Ramsey County · Mounds View, MN
Chimney repair and inspection in Mounds View, MN
Three out of four houses in Mounds View went up before 1990. On most of them, the crown on the chimney is the first thing to go.
Crown rebuilds, leaks around the chimney, tuckpointing, rebuilds above the roof, sweeps and inspections.
We work weekdays, 9 to 5. Pick any time on the form and Kari will call you to set the exact one.
Chimney crown repair in Mounds View
That slab of concrete on top is the only thing keeping water out of the brick. A lot of them were poured thin, flush with the edge, with nothing to throw the water clear. After forty or fifty winters they crack, and every crack is a straight path into the chimney. We tear the old one off and pour a new one with an overhang and a drip edge.
Why the stain shows up inside
Water that gets in at the top doesn't stay there. It runs down inside the brick and comes out where the chimney meets the ceiling or the wall next to the fireplace. By the time you see it inside, it's usually been coming in for a while.
A cap takes the load off the crown
A lot of older chimneys in town have no cap at all, so rain and snow fall straight onto the crown and down the flue. A stainless cap with a screen keeps water, birds and leaves out, and it takes a lot of load off a crown that's already doing its best. When we pour a new crown, we'll tell you if a cap belongs on top of it.
The seventies brick
Houses from the 1970s were built with brick and mortar that are hard enough to last, but not forever. By now the mortar above the roof has usually given back some of its face, and the flashing may already have been patched once or twice. Get the crown right first, then the joints under it, and a chimney this age has a lot of years left.
Mounds View, by the numbers
Mostly the 1950s through the 70s.
The 1970s built more of Mounds View than any other decade, 29% of its 5,698 homes. Add the 50s and 60s and you've got the town's chimney story.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, table B25034 (year structure built).
The crown takes every freeze first
The closest long-record weather station to Mounds View is at Vadnais Lake, about 7 miles southeast. It averaged 74 freeze-thaw days a winter over seven full winters, with 18 nights at zero or below. Frost usually arrives around October 27 and lets go around April 22.
Flat, thin and fifty years old
The crown is flat, it faces straight up, and it holds whatever lands on it. Snow melts on it in the afternoon, the water sits in every hairline crack, and it freezes again that night. Seventy-some times a winter, for fifty winters. A crown poured thin and flush with the brick has nowhere to throw that water, so it sends it down into the chimney instead.
Why the stain shows up in spring
Most of the winter, the water sitting in a cracked crown is ice. It's when things start thawing in March and April that it melts and runs down inside the brick, so that's when a stain shows up on the ceiling next to the chimney. If you've noticed a stain that comes and goes with the seasons, that's usually why, and the crown is where we start.
Chimney inspection in Mounds View
We get on the roof and look at the crown first, then the brick right under it, the flashing and the cap if there is one. Then a camera goes down every flue, including the one the furnace or water heater uses. You get the photos, and if the crown needs work, you'll see exactly where it's cracked.
The crown is the line we write most
In our own records, 234 brick chimney repairs have a written scope. The crown was on 189 of them, more than any other item. Water getting in was on 55, and a cap on 29. That's every job we've written, not just Mounds View, but on a brick chimney the crown is the first place we look for a reason.
Chimney relining and tuckpointing in Mounds View
Most Mounds View chimneys went up between the 1950s and the 70s with clay tile inside, and fifty-some years of heat and freezing cracks a lot of those tiles or opens the joints between them, so the heat and the exhaust get into the brick. When the camera shows that, the broken clay comes out and an insulated stainless steel liner goes in, sized for the fireplace, wood stove, furnace or water heater that vents into it. More on chimney relining.
Outside, it's usually the mortar right under the crown that goes first. Once those joints go soft and sit back from the brick, we cut them out and tuckpoint them with new mortar to match, and if the brick itself is flaking, those courses come down and get rebuilt, along with a new crown that has a proper overhang and a drip edge.
Chimney tuckpointing and crown repair in Ramsey County
Mounds View is in Ramsey County, and so are New Brighton, Shoreview and Arden Hills. Most of the chimneys on this side went up in the 1950s through the 70s, and on those it's the crown and the mortar right under it that go first. Same crew, same inspection and the same pictures anywhere in Ramsey County.
Our own work
Crowns, start to finish.
From the old crown to the new pour, on our own jobs. It's the same job we'd do on yours.
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Chimney sweep and cleaning in Mounds View
The sweep is part of the inspection, not a separate trip. If there's more than an eighth of an inch of buildup in a flue, it gets swept the same visit. While we're in there we check the damper too. Rust on a damper usually means water's been coming down the flue, and that points right back up at the crown and the cap.
