Chimneys · repointing, flaunching & rebuilds
Repointing, flaunching and rebuilding work that stops water tracking down the stack and into the rooms below. Chimneys are the most exposed masonry on the building and the most common source of damp that gets blamed on the roof, we find the actual cause and fix it once.
Free survey with photographs · fully insured teams · 100% satisfaction guarantee
The service
A chimney stack sits above the roofline with weather hitting it from every side and no roof of its own beyond the flaunching and pots at the top. It takes more punishment than any other masonry on the building, and when it starts to let water in, that water travels down inside the stack and appears as staining on a chimney breast in a bedroom, often several metres from where it actually got in.
Our chimney work covers repointing where the mortar joints have eroded, renewing cracked flaunching around the pots, re-bedding and replacing pots, rebuilding stacks where the brickwork above the roofline has decayed, and renewing the lead flashings, soakers and back gutters where the stack passes through the roof. Where a chimney is redundant, we can discuss removing it above roof level and making good instead of repairing something that no longer earns its keep.
Because flashing failure and masonry failure produce almost identical symptoms inside, both get inspected together. Repointing a stack while leaving perished flashings, or renewing flashings around porous brickwork, leaves you paying for half a solution.
If it is left
Once the mortar joints on a stack are open, water enters the brickwork and freezes. Frost expansion breaks up the joints further and spalls the face of the bricks themselves, so each winter opens the structure a little more. What starts as repointing becomes a partial rebuild once the bricks have gone.
Inside, the damage is quieter but persistent. Water absorbed into the stack travels down the flue, carrying soot salts with it. Those salts appear as white crystalline deposits on plaster, and they keep drawing moisture out of the air long after the leak is fixed, which is why chimney damp so often needs the plaster replaced as well as the leak stopped.
There is a safety dimension as well. A stack with failed joints and loose or leaning pots is unstable in high winds, and a chimney coming down through a roof does not just damage the roof. Dealing with an ageing stack while it is still masonry work rather than a structural emergency is by far the cheaper route.
How we work
The same sequence on every job, from the first call to the photographs at the end.
Step 1
We inspect the stack, flaunching, pots, joints and all flashings at roof level, and inside the property where damp is showing, then photograph everything.
Step 2
You get a clear explanation of whether the water is coming through the masonry, the flaunching or the flashings, and a written no-obligation price for the correct fix.
Step 3
Safe access is set up, defective mortar is raked out, loose material removed and the roof around the stack is protected.
Step 4
Joints are repointed with a suitable mortar, flaunching renewed, pots re-bedded or replaced, and decayed brickwork rebuilt where required, with lead flashings, soakers and back gutter renewed as needed.
Step 5
The work is checked, the roof and ground cleared of debris, and photographs handed over with our 100% satisfaction guarantee behind the repair.
What you get
Masonry and flashings inspected together, so you are not paying to fix one while the other keeps letting water in.
Sealing the stack prevents further staining, salting and plaster damage on the chimney breast below.
Sound joints, secure pots and stable brickwork mean the stack is not a hazard in the next serious gale.
Repointing an eroded stack costs a fraction of rebuilding one where frost has already destroyed the brick faces.
As roofers, we leave the tiles, soakers and flashings around the stack correct, not disturbed and patched.
Before, during and after photographs of a part of the building you will never see from the ground.
In detail
Chimneys vary hugely by age and construction, and the right repair depends on what the stack was built from.
Repointing means raking out the failed joints to a proper depth and refilling them, not smearing new mortar over old. Mortar choice matters: a hard, dense cement mix on a soft older stack traps moisture and pushes it through the face of the bricks, causing spalling. Older and period stacks generally need a softer, more breathable mix so the joints, rather than the bricks, take the wear.
The flaunching is the sloped mortar bed at the top of the stack that holds the pots and sheds water. It cracks with age and frost, and once it does, water enters the top of the stack directly. Renewing flaunching, re-bedding or replacing pots, and fitting caps or vented caps to disused flues keeps the top of the stack sealed while still allowing it to breathe.
Where brick faces have spalled away or the stack has begun to lean, rebuilding above roof level is the durable answer. Sound bricks are re-used where possible and matched where not, and the lead flashings and soakers are renewed as part of the rebuild rather than refitted to new masonry in old condition.
Where the stack passes through the roof it needs a front apron, side soakers with step flashing, and a back gutter, all correctly sized, dressed, wedged and pointed. This is the single most common leak point on a chimney and is dealt with as part of the same job.
Where a chimney is no longer used and is in poor condition, taking it down to below roof level and making good the roof removes a permanent maintenance liability. We will price both options so you can compare repair against removal honestly.
Most chimney work is on domestic property, the older stock across Sandhurst, Crowthorne, Camberley and Wokingham in particular. Commercial and larger buildings bring taller stacks and more involved access, which is planned as part of the quotation.
Based at 12 Yeovil Road, Sandhurst GU47 0TE, working across Berkshire, Surrey, Hampshire and everywhere else within roughly a 50-mile radius. See all of the towns we cover.
Common questions
If your question is not here, call Henry Lee and the team on 07946 209052. Open 24 hours, 7 days a week.
It depends on the size and height of the stack, its condition and the access needed. We survey, photograph and give a free written quotation before any work is agreed.
Repointing and flaunching renewal are usually completed in a day or two once access is in place. A rebuild takes longer and is programmed with the quotation.
Both produce the same stain inside, which is why we inspect the masonry, the flaunching and the flashings together and tell you which one is actually letting water in.
Repointing carried out with the right mortar for the stack is a long-term repair measured in decades rather than years. The wrong mortar can cause damage within a few winters.
If the flue is redundant and the stack is in poor condition, removal above roof level with the roof made good can be the better long-term spend. We will price both and let you decide.
Yes. Pots can be re-bedded or replaced, and caps or vented caps fitted to disused flues so the stack stays sealed but can still breathe.
Yes. We take calls 24 hours a day and will attend to make a property safe where a stack, pots or flashings have been damaged in a storm.
All work is backed by our 100% satisfaction guarantee, and every job is photographed before, during and after.
Yes. Tiles, soakers, flashings and bedding around the stack are left correct, we are roofers, so the roof is not somebody else's problem.
Sandhurst, Owlsmoor, Crowthorne, Blackwater, Yateley, Camberley, Bracknell, Wokingham, Farnborough, Fleet, Frimley, Ascot and surrounding towns within roughly 50 miles.
Correctly sized and dressed lead to valleys, abutments, chimneys, dormers and parapets. This is the detail where the majority of roof leaks actually b…
View service
Slipped tiles, broken slates, failed flashings, felt splits and storm damage put right by a fully insured, City & Guilds qualified team. We answer the…
View service
A straight assessment from a working roofing contractor: what needs doing now, what can safely wait, and a written price for both. Photographed throug…
View serviceFree, no-obligation quotation
A free survey with photographs of the flaunching, joints and flashings you cannot see from the ground, and a written price for the repair that actually fixes it.
Takes under a minute. No obligation, no pressure.
