?
Often not. A listed building or a house in a conservation area may need consent, and a stack shared with next door can need a party wall notice. Check with your council before the work is booked.
My chimney breast is damp but the stack looks fine. Why?
It could be rain down an open pot, a flashing that has come out of its joint, or condensation in a flue that's been sealed with no air through it. We check all three.
Should I cap a chimney I don't use?
Yes, with a vented cap. A flue needs some air moving through it or it gets damp. If a fire, stove or boiler still uses the flue, it needs the right terminal for that appliance, not a cap.
Can you stop birds nesting in the chimney?
A cowl or bird guard on the pot keeps jackdaws out. If they're already nesting, the guard goes on once the nest is empty.
How long does repointing last?
Done in the right mortar, for decades. It fails early when the mortar is too hard for the brick, or the old joints weren't raked out deep enough first.
Chimney leaking or no longer needed?
Book a survey and we'll tell you whether it needs repairing, rebuilding or taking down, with photos.