A very tall chimney and a very large crown

Questions about your chimney? Call our receptionist, Kari, at 320.414.0191. She picks up weekdays, 9 to 5.

This chimney runs a long way above the roof on a lake home, and a stack that tall takes the worst of the wind and the weather, which is why the top of it was in the shape it was. The old crown was cracked and crumbling at the edges, and once we broke it open we found the brick and the flue tile under it had been soaking up water for years.

A lake home with a tall brick chimney, the morning we started

What we did

We built a work deck around the top of the chimney, took the brick down to where it was solid again and laid it back up with new brick and mortar. Then we set forms and poured a new crown, one that has an overhang and a drip edge on every side, as well as enough slope that the water runs off it instead of sitting on it.

Why the crown matters this much

On a chimney like this the crown is the roof of the chimney, and the bigger the top, the more water it has to shed. A crown that stops at the edge of the brick sends the water straight down the face of it, and that's how a chimney ends up needing the top rebuilt.

The whole job is in pictures on the project page.

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.

Related: A very tall chimney and a very large crown · Chimney repair in the north metro

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