Questions about your chimney? Call our receptionist, Kari, at 320.414.0191. She picks up weekdays, 9 to 5.
When we inspect a chimney, the crown is the part we end up talking about most, because it's the roof of the chimney and most of what goes wrong lower down started with water coming off the top. A lot of chimneys are going to need a proper chimney crown, one that has an overhang and a drip edge, as well as some tuckpointing where the water has already been getting into the joints.
What a lot of chimneys have instead
Most of what we find is a flat layer of mortar troweled across the top of the brick, stopping at the edge. It cracks within a few winters, and since there's no overhang, the water that does run off it goes straight down the face of the brick.
How we build one
We take the old crown off, set forms around the top of the chimney and the flue, and pour a new crown that hangs past the brick on every side with a drip edge cut underneath, or set a limestone edge with a drip edge, so the water sheds away from the brickwork. Crown sealant on a crown that was built wrong only holds for so long, and it starts to separate.
If any of this sounds like your chimney, call 320.414.0191. We'll come out, climb up, take pictures of what we find and show you before we quote anything.
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