Challenge

This Weston homeowner called us experiencing a leak coming through the chimney after one of the recent rainstorms. Our certified expert went out for his appointment, put up his ladder, and got up on the roof to see exactly what was wrong with the chimney. One of the biggest issues was quickly apparent, as the whole base of the chimney had been gunked. This means someone had basically tried to patch the chimney, as using just a layer of gunk around the base of a chimney like this is the shortcut way to fix the problem, While using gunk like this in a smaller situation may be a decent holdover, the lack of proper flashing around the whole base of this chimney lead to several issues.

The biggest and most immediate issue was that water was able to penetrate this layer of gunk and the bricks below, leading to the leak the homeowners in Weston were experiencing. While this was the only issue right now, several more could be right around the corner. Once water starts getting into the chimney, it’s only a matter of time before the bricks themselves start to wear down and deteriorate. This can lead to the chimney starting to fall apart, and can lead to full on chimney rebuilds rather than just a chimney repair or repointing if not addressed quickly enough.

Solution

The best solution for this chimney was to scrape back the layer of gunk and replace it with proper flashing. In this case the best solution was custom copper flashing. The copper flashing is the best option for a number of reasons. Our skilled craftsmen in our custom fabrication shop are able to cut this copper to the perfect size to make sure it fits this chimney exactly. The copper is also a great fit as it is durable and will keep the chimney watertight for years to come. An extra added benefit of the copper flashing for this chimney repair is the aesthetic benefit. Not only is the copper flashing effective at repairing this chimney, but it looks great too!