Chimney chase repair with a written estimate in North Quarter

The seam where the chase meets the house

A chase built against the house has a long vertical seam where its side walls meet the house wall. The house siding, the chase siding and the barrier behind each of them all have to overlap in the right order. When they do not, water runs into the seam and down into both walls.

Typical signs are swollen siding along that seam, paint that peels in a vertical line and staining inside the house near the fireplace wall. The seam can also leak where the house roof or a gutter meets the chase.

We open the seam far enough to see how the barrier layers were joined. If the house wall is damaged too, we show you where it stops and list it separately. The estimate covers the chase side and names any house-wall work, so there are no surprises at your North Quarter home. Until the seam is closed, both sides stay sheeted against rain.

A written estimate that names every layer

A chase repair quote that only says repair chase leaves too much open. Our written estimates break the job into the layers of the wall, so you can see what is being replaced and why.

Each line carries its own price. If the cover needs replacing, it appears as a separate job, and so does any roofing a roofer handles. That makes it easy to compare quotes on the same work and to see what the repair includes at your North Quarter address.

A stucco finish is broken out into barrier layers, lath and coats instead of a single stucco line. Access, protection and cleanup are listed too, so the total has nothing tucked inside it. A typical estimate covers these lines.

• Siding, stucco or trim, by face and area
• Water-resistive barrier and flashing
• Sheathing and framing, with the expected extent
• Cover replacement or roofing as separate lines

Listed chimney parts only, never a mix

A factory-built chimney is a tested system. Under R1005.1 of the Florida Building Code, factory-built chimneys are listed, labeled, and installed and terminated per the maker's instructions. DuraVent's manual, as one example, says to use only its own listed parts, not to mix parts from other products and not to improvise.

Chase repairs are where improvising tends to creep in. A missing shield replaced with a scrap of sheet metal, a support hung from strapping it was never designed for or a pipe section from another brand all take the system outside its listing.

Our technicians match any replaced part to the chimney's maker and model. If a part is no longer made, we tell you what the maker offers instead before going ahead. You get the part names in writing for your North Quarter home.

Two chimney pipes sharing one chase

Some chases hold two chimney pipes, for two fireplaces stacked on different floors or set side by side. Each pipe is its own chimney. One maker's manual, DuraVent's for DuraChimney II, says to connect only one fireplace per chimney, and each pipe keeps its own listed clearance.

A wide two-pipe chase has a bigger top, longer walls and may need a cricket behind it. More pipe also means more firestops, shields and supports to check while the chase is open. The top framing of a two-pipe chase also carries two sets of shields and openings, so rot up there has more to disturb when it is repaired.

Both chimneys get checked, including the one tied to a fireplace you seldom use. The estimate for your North Quarter home lists work for each pipe separately, and shared items, like framing and siding, are priced only once.