Chimney repair from the cap to the firebox in Keene's Pointe

Counterflashing set into the mortar joint

How the top edge of the counterflashing is held decides how long it stays tight. BIA guidance sets its edge 3/4 to 1 inch deep in a mortar joint, mortared in solid, so the metal is locked into the masonry itself.

One shortcut is a strip of metal fastened to the face of the brick with a bead of caulk along its top edge. A surface-mounted strip depends entirely on that bead. Once the caulk cracks or pulls away from the brick, water runs down behind the metal and into the very joint it was meant to protect.

Cutting the joint, setting the metal and mortaring it back in takes more time than a caulked strip. It is the detail we price on flashing jobs. The estimate says whether the counterflashing will be set into the joint and which joints are cut and remortared.

Worn mortar joints let water in

Mortar joints are often where water gets into a brick chimney. BIA maintenance guidance says moisture may penetrate brick masonry through unbonded, cracked or deteriorated joints, and it lists the conditions that call for repointing.

Light scraping with a metal tool and a close look show where mortar has gone soft. The same guidance calls repointing, sometimes known as tuckpointing, one of the most effective ways to reduce moisture penetration, and it advises repointing all the joints in the affected wall area, since it can be hard to tell which joints are letting water through.

Worn joints on homes in Keene's Pointe are routed to our chimney tuckpointing service. The estimate marks each wall area to be repointed.

• Mortar eroded back from the brick face
• Mortar that crumbles or has voids
• Hairline cracks in the mortar
• Cracks between the brick and the mortar

Repointing to a uniform depth

Repointing is not a smear of fresh mortar over old joints. BIA maintenance guidance describes it as removing damaged or deteriorated mortar to a uniform depth and placing new mortar in the joint, packed in thin layers and tooled to match the original profile.

Depth is the step that gets skipped. The old mortar is cut back until sound mortar is reached, the brick edges are protected from chipping and thin slivers left on the brick are removed so the new mortar can bond. BIA warns that power tools can damage the surrounding brick and that repointing should be done only by qualified, experienced craftspeople.

A thin skim over soft mortar has little sound material to bond to. The estimate describes how the old mortar comes out and to what depth, which makes it easy to compare with a quote that just says repoint.

Cracks in a stucco chimney finish

A crack in stucco is a break in the outer skin, and the real question is what sits behind it. On a framed chimney, the Florida Building Code puts a water-resistive barrier behind the plaster. Over wood-based sheathing that barrier is normally two separate layers, with flashing directed between them so water that gets in has a way to drain.

Caulking a crack from outside can look tidy for a season. If water has already reached the barrier or the sheathing, the bead just seals it in. Brown streaks below the crack, spots that give when pressed and paint that bubbles can mean the damage runs deeper than the finish.

That is the decision our stucco chimney repair service makes first. When the layers behind are sound, the crack is cut out and patched in coats that match the wall. When they are not, the section is opened, the barrier and flashing are rebuilt and the plaster goes back on. The estimate states which case applies.