Family-owned chimney repair serving North Quarter

Offsets and corbeled sections in a chimney

Not every chimney rises in a straight line. Some step out from a wall or jog sideways partway up, built by corbeling, where each course of brick projects a little past the one below. The Florida Building Code limits how far a chimney may be corbeled from a wall or foundation and how far any single course may project.

It limits offsets as well. In a chimney with a clay flue liner and one wythe of masonry around it, the center of the flue above an offset may not extend beyond the center of the chimney wall below, unless approved masonry support sits under the offset.

Because the code limits both, cracks at a corbel or an offset get a closer look than cracks in a straight run. When cracks show there, the estimate says whether the section is sound enough to repair or has to be rebuilt.

Checking the chimney after a fallen limb or strong wind

A branch that lands on the roof, or wind strong enough to move patio furniture, can reach the chimney too. The damage is not always obvious from the doorstep, and the roof is no place to go looking. Debris can also drop into an open flue. The yard and an upstairs window show a lot.

Keep people clear of the area below any loose pieces and leave the fireplace unused if the top looks damaged. Our crew checks the chimney from the roof and down the flue, and the written estimate covers the damage that is really there, not a list of guesses. Before the visit, note any of these from the ground.

• A cap or chase top that sits tilted or is gone
• Brick, stone or stucco pieces on the roof or the ground
• Flashing lifted or bent where the chimney meets the roof
• A branch still resting against the chimney

Workmanship warranty and 100% satisfaction

Approved repairs are backed by our workmanship warranty, and every job carries our 100% satisfaction guarantee. Those promises mean the most when the work itself is clear, so they sit on top of a written estimate that names each repair.

A clear scope protects both sides. If the estimate says the crown is replaced, the counterflashing is reset into the mortar joints and two courses of brick are rebuilt, you know exactly which work is ours and what was done to your chimney.

Some limits are honest to state up front. A repair to one part of a chimney does not make the rest of it new, and parts left in place are listed as left in place. Homeowners in North Quarter can ask about the warranty when they review the estimate, and ask again about anything that is not clear.

What a finished repair should show you

When the job is done, you get a written record of the work we did, and you should be able to understand it without climbing onto the roof. Each line on it names a part and a repair, and each one should match something you can see or have explained to you.

Some results take time to show, like mortar color that evens out as it dries. When the job calls for it, a leak repair is checked with a water test from a hose.

Keep the record with the house paperwork and look at the repaired area from the ground now and then. If a line does not match what you see, ask us about it. Depending on the job, results like these should be easy to confirm.

• New or rebuilt masonry visible from the yard or a window
• Counterflashing set into the joints, not glued to the face
• A damper or cleanout door that opens and closes by hand
• A clear answer on when the fireplace can be used again