Your stone chimney, repaired and repointed in Rose Isle

Handling mortar smears on the stone

Accidental smears and droppings on the face of manufactured stone should be removed only after the mortar has become crumbly, using a whisk broom or dry bristle brush, according to the maker. A wet brush or wire brush is never used, since it can cause staining that may be impossible to remove.

We protect finished stone below the work area and brush smears at the right moment. It is slower than wiping them away wet, and it keeps the face of your stone clean.

A cap that sheds water past the stone

For stone-clad chimney chases, the maker's instructions call for a one-piece cap that extends 1 to 2 inches beyond the finished stone surface, so water drips clear of the stone instead of running down it.

Caps that stop flush with the stone send water straight down the face and into the top joints. When we find that on a chase, the cap goes on the estimate as its own line, next to the stone repair it protects.

Resetting a loose stone

A loose stone comes out carefully, by hand, without prying against its neighbors. The old mortar is cleaned off the stone's back and the bed it came from, down to sound material.

Then the stone goes back with fresh mortar filling the whole bed, pressed in until mortar squeezes out around its edges, and the joints are tooled to match. Before any of that, we find out why it loosened, since a reset over the same water problem will not hold.

• Removed by hand, neighbors protected
• Old mortar cleaned off stone and bed
• Reset with full mortar coverage
• Joints tooled to the existing profile

River rock and rounded stone chimneys

Rounded river rock has little flat surface to rest on, so the mortar does much of the holding. As joints erode, rocks lose their grip and can drop out.

Repairs on rock chimneys mean deep, careful repointing that packs mortar well around each rock and resetting loose ones in fresh mortar. Joint profiles on rock chimneys vary, from recessed to full, and we match the style of your chimney.

A yearly look at a stone chimney

NFPA 211 expects every chimney, fireplace and vent to be inspected yearly at the least. For a stone chimney, that yearly visit covers the flue and the stonework together.

We tap the stones, check the joints and look at the cap, flashing and base each time. Most years the answer is a routine note. The written record helps spot small changes early, before a loose stone becomes a missing one.