Stone Chimney Repointing & Repair in Bucks County

The short answer

Chimneys are the most exposed masonry on a house. They take rain, wind and freeze-thaw from every side, and hot flue gases from the inside, so their mortar fails first. Warning signs include missing or recessed joints near the top, a cracked crown, loose stones or bricks, white staining, and water stains on ceilings or walls near the chimney. Repointing the failed joints and repairing the crown and cap early keeps water out of the chimney and the house, and avoids taking the top of the chimney down and rebuilding it.

When we walk up to a stone house for the first time, we look at the chimney before anything else. It almost always tells us how the rest of the masonry is doing, because chimneys are where water and weather hit hardest.

Why chimneys fail first

They are exposed on every side. A wall has one face to the weather. A chimney above the roofline has four, plus the top.
They take the most wind-driven rain, high up where nothing shelters them.
They freeze and thaw harder, standing in the open with cold air all around.
They get hot from the inside. A working chimney heats and cools with every fire, which works the joints and draws moisture through the masonry.
They are hard to see, so problems go unnoticed until water shows up inside.

Warning signs

Grab a pair of binoculars and look for:

Joints near the top that look like dark gaps instead of solid mortar.
A cracked, crumbling or missing crown around the flue.
Stones or bricks out of line, or pieces on the roof or in the gutter.
White salt staining or dark streaks running down the chimney.
Plants or moss growing out of joints.
Inside: water stains on the ceiling or walls around the chimney, or damp in the fireplace.

What chimney repair involves

Repointing

Failed joints are raked out by hand to sound mortar and repointed with a mortar matched to the chimney's stone or brick and no harder than it. Same method as repointing a wall, done up on a roof with careful staging.

Crown and cap

A cracked crown is repaired or rebuilt so it slopes water away and overhangs the face of the chimney. A flue cap keeps rain and animals out of the flue.

Flashing

Where the chimney meets the roof, failed flashing lets water run down into the house. We check it and coordinate with your roofer when it needs replacing.

Rebuilding the top

When joints have failed for too long, the top courses loosen and the chimney may lean. Then the upper section comes down to sound masonry and is rebuilt with the original stone. That is exactly what early repointing avoids.

Do not wait for the leak

By the time a chimney leak shows on your ceiling, water has usually been in the masonry for a while. A chimney that needs a few joints repointed this summer can need a rebuild a few winters later. See our historic restoration work, read why repointing prevents water damage, or ask us to look at your chimney.

Questions we hear on site

How can I tell if my chimney needs repointing from the ground?

Use binoculars. Look for joints that are dark gaps instead of solid mortar, stones or bricks that look out of line, a cracked or crumbling crown at the top, and white or dark staining running down the chimney.

What is a chimney crown?

The crown is the sloped top of the chimney around the flue that sheds water away from the masonry. A cracked crown lets water straight down into the chimney, where it does damage from the inside.

Do I also need a chimney sweep?

For anything inside the flue, such as liners, dampers and creosote, yes. A certified chimney sweep inspects and cleans the flue. We handle the stone and mortar outside and the crown and cap.

Can a leaning chimney be repointed?

A chimney that is visibly leaning or has lost many stones near the top usually needs the upper section taken down and rebuilt. Catching joint failure before that point is what keeps it a repointing job.