Natural and cultured stone chimney repair in West Colonial

Metal lath and how it is fastened

Lath gives the scratch coat something to grip. The instructions we follow call for lath installed to ASTM C1063, typically with corrosion-resistant fasteners every 6 inches vertically and 16 inches horizontally into framing, and self-furred so mortar can wrap behind it.

When we open failed veneer, lath tells a story. Rusted, loose or poorly fastened lath explains stones that pull away in sheets. We replace damaged lath before building the backing back up, and we note the fastening in the findings.

When moisture is forced through the stone

The brief explains that masonry deterioration from deposits left by evaporating water happens when the mortar is less permeable than the masonry unit. Moisture that cannot leave through the joints leaves through the stone, and the minerals it carries can damage the stone face as they are left behind.

Flaking stone next to hard, gray patching is a pattern we look for. The repair is to remove the hard mortar, repoint with a compatible mix and replace any units too damaged to keep.

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

Stone chimney notes in a home inspection

Home inspection reports sometimes note loose stones, open joints, hollow veneer or missing drainage at the base of a stone chimney and recommend further evaluation.

We inspect the chimney, explain what each note means for that chimney and put the repair options and prices in writing. Buyers and sellers can read the same scope, which makes the conversation between them easier.

Family-owned stone repair, start to finish

Our business is family owned and locally owned. Whoever inspects your chimney works for the same family that does the repair, with no call center or distant head office in between.

That shows up in small ways, such as tarps down before the first chisel, mortar samples shown before the full batch and a phone call answered when you have a question weeks later.