Chimney repair in Lafayette.

1. Crowns.

   The crown is a concrete cap poured over the top of the masonry. It throws water off the brick and the flue, and it takes the worst a Lafayette winter offers: frost at night, thaw by noon, frost again.

   Water in a hairline crack swells by about 9% as it freezes, so the crack grows with every cycle. Seal a hairline crack while it is still small. A crown that has crumbled or separated from the flue tile needs to be rebuilt.

   

2. Caps and spark screens.

   A cap stops rain, snow, birds and squirrels at the top of the flue. The screen in it is the spark arrestor, and the model International Residential Code (R1003.9.2, 2021 edition) gives it openings of 3/8 to 1/2 inch.

   Wind is a cap's other enemy. On December 30, 2021 the National Weather Service recorded a 68 mph gust in Louisville, next to Lafayette; strong wind loosens fasteners and tears screens long before a cap comes off.

   

3. Flashing at the roofline.

   Flashing closes the gap where the chimney passes through the roof. Snow banks on the uphill side and melts slowly, exactly where a lifted edge or tired sealant lets water in. The earliest clue is usually a stain on a ceiling or in the attic, next to the chimney rather than on it.

   

4. Mortar joints and brick.

   Mortar is the sacrificial part: it should wear before the brick does. When the joints open, water reaches behind the brick face and frost pops it off in flakes, which is called spalling.

   Tuckpointing puts fresh mortar into worn joints before the bricks work loose. Any brick that has flaked or cracked right through is cut out and replaced.

5. Firebox.

   Firebrick and refractory mortar take the heat of the fire directly. Open joints and cracked brick let that heat through to whatever sits behind the firebox, so small repairs here protect the framing around the fireplace.

   

6. Flue liners.

   The liner carries smoke and heat up through the middle of the chimney. A cracked or shifted tile can pass heat to the framing and let gases into the house, yet it is seldom visible from the firebox or the roof. It comes to light in the camera scan of the flue that is part of a Level 2 inspection.

   

7. Framed chases and their covers.

   Some chimneys are framed boxes finished like the rest of the house rather than brick, and they end in a metal chase cover. If that cover rusts or sags, water collects on it and trickles down the inside of the chase. Keep the cover shedding water and put a cap and screen on the flue, and the interior stays dry.

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