Fireplace & Chimney Repairs
We perform many repairs to fireplaces and chimneys:
- Reconstructing crowns on top of chimney
- Rebuild fireboxes
- Replacing damaged dampers
- Replacing damaged flue liners
- Solving water leaks
- Replacing rusted and damaged prefabricated fireboxes and flues
- Remove damaged brick and re-point mortar joints
- Repairing and replacing chimney flashing
Craftsman Masonry is a brick repair and waterproofing company that does chimney and fireplace repairs. Note: We are not a chimney sweep company. 25% of our chimney repairs are fixing roofer’s and chimney company’s quick fixes. We only offer long term repairs.
WE DO NOT SELL FIREPLACE EQUIPMENT OR MATERIALS.
All our fireplace repairs are completed by a master bricklayer. We only provide long -term solutions to your problems. No “quick fixes” or “band-aids”. We strive for permanent solutions.
We do not utilize caulking in mortar joints, sealers or crown coats. 25% of the fireplace and chimney repairs we undertake annually are to correct previously attempted repairs by a chimney company or roofers.
Chimney Repair
We power washed chimney repointed all mortar joints. Replaced damaged bricks. Replaced crown and crown supports. Extended flue liner. Installed stainless steel chimney cap and flashing.
Crown Repair
League City, Texas
This is an example of the flue tile being too low and allowing rain to enter the chimney.
The crown had deteriorated and cracked. The flue liner needs to be extended and the crown resurfaced with a high strength special concrete sloped to shed water. The extended flue liner will allow use of a standard chimney cap. If this is not repaired, it will eventually rust the damper and replacement will be necessary and very expensive. This is one of our most common repairs.
Flue Needs Extending
Damaged Crown
Replacing Crown
Crown replacement, another common repair, was necessary because original construction utilized re-bar in the masonry to support the crown until it dried (in other cases, wood was used). Over time, the rusted re-bar expanded and cracked the brickwork, allowing moisture to penetrate the chimney. We installed galvanized angle irons and concrete block to support the crown. This is a permanent solution to the problem.
Rebars were used to support crown. They have rusted and cracked brick.
Removed crown, repaired brick, installed galvanized angel iron supports
Installed concrete block around flue liners and on top of crown supports
Constructed a concrete crown sloped to shed water installed stainless steel chimney cap
Damaged Crown, Failed Mortar Joints and Flashing
Poured in Place Crown
Damper cap are used when the damper is rusted and damaged or the fire place never had a damper. This closes off flue by a control cable and bracket mounted on the side wall of fire box.
Damaged Crown, Failed Mortar Joints and Flashing
Repairing Chimney After Lighting Strike
Friendswood, Texas
This is an example of cracked flue tiles. One of the main reasons for cracking was due to a lack of fill brick around flue tiles (not up to current building codes). Slight movement will get the flue tiles out of alignment. If flue tiles are cracked or broken, fire and smoke are able to fill the interior cavity of the chimney, causing a potential fire hazard. Repair work included sealing new flue tiles with 4” concrete block and brick around the flue tiles.
Chimney After Lightning Strike
Close Up Of Damaged Chimney
After Repair
Stainless Pre-fab Fireplace Cover
Replacing Damaged Flue Tile
Pearland, Texas
This is an example of cracked flue tiles. One of the main reasons for cracking was due to a lack of fill brick around flue tiles (not up to current building codes). Slight movement will get the flue tiles out of alignment. If flue tiles are cracked or broken, fire and smoke are able to fill the interior cavity of the chimney, causing a potential fire hazard. Repair work included sealing new flue tiles with 4” concrete block and brick around the flue tiles.
Cracked Flue Is Not Evident
After Exposing, the Damage is Evident
Replacing Cracked Flue and Rebuilding
Finished Job
Repairing a Lightning Strike
League City, Texas
This custom chimney was struck by lightning. We re-built the chimney and created a custom concrete cap to match.
After Lightning Strike, Before Repair
Close Up View of Damage
Rebuilding the Chimney
Finished Job
Renovating Historic Fireplace
Galveston, Texas
This historic home had a deteriorated firebox. We completely re-built and modified the firebox to allow wood burning throughout.
Beginning the Repair Job
Finished Job
The Wrong Mortar?
When masonry fireplaces are built, many masons use the same mortar on the crown as they use to lay the bricks. Even when this technique is done correctly, it only lasts about 10 years.
Ordinary mortar cannot stand up to the rain and weather. When the crown fails and moisture starts infiltrating the chimney, we remove the existing mortar and rebuild the crown using high-strength concrete with fiberglass reinforcing and a special adhesive and then slope it to shed water.
Flue Liners and Chimney Caps
About 50% of our repair jobs, we find that the flue liner is not high enough to have a standard chimney cap bolted on. In those cases we extend the flue liners up so a standard chimney cap can be bolted on.
Approximately 20% of the time – especially on larger chimneys – when we remove the crown we find plywood or rebar was used to support the crown until it dried. As moisture leaks through the crown it rots the wood or rusts the rebar and it expands causing the brickwork to crack and sometimes allows the crown to fall into the cavity of the chimney.
When we repair the top of the chimney we build an interior support for the crown using galvanized angle iron and concrete blocks underneath it. Then we repair the brickwork as needed.