Honest chimney chase repair for Clear Lake homes
Framing, sheathing, barrier, flashing and finish, each priced on its own line before a single board comes off.
- Licensed & insured
- Locally run
- Family owned and operated
- Same-day service available
What your chase estimate lists in Clear Lake
- Damage boundary marked on each face
- Sheathing replaced back to firm wood
- Step or L flashing where the chase meets shingles
- Cover replacement listed as its own line
What goes on inside a chase repair in Clear Lake
A chase that hangs off the wall on a framed floor
A cantilevered chase never reaches the ground. It sticks out from the house wall at fireplace height or higher, sitting on a small framed floor with a soffit panel underneath. From below it looks like a narrow bay built around the chimney.
That floor and soffit belong to the chase. Water running down inside the box collects on the floor framing, and a sagging soffit or a stained underside panel is often the first sign. Rot there can spread to the joists that tie the small floor back to the house wall, so the floor gets probed along with the walls.
When we open a cantilevered chase, the floor joists, the soffit and the connection to the house wall get checked together. Your estimate lists the soffit and any floor framing as their own items. The soffit panels usually come down first, since they show the floor framing from below without opening the walls.
Brick veneer around a metal chimney
Some chases are faced with brick or stone veneer, so the chimney looks like masonry from the street. Inside, it is still a framed box around a metal chimney pipe, with the veneer tied back to the framing.
R703.8 of the Florida Building Code generally limits anchored stone and masonry veneer over wood framing to the first story above grade plane, and it lists exceptions. When a veneer chase is rebuilt, the height of veneer on wood framing is one of the first things we check against the code.
Repairs to a veneer chase cover both the masonry face and the framing behind it. Our crew checks the ties, the flashing at the base of the veneer and the wood behind, and the estimate separates veneer work from framing work. Any veneer that has pulled away from the framing is taken down and relaid on sound ties.
Coordinating chase repair with a roofer
The bottom of a roof chase is where two trades meet. The roofer owns the shingles, tile or metal and the underlayment. The chase repair owns the framing, sheathing, barrier and siding. Flashing sits in between, and it is easy for each side to assume the other one handled it.
If you are getting a new roof, that is the easiest time to repair the chase base, since the old roofing is off and the flashing is being replaced anyway. If the roof is staying, the flashing is reworked with care so the roofing around it is not disturbed.
Our crew talks to your roofer before either of us starts. The written estimate says who replaces which flashing pieces and in what order. Homeowners in Clear Lake end up with one sheet that shows who owns each piece of the leak path.
Old patch jobs that hide rot
Many chases have been patched before. Caulk smeared over split siding, roofing tar along the base, a coat of paint over soft wood or a strip of trim nailed over a gap can all hide damage for a while. Some of these fixes went on quickly after a storm, and others were left by a previous owner.
The patch often traps water and makes the rot behind it worse. Tar at the base can block the drainage path, and a trim strip over a split can hold water against the board.
Our technicians look closely at old repairs and probe around them. When a patch is hiding soft wood, we take it off and repair what is behind it. Each old patch we plan to remove gets its own line on your Clear Lake estimate. If an old patch is sound and covers sound wood, it can stay.
Other work in Clear Lake
-
-
-
-
-
Before you book chase repair in Clear Lake
What happens to the chimney pipe while you work on the chase?
The pipe stays in place and is protected while the framing around it is replaced. Our crew keeps the listed air space clear and puts firestops, shields and supports back where the chimney maker's instructions call for them.
How long will my chase be open to the weather?
That depends on how much of the wall comes off and on curing time if the finish is stucco. We give you the plan at the start, and any open section is covered before the crew leaves each day.
Request your free estimate
Share the job details and arrange a free inspection with our local team.
- Free inspection
- No hidden fees
- Family owned and operated
Need an answer now? Call (352) 675-6376
Your request is received
Thank you. We will contact you to discuss the job and confirm an appointment.