Family-owned chimney chase repair in Robinswood

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 Robinswood 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

The ventilation gap at the chase top stays open

Some chimney systems need air to move around the pipe at the top of the chase. DuraVent's chase top flashing, for example, leaves a ventilation opening around the pipe and sits on spacers above the chase framing. Other systems use different parts at the top, which is why we read the instructions for the one in your chase.

A repair that seals that gap with caulk, foam or a tight wood block works against the design. It blocks the ventilation air that the manual says the opening is there to provide, right where the framing is closest to the pipe.

When our crew rebuilds the top framing, we leave the openings and spacers the chimney maker calls for. If an earlier repair sealed them, we note it and open them back up. The cover itself is a separate job, and whoever fits it has to respect the same gaps.

Wood or gas, the chase shell is the same job

A chase can enclose the chimney for a wood-burning fireplace or the vent pipe for a gas unit. The pipe inside can be a different listed product in each case, with its own instructions, but the shell around it is the same framed wall with the same water problems.

What changes is what we check inside. The clearances, supports and top details come from the listed product in your chase, not from a general rule that fits every fireplace. A chase around a gas vent can still rot at the base, split at the siding joints and leak at the top, just like one around a wood-burning chimney.

Our crew identifies the product before planning the repair and keeps its instructions in front of us. The siding, sheathing and framing repair is priced the same way for either fuel. If the fireplace itself needs service, that is a separate visit on a separate estimate.

Coordinating chase repair with a roofer

The bottom of a roof chase is where two trades meet. The roofer owns the shingles, tile or metal and the underlayment. The chase repair owns the framing, sheathing, barrier and siding. Flashing sits in between, and it is easy for each side to assume the other one handled it.

If you are getting a new roof, that is the easiest time to repair the chase base, since the old roofing is off and the flashing is being replaced anyway. If the roof is staying, the flashing is reworked with care so the roofing around it is not disturbed.

Our crew talks to your roofer before either of us starts. The written estimate says who replaces which flashing pieces and in what order. Homeowners in Robinswood end up with one sheet that shows who owns each piece of the leak path.