Fieldstone chimney with tight, repointed joints beside a flagstone patio

Services · Chimneys

Stone chimney repointing in Bucks County

A chimney takes more weather than any other part of a stone house: four faces and a top, high in the wind, freezing and thawing all winter. Its joints fail first. Repoint them in time and the chimney stands for another lifetime. Wait, and the top courses loosen and the leak finds your ceiling.

The short answer

Chimney repointing means raking the failed mortar out of the joints by hand, down to sound material, and refilling them with a mortar matched to the chimney's stone or brick and no harder than it. On most Bucks County stone chimneys the worst joints are the top few feet, where wind-driven rain and freeze-thaw hit hardest. Caught early, a repoint and a sound crown are all a chimney needs. Left too long, the top courses loosen and have to be taken down and rebuilt.

When we walk up to a stone house for the first time, we look at the chimney before anything else. It tells us how the rest of the masonry is doing, because chimneys are where water and weather hit hardest. Most chimney work in Bucks County is not glamorous: it is careful repointing on a roof, done before a small problem becomes a rebuild.

Watch a chimney repair

Do you have a chimney that could use some care? Call us at (215) 622-6344.

What a chimney repair includes

  • Repointing. Failed joints raked out by hand to sound mortar and refilled in layers, the same way we repoint stone walls, done from proper staging on the roof.
  • Crown repair. A cracked crown is repaired or rebuilt so it sheds water off the top and away from the face.
  • Resetting loose stone. Stones that have moved are taken out and reset in fresh mortar.
  • Rebuilding the top, only when the upper courses have loosened or the chimney leans, down to sound masonry and back up with the original stone.
  • A flashing check where the chimney meets the roof, coordinated with your roofer when it needs replacing.

Why chimneys fail first

A wall has one face to the weather. A chimney above the roofline has four, plus the top. It takes the most wind-driven rain, freezes and thaws harder standing in the open, and heats and cools from the inside with every fire. And because nobody looks up, problems go unnoticed until water shows up on a ceiling. Read more in our guide to stone chimney repointing.

Don't wait for the leak

By the time a chimney leak shows inside, water has usually been in the masonry for a while. A chimney that needs a few joints repointed this year can need its top rebuilt a few winters later. If your house is stone, the chimney is often part of a bigger picture: see historic stone home restoration and breathable sealing.

Questions we hear on site

How do I know my chimney needs repointing?
From the ground, with binoculars if you have them: joints near the top that look like dark gaps, a cracked or crumbling crown, stones or bricks out of line, mortar grit or pieces in the gutter, white salt stains or dark streaks, and plants growing out of joints. Inside, water stains on the ceiling or walls beside the chimney are the late warning.
Can you repoint the chimney without rebuilding it?
Usually, yes. If the stones are still tight in place, raking out and repointing the failed joints is enough. A rebuild of the top section is only needed when the joints have failed long enough that stones are loose, shifted or the top is leaning. That is the main reason to repoint early.
What mortar do you use on a stone chimney?
One matched to the chimney, softer and more breathable than the stone or brick around it. On historic stone that means a lime-rich mix. Hard Portland cement pointing on an old chimney holds water in and makes the stone crack and flake instead of the joint.
Do you fix the chimney crown?
Yes. The crown is the top that sheds water away from the flue and the masonry. A cracked crown lets water straight into the chimney, so we repair or rebuild it as part of the job when it needs it.
What about the flashing?
We check where the chimney meets the roof on every job. If the flashing has failed, we tell you and coordinate with your roofer, because repointing will not stop a leak that is coming through the roof joint.
When is the best time to repoint a chimney?
Spring through late fall, when the mortar can cure without freezing. If you see open joints in the fall, have it looked at before winter: one season of freeze-thaw can turn a repoint into a rebuild.

Our other restoration services

Luciano and Alex Sansalone building a stone wall

Who does the work

Luciano Sansalone learned stonework at fifteen beside his father and grandfather in Italy and has worked on Bucks County stone for over forty years. His son Alex is the fourth generation. The two of them inspect every property and do the work themselves. Read our story.

Learn more

From our stonework articles.

Stone masonry with repointed joints

Repointing · 6 min read

Stone chimney repointing: why chimneys fail first and how to catch it early

Why stone and brick chimneys lose mortar before the rest of the house, the warning signs to look for from the ground, and what repointing, crown and cap repair involve, from Bucks County stonemasons.
Flagstone patio with joints opened by frost

Maintenance · 6 min read

What Pennsylvania winters do to stone, and how to protect yours

How freeze-thaw cycles, de-icing salt and trapped water crack mortar, heave patios, push out walls and spall stone in Pennsylvania, and the repointing, drainage and sealing that protect stonework through winter.
Fieldstone wall with freshly repointed mortar joints

Restoration · 7 min read

Why repointing your stone house is the best money you will spend on it

Failing mortar joints let water into stone walls, and from there into plaster, framing and floors. Here is why repointing on time protects the whole house, and what a proper job looks like.

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Call Luciano or Alex(215) 622-6344