Chimney crown repair and sealing in Windermere
Our family-owned team repairs chimney crowns in Windermere and across Orange County. Free inspection and 10% off the job you book within 72 hours after it.
- Licensed & insured
- Locally run
- Family owned and operated
- Same-day service available
What your crown estimate covers in Windermere
- Crack mapping across the whole crown surface
- Bond break and sealant joint at each flue
- Removal of failed coatings, tar or caulk
- Roof protection below the work area
Chimney crown repair, explained for Windermere homeowners
Thin mortar washes that pass for crowns
Many chimneys were topped with a mortar wash, a thin layer of mortar troweled over the top bricks and feathered to nothing at the edges. It looks like a crown from below, but it has no overhang, no drip and often very little slope. Heat and rain break it into plates that lift and let water underneath.
Brick Industry Association guidance cautions against tapering a cap to a thin edge. When our crew finds a mortar wash, we usually recommend removing it and casting a proper crown. The free inspection shows how far gone yours is before you decide anything.
Taking off a mortar wash is usually quick work, since the layer is thin and already loose. What sits underneath tells the rest of the story. If the top bricks are sound, a new crown can go straight on. If they are loose, they get relaid first, and the estimate shows that as its own line.
Reinforcing steel inside a new crown
Steel set inside a crown holds the concrete together as it cures and as it heats and cools through the seasons. Brick Industry Association guidance recommends reinforcement to control shrinkage and thermal cracking, with extra steel in the overhang, where the crown is most exposed.
Our crew places the reinforcement inside the forms so it ends up surrounded by concrete, well back from the surface. Steel sitting too close to the top rusts and splits the crown. It is a detail you cannot see after the pour, so we explain it beforehand.
Reinforcement matters most on larger crowns and on crowns with a generous overhang, where the concrete reaches further past the brick. Our crew sizes and places it to suit the crown being built, and the written estimate describes what goes inside as well as what shows.
Crown leaks versus flashing leaks
Flashing seals the joint where the chimney passes through the roof, and the crown seals the top. A leak at either spot can end up inside, but they usually show in different places. Flashing leaks tend to stain the ceiling or wall beside the chimney, while crown leaks show inside the flue or firebox.
Brick Industry Association guidance treats chimney flashing and the chimney top as separate details, and so do we. Our technicians check both and tell you which one is leaking. If both are, you see both on the estimate with their own prices.
Sometimes the answer is both, and the order matters. The crown usually gets fixed first because it sits at the top, and water from it can confuse any test of the flashing. Once the top is dry, a remaining leak points clearly at the roof joint.
Crown sealers versus brick water repellents
Crown coatings and brick water repellents are different products. A crown coating forms a flexible film over the concrete top, while a masonry water repellent soaks into the brick face and leaves it able to breathe.
Brick Industry Association guidance on clear coatings stresses letting masonry release moisture. Using the wrong product in the wrong place can trap water, so our technicians match the product to the surface and the estimate names each one.
The crown also needs a surface that sheds water without trapping any underneath. Our technicians check that the product suits the crown's condition, and we explain how the surface should look and behave once it cures.
Other work in Windermere
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Before you book crown repair in Windermere
Is the crown the same thing as the chimney cap?
No. The crown is the concrete slab poured over the masonry at the top, around the flue, while the cap is the screened metal cover that shields the flue opening itself. Many chimneys need work on only one of them. Your written estimate lists each part separately.
Will your crew walk on my roof, and how do you protect it?
Yes, our crew handles all the roof access. We plan the path, lay protection under the work area and carry the old concrete down by hand. Before leaving, we clean the roof, the gutters near the chimney and the yard.
Request your free estimate
Share the job details and arrange a free inspection with our local team.
- Free inspection
- No hidden fees
- Family owned and operated
Need an answer now? Call (352) 675-6376
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