Honest chimney repair for Belle Isle homeowners

A thin mortar top that crumbles at the edges

Some chimney tops are not a formed crown at all. They are a layer of mortar troweled over the top course and thinned out to almost nothing at the edges. BIA guidance says feathering a cast cap to the edge should be avoided, because it cuts the thickness at the edge and raises the potential for deterioration.

The thin edge is where these tops break up. Pieces chip away, cracks open and the top course of brick is left exposed to every rain. Without an overhang, water that does run off tends to run down the faces as well.

Patching a feathered top with more thin mortar repeats the mistake. The lasting repair is a new cap with a proper shape, thickened at the sides and overhanging the faces, which BIA says reduces the potential for water penetration, and sloped as the code requires. For your Belle Isle home, the estimate describes that shape and its materials, so you know it is not another thin layer.

Precast crown or one cast on the chimney

A new crown can be made two ways. A precast cap is formed off the chimney and set in place on a mortar bed. A cast-in-place cap is formed and poured right on top of the chimney.

BIA guidance says a prefabricated cap generally performs better and is more easily made water resistant. A cast-in-place cap should take the same shape, with thickened sides and overhangs, carry reinforcement to help control cracking, and have flashing beneath it, which BIA calls highly recommended. With a precast cap, a bond break between the brickwork and the setting bed lets the cap move without distressing the brick.

The right choice depends on the top's size and shape, how the flues sit and how a cap can be lifted into place. Our technicians explain which type suits your Belle Isle home, and the estimate names the type, its shape and how it will be flashed.

Loose stones on a stone veneer chimney

Some stone chimneys are built of solid stone, while others carry the stone as a veneer, one outer layer set against a framed or block chimney behind it. A stone that rocks, drops or shows an open joint around its edge has lost its bond to that backing.

Where masonry veneers a frame chimney, the Florida Building Code requires through-flashing and weep holes so water that gets behind the stone can drain back out. A veneer built without them, or with them buried in mortar, has no way to shed that water.

Our stone chimney repair service chooses between resetting stones and taking down a section. On your Belle Isle home the estimate names the stones or courses involved and which of these applies.

• A few loose stones on sound, dry backing are reset
• Wet or soft backing behind the stone is repaired first
• Missing flashing at the base means rebuilding that course
• Wide movement across the face points to a section rebuild

A chimney too short for the roof around it

The Florida Building Code sets a minimum height. A chimney must extend at least three feet above the highest point where it passes through the roof, and at least two feet higher than any part of the building within ten feet. Brick Industry Association guidance names chimney height and flue area as the two most critical factors in chimney design.

Chimneys come up short when the house changes around them. A second story, a raised roof, a dormer or an addition inside that distance can leave a chimney that met the rule when it was built now too low. Smoke that lingers at the opening or drifts back indoors can be one result.

The fix is extending the chimney to the height the code calls for, in masonry on a masonry chimney or in listed sections on a factory-built one, then finishing the new top. Our crew in Belle Isle measures the chimney against the roof and any wall within that distance, and the estimate shows the added height and how it will be finished.