Chimney Repair in Houston, TX

Why does my chimney leak when it rains?

A chimney leak almost always comes from one of four places, and knowing which saves you from sealing the wrong thing.

The crown — the concrete slab on top — cracks and lets water down into the chimney structure. The flashing, where the chimney meets the roof, fails and lets water in at the roofline; this is the single most common chimney leak. The cap is missing or damaged, so rain (and animals) go straight down the flue. Or the brick and mortar themselves have gotten porous with age and are soaking up water like a sponge.

The leak shows up inside as a ceiling or wall stain near the chimney, often several feet from the actual entry point because water travels. We diagnose which of the four it is before quoting, because the fix for a cracked crown is nothing like the fix for failed flashing.

Chimney crown repair

The crown is the sloped concrete slab at the very top of a masonry chimney, and its whole job is to shed water off the top and away from the brick and flue below. When it cracks — and Houston's heat and freeze-thaw swings crack them — water runs straight down into the chimney.

Chimney crown repair ranges from sealing hairline cracks with a flexible crown coating to patching larger damage to rebuilding a crown that's spalled and broken apart. A properly built crown overhangs the brick with a drip edge so water falls clear instead of running down the face. We repair and rebuild crowns to actually shed water, which is the point of the thing.

Chimney flashing repair

Flashing is where the chimney passes through the roof, and it's the most common place a chimney leaks — because it's the hardest detail on the roof to get right and the first to fail with age.

Proper chimney flashing is two layers: step flashing woven into the shingles and counterflashing set into the masonry above it, so water is directed out and over the roof surface. When the old flashing rusts, pulls loose, or was just caulked in place instead of done right, water gets in at the roofline. Because we do roofing and masonry both, we repair chimney flashing correctly — cut into the mortar joint and layered — rather than smearing sealant over the problem and calling it fixed.

Chimney caps and masonry rebuilds

A chimney cap is the cover over the top of the flue, and a lot of Houston chimneys are missing one or have a rusted-out one. Chimney cap installation keeps rain, debris, and animals out of the flue — birds, squirrels, and raccoons all nest in open chimneys here — and adds a spark screen. It's a small part that prevents a lot of problems.

When the masonry itself has deteriorated — spalling brick, crumbling mortar joints, a chimney leaning or coming apart above the roofline — a chimney rebuild is the fix. We rebuild the affected section, from tuckpointing failed mortar joints to rebuilding the brick above the roofline, matching the existing masonry as closely as the materials allow. On an older chimney that's shedding brick, that's a safety issue as much as a leak one.

Firebox repair and fireplace surrounds

Inside the house, the firebox and the surround are the fireplace parts we handle on the masonry side.

Firebox repair covers the masonry of the firebox itself — cracked or missing firebrick and the deteriorated mortar joints between them, which need the right high-heat refractory mortar rather than standard mix. Damaged firebox masonry is worth addressing before it gets worse.

Fireplace surround installation is the visible face around the opening — tile, stone, or brick surrounds and the mantel — which is one of the highest-impact updates you can make to a living room. We build and install surrounds to match the room. Our fireplace work is the masonry and finish side; we don't do gas work of any kind.

What chimney repair costs in Houston

Chimney repair spans a wide range because the problems do. Sealing a cracked crown or installing a cap is a small, defined number. Flashing repair is a moderate one. A partial or full masonry rebuild is the high end, because it's skilled masonry work up on a roof.

What moves the number: which of the leak sources it is, how much masonry has to be rebuilt or repointed, roof height and access — everything is harder and slower up on a two-story roofline — and whether a surround or firebox is part of the job. These are ranges, not quotes. We find where the water is getting in, then price the actual fix.