Most people call it a chimney cleaning or a fireplace cleaning, and in Mounds View it's the same visit as a sweep. We clean the firebox, the damper and the smoke chamber above it, the flue all the way up and the cap, and vacuum up the ash on the hearth before we leave. The camera goes down first, so you know what's behind the soot before anything gets cleaned. What a chimney cleaning covers.
Talk to Kari
Kari can get someone on your roof.
Call Kari at 320.414.0191. She'll ask how many flues you have and what you're seeing, give you the price, and find a day we're working in Mounds View.
We work weekdays, 9 to 5. Pick any time on the form and Kari will call you to set the exact one.
Google reviews
What people wrote after we left.
“Good job on repair work. Replaced 2 flues and cap. Reattached several face stones that likely fell off because cap had deteriorated. Seemed to have proper equipment for the job. The boss checked in daily. Contractor did a good job of letting me know what was happening before and during work.”
“Showed up on time, very Profession and courteous. They made sure not to make a mess when cleaning. When they were done with the inspection they explained everything very well. I highly recommend.”
“Clean, professional and thorough! I had Element service my fireplace, they cleaned and inspected it, walked me through the state of my fireplace and options for repairing.”
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Questions we get about Mounds View chimneys
Can a cracked crown be patched?
A hairline crack can be sealed. A crown that's cracked through or breaking up gets torn off and poured new, with an overhang so the water drips clear of the brick. We'll show you the photos and tell you which one yours needs.
What is the top of a chimney called?
The concrete slab across the top is the crown. The metal hood with the screen that sits over the flue is the cap. The crown keeps water out of the brick, and the cap keeps rain, animals and leaves out of the flue.
There are bats in our chimney. What do we do?
A chimney without a cap is an open door for bats, birds and squirrels. The fix on our end is a cap with a screen, fitted to the flue. Let us know when you call, so we come ready for it.
There's a water stain by the fireplace after it rains. Is the crown the problem?
Often it is, or the flashing, or open joints right under the crown. Water that gets in at the top runs down inside the brick and comes out by the ceiling or the fireplace wall. We find where it's coming in and show you the picture.
If snow and ice build up in the chimney, can it hurt the damper?
It can. Water and ice coming down an uncapped flue rust the damper and can freeze it shut. A cap stops most of it, and the inspection will tell you if the damper's already rusted.
We're selling our house in Mounds View. Does the chimney need an inspection?
NFPA 211 (2027 edition) calls for a Level II inspection when a house is sold or changes hands (section 15.6.1(3)). On a 1970s Mounds View chimney the crown is the first thing a buyer asks about, so we photograph it up close, then the brick, the flashing, the attic and the basement, and a camera goes down every flue. You get the written report with the pictures.
Can we keep using the fireplace until the repair is done?
It depends on what we find. A cracked crown by itself usually doesn't stop you from having a fire. A cracked flue does. We'll tell you plainly which one you've got before we leave.
What does a chimney inspection in Mounds View cost?
Kari has the price. Call her at 320.414.0191, tell her how many flues you have, and she'll give you the number and a day.
How do I know if my chimney needs a new liner?
Usually you can't tell from inside the house. Sometimes there are pieces of tile in the firebox or a smoke smell when the furnace runs, but most of the time it's the camera that finds it. On the inspection a camera goes down every flue, including the furnace and water heater flue, and you get the pictures by email.
Do you do fireplace and chimney cleaning in Mounds View?
Yes, in Mounds View and the towns around it. A chimney cleaning comes with the inspection: the camera goes down every flue first, and any flue with more than an eighth of an inch of buildup gets cleaned the same visit. Call Kari at 320.414.0191 and she'll get you on a day we're working nearby.
Do you do chimney restoration in Mounds View?
Yes. Restoring a chimney means bringing the old one back instead of tearing it all out: the soft joints get tuckpointed, brick that's flaking above the roof comes down to good brick and gets rebuilt, and it gets a new crown with an overhang so the water sheds off. We photograph every side from the roof first, so you see what it needs before anything starts.
Nearby, too
Same crew, same inspection, all over the north metro.
Got a chimney in Mounds View?
A crack across the top, a stain after the rain, or a rusty damper? Call Kari or book online, and we'll show you what the crown looks like up close.
We work weekdays, 9 to 5. Pick any time on the form and Kari will call you to set the exact one.
Got pictures of your chimney? Email them to info@elementhearthandhome.com with your name and number, and Kari will take it from there.