Your chimney chase repair crew in Lake Holden

Telling a framed chase from a masonry chimney

Plenty of homeowners are not sure which kind of chimney they have, and it changes the whole repair. A masonry chimney is solid brick or block with a flue inside. A framed chase is a wood box around a metal pipe.

If the chimney turns out to be masonry, the job belongs to a different repair, and we tell you so on the spot. Stucco over block is patched as masonry work. Stucco over a framed chase in Lake Holden is part of chase repair, because the wood behind it is what fails. These clues sort it out from the ground.

• Siding or stucco that matches the house walls, with no brick joints
• A flat sheet-metal top instead of a poured concrete crown
• A round metal chimney cap rising from the top instead of a clay flue tile
• A metal firebox with a maker's label inside the fireplace opening

How a failed top sends water down the chase

When the metal top of a chase leaks, the water does not stay at the top. It runs down the inside face of the sheathing, along the studs and onto whatever sits at the bottom of the box, like the roof deck or a framed floor. Some of it can follow the outside of the chimney pipe toward the fireplace.

That is why a leak at the top can show up as rot at the bottom. The wood near the cover may look fine while the base plate has gone soft.

Replacing the cover is a separate job with a separate line. Our part is the wood and finish the water already reached. We trace the path from top to bottom so the repair covers everything that got wet, and not only the spot closest to the leak.

Corrosion-resistant lath under chase stucco

Stucco on a framed chase hangs on expanded metal or woven wire lath fastened through the barrier into the framing. Under R703.7.1, lath and its attachments have to be corrosion resistant. The lath is what holds the whole stucco skin to the chase.

When lath rusts, the stucco can lose its grip. You may see rust bleeding through the finish, cracks that follow the lath lines or a panel that bulges away from the wall. Once the lath is badly rusted, patching the surface does not bring the hold back. Rusty lath often shows first at the base and around the top, where water sits longest.

Our crew cuts back to lath that is still sound. New lath and fasteners are corrosion resistant and lapped into the old at the edges. The estimate states how much lath is being replaced, so you can compare it with the area of stucco coming off.

Gutters and valleys that dump water on a chase

Roof water does not always land where it should. A valley that ends beside a chase, a gutter that overflows onto a lower roof next to it or a downspout that empties at its base can pour far more water on one face of the chase than rain alone.

That extra water finds the flashing and siding joints first. A chase that sits in a heavy run of roof water can rot at the base while its other faces stay dry. Splash marks, dirt lines and worn paint low on one face are the clues that point to it.

Our crew looks at where the roof sends water around your chase. Where a valley or gutter is the problem, we suggest changes like a diverter or a moved downspout and coordinate with your roofer or gutter installer. The chase repair is priced on its own line.