Chimney repairs in Folkestone

Pointing is the face of mortar in the joints between the bricks. On a chimney it takes rain and wind from every side, with nothing above to shelter it, so over the years it erodes back from the brick face, cracks, and in places drops out. Once the joints are open, rain soaks into the brickwork instead of running off it, and frost works on those wet joints through the winter.

From the ground you may spot recessed joints, sand and grit on the roof below the stack, or plants growing out of the brickwork; a pair of binoculars from the garden shows more than you might expect. Up close we check how deep the decay goes, whether the bricks themselves are sound, and whether the top courses have loosened.

Where the bricks are firm and only the joints have worn, the stack needs repointing: the old mortar is raked out to sound material, and the joints are refilled and finished so they shed water. We choose a mortar to suit the brick, and the quote names it. Our guide to chimney repointing goes through the stages.

Some faults go deeper than the mortar. Bricks whose faces have flaked away, known as spalling, can be cut out and replaced one by one with a close match, provided the rest of the stack is firm. A stack that leans, or has a crack running through several courses, is another job altogether: fresh pointing would only fill the gaps in brickwork that has already moved, so the whole stack gets examined before we give a verdict.

Repointing is work at height, above the ridge line, done from a scaffold. That is one reason to treat all four faces on the same visit. Wear need not be even across a stack: the face that takes the weather can be open while the sheltered side is still tight, and the quote reflects what each face needs. If bricks have already fallen after high winds, making the stack safe comes first, and our emergency roof repairs page explains that step.

Flaunching and pots are tied together. A pot cannot be lifted out without breaking the flaunching round it, and new flaunching cannot be shaped properly round a pot that is cracked or loose. So when we remake the top of a stack, we look at each pot as well: whether it is sound, whether its flue is still in use, and whether it needs a cap, a cowl or a guard. Doing both together means the top of the stack is opened once, not twice.

The top course of bricks matters too. If those bricks are loose or flaking, new flaunching laid over them has nothing firm to hold on to, so they are rebedded or replaced first, and the new collar of mortar goes onto brickwork that will carry it. We also check the top edge, where the flaunching meets the outer face of the brick, because a crack along that line lets rain run down inside the outer course.

Damp on a chimney breast shows as brown or yellow staining, peeling paint or paper, or plaster that feels cold and soft. It can turn up in a bedroom, on the ceiling beside the stack, or on the bare brickwork in the loft. Where it appears is a clue but not an answer, because water that gets into a stack can travel a long way down before it shows.

So we work from the outside in. A stain that follows the line of the roof slope points to the flashings or the soakers. Damp high on the breast, in the loft or the top floor, with nothing wrong at the roofline, points to the top of the stack: cracked flaunching, an open pot or a flue left uncapped. Damp spread across the face of the breast after driving rain can mean the brickwork itself is soaking it up through open joints or flaked bricks.

From the loft we look at the brickwork where the stack passes through the roof, and at the timbers beside it. From the scaffold we check each part in turn. Our guide to a damp chimney breast goes further into the signs.

Not every wet patch near a chimney comes from the chimney. A slipped slate or tile just above the stack, or a back gutter choked with leaves, can put water in exactly the same spot. That is why the tracing comes first: the fix for a blocked back gutter is a clear-out, the fix for perished lead is new lead, and you should only pay for the one your roof needs.

If the leak turns out to be the roof rather than the chimney, the repair sits with the slates or tiles around the stack, and we tell you that plainly, with the reason, before any work is booked. Once the way in is closed, give the breast time to dry out before it is replastered or painted, so the new finish goes onto a dry wall. Where the cause is still in doubt once the plain faults are ruled out, running water over one part of the roof at a time while someone watches inside can settle it.