Chimney Repairs & Rebuilds Kent

When a stack needs rebuilding rather than repairing

If the mortar joints have eroded back but the brick faces are sound, repointing the stack and renewing the flaunching will usually see it right. Once the brickwork itself is spalling, the stack is leaning, or courses have started to move, the honest answer is a rebuild from a sound course upwards.

We take the stack down carefully, salvaging brick where it is worth salvaging, and rebuild in matched brick with the flue liners and the stack geometry as they were. Where the original brick is beyond reuse we source the closest match rather than putting a modern brick on a period roofline.

Flaunching, pots and the top of the stack

The flaunching is the sloped mortar bed on top of the stack that holds the pots and throws water off. It is a sacrificial detail, it cracks with age and thermal movement, and once water is getting past it the stack saturates from the top down. Renewing flaunching is a small job that prevents a large one.

We renew or replace pots as needed, and fit cowls or caps where a flue is disused and you want to keep rain and birds out while keeping the stack ventilated. Sealing a disused flue completely without ventilation is a good way to get damp in the chimney breast.

Flashings — where most chimney leaks actually come from

A great many "chimney leaks" are not the brickwork at all but failed flashings at the roof junction. Cement fillets crack, old lead splits or lifts, and the back gutter behind the stack silts up and holds water.

We form proper lead flashings — front apron, stepped side flashings with soakers, and a back gutter — dressed and chased into the brickwork joints rather than smeared over with mortar. It is the detail that keeps the roof dry, and it is worth doing at the same time as any stack work while access is already in place.

What this covers

Full and partial stack rebuilds
New flaunching and pot replacement
Stack repointing in matched mortar
Lead flashings, soakers and back gutters

Where we do this work

We carry out chimney repairs & rebuilds throughout Kent — Maidstone, Staplehurst, Marden, Paddock Wood, Cranbrook, Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks, Ashford, Canterbury and Dartford — and travel into Essex, London and Surrey. See the full list of areas we cover, or send us a postcode and we will confirm.

Common questions

Chimney Repairs & Rebuilds — your questions answered

How do I know if my chimney needs work?

Common signs are damp staining on the chimney breast inside, mortar or brick fragments in the gutter below the stack, visible cracking in the flaunching at the top, a stack that looks out of plumb, or vegetation growing out of the joints. From the ground, a pair of binoculars will tell you a lot.

Do you provide access and scaffolding?

Chimney work needs safe access, and on most stacks that means scaffolding rather than ladders. We arrange access as part of the job and will make it clear in the quote what is included, since it is a meaningful part of the cost on any chimney project.

Can you take a chimney down completely?

Yes, we remove redundant stacks and make the roof good afterwards. Removing a stack can have structural implications for the chimney breast below and for the roof, so it needs thinking through before work starts — and building regulations approval is normally required.

Do you cap disused chimneys?

Yes. The important thing is to keep the flue ventilated while keeping rain and birds out — a vented cowl or a capping pot rather than a solid seal. A completely sealed flue traps moisture and shows up as damp on the chimney breast inside.

Recent work