What is a cross break and why does it matter?

It's a raised ridge formed into a chase cover so water runs off instead of standing on it. Flat builder-grade covers hold water and snow, and standing water is what rusts them through. A stainless cover with a cross break doesn't have that problem.

Can you tell what is wrong from a photo?

Often, yes, at least well enough to tell you whether it's urgent. Send a zoomed photo of the top of the chimney to 320.414.0191 and we'll tell you what we see.

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 Lino Lakes & Centerville, MN

Two towns, two eras of building, and a chimney problem that arrives right on schedule about twenty-five years after the house is finished.

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.

Centerville has an old core with real masonry chimneys on it. Lino Lakes filled in mostly through the 1990s and 2000s, which puts a very large number of its chimneys in the framed-chase-and-metal-cover family. Both are hitting the age where the top of the chimney stops keeping water out.

Twenty-five years is when the top gives up

Whichever kind you have, the failure is in the same place. On masonry it's the crown cracking and the joints opening. On a sided chase it's the sheet metal cover rusting through and the storm collar splitting. Either way, water that used to run off the top now runs down inside the chimney, and it does damage you can't see until it reaches the ceiling.

Catching it at the top is cheap. Catching it after it has soaked framing or a firebox is not.

What we replace it with

We don't put back the thing that failed. Chase covers go back as stainless with a cross break so water actually sheds, and a drip edge so it leaves the siding alone. Crowns get poured with an overhang past the brick and a cut drip edge underneath. Both are a one-time fix rather than something you do again in twenty years.

If your house was built between 1995 and 2005 and has a chimney with siding on it, the cover on top is at or past the end of its service life right now. It's worth twenty dollars of your time to zoom a phone camera at it.

Ordinary repairs, no city involvement

Crowns, covers, flashing and repointing are ordinary repairs under Minnesota Rule 1300.0120. No permit, no inspection, no delay.

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

What is a cross break and why does it matter?: It's a raised ridge formed into a chase cover so water runs off instead of standing on it. Flat builder-grade covers hold water and snow, and standing water is what rusts them through. A stainless cover with a cross break doesn't have that problem.
Can you tell what is wrong from a photo?: Often, yes, at least well enough to tell you whether it's urgent. Send a zoomed photo of the top of the chimney to 320.414.0191 and we'll tell you what we see.
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.