Honest chimney chase repair for Florida Center North homes

Where water gets into a framed chase

Rot inside a chase traces back to a water path. Finding every path matters more than the size of the stain, because a repair that closes one route and leaves another open will be wet again after the next hard rain.

Each path gets checked during the free inspection on your Florida Center North home, and each one gets its own note in the written estimate. That way you can see which line closes the leak and which line repairs the damage the water caused. Wind direction matters too, since the face that takes the weather tends to leak first. These are the routes our technicians trace.

• A failed metal cover that lets rain run down the inside
• Open butt joints and split boards on the walls
• Gaps at corner boards, trim and the seam with the house
• Roof-line flashing that is missing, bent or lapped backwards

Rot at the base where the chase meets the roof

The bottom of a roof-mounted chase is where rot tends to collect. Water running down the chase walls, water that got past the top and water splashing off the roof all end up there. The bottom plate and the lower ends of the studs stay wet longest.

Siding that stops too close to the roofing can wick water upward. Flashing that is bent, missing or tucked behind the wrong layer sends water into the wall instead of onto the roof. Leaves and debris trapped on the upslope side keep the base wet even longer.

We remove the lower siding to reach the base plate, probe each stud and look at the roof deck under the chase. Rotted framing is cut back to sound wood and replaced, the flashing is redone, and the siding goes back up held off the roof surface the way its maker directs.

Changing the chase finish to suit the house

A chase repair is a chance to change the finish. Some homeowners swap rotted panel siding for fiber-cement lap, match the chase to a stucco house or trade vinyl for a painted finish. Each change brings its own barrier, flashing and fastening rules.

Going to stucco on a framed chase means the two-layer barrier, corrosion-resistant lath and three coats the code describes. Going to fiber-cement means protected joints and the maker's fastening. The framing underneath has to be flat and sound for either one. Moving from siding to stucco also adds weight and curing time, which the schedule has to allow for.

Our technicians price the like-for-like repair and the change side by side, so you can weigh them. For your Florida Center North home, we also check whether a new finish changes how the cover or the roof flashing meets the chase, and we list any follow-on work.

Rotted roof deck around the chase base

Water that rots the bottom of a roof chase often reaches the roof deck under it. The plywood around the chase opening goes soft, the shingles above it sag, and the rafters or blocking under the chase may be wet too.

The chase sits on that roof framing, so a soft deck is a structural question as well as a roofing one. It also affects how the new chase framing is fastened down, since the base plate needs firm wood under it. Replacing chase siding over a rotted deck leaves both the leak and the weak base in place.

Once the base of a chase in Florida Center North is open, the deck and blocking are checked by hand, and new framing never goes down on soft deck. Deck repair is listed separately, and if your roofer is handling the shingles, we agree on who replaces which pieces before work starts.