Do you charge extra for being outside the Twin Cities?

No. This corridor is our route, not a detour. We group jobs by day so the drive is already accounted for.

Can you look at a cabin or a rental we don't live at?

Yes. We photograph everything we find and send it, so you can make the decision without being on site.

Do I need a permit to have my chimney tuckpointed or the crown rebuilt?

Almost never. Minnesota Rule 1300.0120 exempts ordinary repairs from the permit process, and repointing joints or pouring a new crown is ordinary repair work. We aren't opening a wall, moving a beam, or altering a vent. Relining a flue is the one that changes the venting system, and that one does get a permit in most cities. We tell you which side of that line your job falls on before we start, in writing.

How fast can you get here from Little Falls?

We run the Highway 10 and Highway 65 corridors on purpose, so north metro work gets grouped into the same days rather than squeezed in one at a time. Call and we'll tell you the next day we're already going to be in your area. That's usually the fastest and cheapest way to get on the schedule.

Do you take on the masonry other chimney companies turn down?

That's most of what we do up here. Plenty of sweeps will clean and inspect all day and then sub out anything that needs a trowel above the roofline. We self-perform crown rebuilds, repointing, and top-half rebuilds, which means a sweep, a roofer or an inspector can hand us the masonry and keep their customer.

Crowns, repointing, and rebuilds are priced off what is actually up there, so we photograph the chimney and send a written number before anyone commits to anything. No trip charge to look at it.

Chimney Repair in Big Lake, Becker & Monticello, MN

This stretch of Highway 10 is the road between our shop and the north metro. We drive it either way, so you get the same crew without the travel premium.

Call 320.414.0191 Request an Appointment

Free written estimate on any chimney we can see. We send photos of what we found on your roof, not a verbal guess.

Sherburne and Wright County housing along this corridor is a mix: farmsteads and older town homes with real brick stacks, and a heavy layer of 1990s and 2000s development with framed chases and metal covers. The failures are the same ones we see all along Highway 10.

The four jobs that make up most of our work here

Crown rebuild. Off with the cracked slab, on with a poured crown that has an overhang and a drip edge.
Repointing above the roofline. Grind out the failed joints, repoint with mortar matched to the brick.
Top-section rebuild. When the brick faces are gone, the top comes down to sound masonry and goes back up properly.
Chase cover replacement. Stainless, cross-broken, drip edge. Once, not every twenty years.

Freeze-thaw doesn't care that it isn't the metro

If anything it's worse out here, because more of these chimneys stand fully exposed with no neighboring structure breaking the wind. Wind-driven rain into an open mortar joint, then a hard freeze overnight, is the whole mechanism. Closing the joints and capping the top correctly is what stops it.

On the way, not out of the way. We're in this corridor regularly running between Little Falls, St. Cloud and the north metro. Call and ask when we're next through.

What we do up here

Chimney Crown Rebuilds

The concrete cap on top is the part that fails first in Minnesota. We tear the cracked crown off and pour a new one with a real overhang and a drip edge so water leaves the chimney instead of running down inside the brick.

Tuckpointing & Repointing

Freeze-thaw pulls the mortar out of the joints a little more every winter. We grind the failed joints out and repoint with mortar matched to the brick, so the chimney stops drinking water.

Above-the-Roofline Rebuilds

When the brick above the roof is spalling, leaning, or has open joints all the way through, we take the chimney down to sound masonry and rebuild it. Plenty of chimney companies sub this out. We self-perform it.

Flashing, Chase Covers & Waterproofing

Rusted-through chase covers, failed storm collars, tar-smeared flashing. We replace the metal, correct the flashing, and seal the masonry with a vapor-permeable water repellent.

Straight answers

Do you charge extra for being outside the Twin Cities?: No. This corridor is our route, not a detour. We group jobs by day so the drive is already accounted for.
Can you look at a cabin or a rental we don't live at?: Yes. We photograph everything we find and send it, so you can make the decision without being on site.
Do I need a permit to have my chimney tuckpointed or the crown rebuilt?: Almost never. Minnesota Rule 1300.0120 exempts ordinary repairs from the permit process, and repointing joints or pouring a new crown is ordinary repair work. We aren't opening a wall, moving a beam, or altering a vent. Relining a flue is the one that changes the venting system, and that one does get a permit in most cities. We tell you which side of that line your job falls on before we start, in writing.
How fast can you get here from Little Falls?: We run the Highway 10 and Highway 65 corridors on purpose, so north metro work gets grouped into the same days rather than squeezed in one at a time. Call and we'll tell you the next day we're already going to be in your area. That's usually the fastest and cheapest way to get on the schedule.
Do you take on the masonry other chimney companies turn down?: That's most of what we do up here. Plenty of sweeps will clean and inspect all day and then sub out anything that needs a trowel above the roofline. We self-perform crown rebuilds, repointing, and top-half rebuilds, which means a sweep, a roofer or an inspector can hand us the masonry and keep their customer.
What does it cost?: Crowns, repointing, and rebuilds are priced off what is actually up there, so we photograph the chimney and send a written number before anyone commits to anything. No trip charge to look at it.

Get a number on it

Call or text 320.414.0191, or send us the address and a photo of the chimney and we'll tell you what we're looking at.