Chimney repair for homes in Windhover

Loose stones on a stone veneer chimney

Some stone chimneys are built of solid stone, while others carry the stone as a veneer, one outer layer set against a framed or block chimney behind it. A stone that rocks, drops or shows an open joint around its edge has lost its bond to that backing.

Where masonry veneers a frame chimney, the Florida Building Code requires through-flashing and weep holes so water that gets behind the stone can drain back out. A veneer built without them, or with them buried in mortar, has no way to shed that water.

Our stone chimney repair service chooses between resetting stones and taking down a section. On your Windhover home the estimate names the stones or courses involved and which of these applies.

• A few loose stones on sound, dry backing are reset
• Wet or soft backing behind the stone is repaired first
• Missing flashing at the base means rebuilding that course
• Wide movement across the face points to a section rebuild

Decorative shrouds on a factory-built chimney top

A shroud is a decorative metal housing set over the top of a chimney to hide the cap and pipe. On a factory-built chimney, the Florida Building Code allows one only where it is listed and labeled for that specific chimney system and installed per the maker's instructions.

The top of a factory-built chimney is part of what was tested. A shroud that encloses the cap can change conditions at the outlet, and the code ties it to the system's own listing. A catalog shroud can look right and still sit outside it.

If a shroud is already in place, the details below show whether it was made for your system. A listed one is repaired or replaced with the listed part. An unlisted one comes off, and the estimate shows the cap or listed shroud that replaces it.

• The maker and model on the chimney label
• A matching listing for the shroud itself
• An install that follows the shroud maker's instructions

The smoke chamber above the damper

Above the damper of a masonry fireplace, the opening narrows into the flue through a sloped space called the smoke chamber. The Florida Building Code has its walls built of solid masonry, with the inside surface parged smooth with refractory mortar.

Some chambers were left rough, with stepped brick that catches soot, and in others the parging has cracked and fallen away. Mortar crumbs on the smoke shelf, a chamber that stays black and crusted after sweeping and open gaps between bricks are the findings that point to repair.

Our smoke chamber repair service cleans the chamber, fills the voids and parges the walls smooth with refractory mortar. That work is written as its own line, separate from the damper and the flue above it, so you can see what each part of the fireplace needs.

When the 24/7 emergency line makes sense

Our 24/7 emergency line is for chimney problems that cannot wait for a regular visit. A section of masonry that has fallen or is about to, water pouring in around the chimney or a chimney struck by a falling limb all qualify.

Fire and smoke are a different matter. If there is a fire in the chimney or smoke filling the room, get everyone out and call 911 first. The fire department comes before any chimney company, and the chimney is looked at only once they say the house is safe.

When you reach the line, describe what happened, where it is on the house and whether anything is still coming down or coming in, so the visit to your Windhover home can start at the right spot. In the meantime, keep everyone away from it and stay off the roof.