I burn wood all winter. Does that mean my chimney fails faster?

The masonry at the top does, yes. Daily heat cycling opens joints and cracks crowns earlier. The flue itself actually stays healthier when it runs hot, because it stays dry. So burn it, just look at the top of it more often.

Do you work on chimneys for outdoor wood boilers and shop stoves?

The masonry side of them, yes. Tell us what it vents and we'll tell you honestly whether it's our job or somebody else's.

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 East Bethel & Oak Grove, MN

Up Highway 65 the houses sit on acreage and a lot of them actually burn wood. Those chimneys do real work, and real work shows.

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.

Up here a wood stove or a fireplace insert is often a heat source rather than a Saturday-night decoration. That changes what fails and how fast.

Heat cycling is hard on masonry

A chimney that runs hot all winter expands and contracts every day. Any joint that has started to go gets worked a little wider by that movement, and the crown, which is a slab of concrete sitting on top of a stack that's moving, cracks earlier than it would on a chimney that never gets used. We see crowns fail here a decade sooner than on a decorative fireplace in the suburbs.

Tall stacks on tall roofs

Houses on acreage tend to have taller roof lines, and chimneys that stand well clear of the ridge get weather on all four sides. The top few feet often need rebuilding while everything below the roofline is still solid. That's a staging and masonry job, not a sweep job, and it's what we do.

Honest note on liners: if you're putting in a stove or an insert and it needs a stainless liner, that's a venting change and it typically means a permit and an inspection. We'll tell you that before you're committed. The masonry work, crown, repointing and rebuild, does not.

We're already coming through

Highway 65 is one of our two regular routes between Little Falls and the north metro, so East Bethel and Oak Grove are on the way rather than out of the way. That keeps trip costs off your estimate.

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

I burn wood all winter. Does that mean my chimney fails faster?: The masonry at the top does, yes. Daily heat cycling opens joints and cracks crowns earlier. The flue itself actually stays healthier when it runs hot, because it stays dry. So burn it, just look at the top of it more often.
Do you work on chimneys for outdoor wood boilers and shop stoves?: The masonry side of them, yes. Tell us what it vents and we'll tell you honestly whether it's our job or somebody else's.
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.