Chimney repair in Thornton.
Crowns, caps, flashing, mortar joints, firebrick and liners are mended while the damage is still small, before water and heat enlarge it.
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Photo: Hail Storm Park And Streets I, Eric Johnson, CC BY-SA 3.0
What we repair, from the top down.
Every part of a chimney ages in its own way. These are the usual repairs, with Thornton's weather in the background.
Crowns.
The crown is the concrete slab that finishes the top of the masonry. Rain and melt run off it, away from the brick and the flue, which makes it the most weather-beaten part of the stack.
The Northglenn station normal for January spans a 19.0°F low to a 48.0°F high (NOAA), so water in a hairline crack freezes and wedges it open a little more each cold night. Fine cracks can be sealed. A slab that is crumbling, or that has come loose from the flue lining, has to be torn off and cast anew.
From our Google Business Profile Caps and mesh.
A cap keeps out birds, squirrels, rain and snow, and its mesh is also the spark arrestor. Under the International Residential Code (section R1003.9.2) the mesh openings may be no larger than 1/2 inch.
Hail dents metal caps, wind loosens them and damp rusts them. After a storm, check for dents, loose fasteners, rust along the seams and mesh that has sagged or clogged.
From our Google Business Profile Flashing around the base.
The flashing seals the joint between chimney and roof. Wet snow drains slowly off the uphill side, so a raised edge or a tired bead of sealant tends to leak along that line, and the first sign inside is frequently a brown stain on a ceiling, or on the wall of the attic beside the stack.
From our Google Business Profile Bricks and the joints between them.
Mortar is designed to give out before the brick does. When joints open, water works in behind the face of the brick and every freeze can pop off a flake, a process called spalling.
Tuckpointing means raking out the worn mortar and pressing fresh mortar in before the bricks begin to move. A brick cracked clear through or flaked deeply is cut out and replaced.
From our Google Business Profile Inside the firebox.
Heat and flame bear straight on the firebrick and its mortar. Open joints and split brick let heat pass through toward the framing, so closing a small gap protects the woodwork nearby.
From our Google Business Profile Liner and tiles inside the flue.
The liner carries smoke and heat up and out of the house, from the damper to the cap. If a tile has cracked or slipped, or a metal seam has rusted through, heat can reach the framing and gas the rooms, yet from the roof or the firebox the fault is seldom visible. A camera sent up the flue shows it, and a Level 2 inspection includes one. With 1997 as the median year built, a typical Thornton flue is close to thirty.
From our Google Business Profile
Questions about repairs.
Short answers, with a source named where one exists.
Why do crowns crack?
The crown is the top of the stack, so it endures every freeze and every thaw. Water expands by about 9 percent when it turns to ice, which means a hairline crack that holds melt water grows a bit with each cold night. Repaired early it stays a small job; left alone, it lets moisture into the brick and flue.
Should I worry about water in the fireplace?
Usually, yes. Water on the hearth or a stain on the ceiling near the stack nearly always gets in up high, at the cap, the crown or the flashing, or else through worn mortar joints. An inspection will tell which.
What is tuckpointing?
It means putting fresh mortar into worn joints. Mortar is built to erode ahead of the brick, so worn joints are expected; the trouble starts once they open and water slips behind the face. Doing it early keeps the bricks in place.
Is a cap required on every chimney?
In nearly every case. A bare flue lets in rain, snow, birds and squirrels, and the mesh is what keeps sparks inside. Under the model code (IRC R1003.9.2) its openings may be no wider than 1/2 inch.
Will I know what you intend to do before work starts?
Yes. We open with what we found, working down from the cap to the firebox, and you decide which repairs to make and when.
How do I begin?
Call (720) 964-2146 (Sunday to Saturday, 7 AM until 9 PM); the form below never closes, so you can describe what you noticed whenever it suits you.
Set up your chimney visit.
Use the form to say what looks wrong, or simply phone. A person rings you back to pick a day.
- 1Reach out Call the office, or send a few lines on the form.
- 2A person rings back Someone phones to find a day that suits you.
- 3Cap to firebox The visit works down the chimney in order, the roofline first and the hearth last.
- 4Your call We say what we found, and you decide what comes next.
By form
Any hour, day or night
Photo: Hail Storm Park And Streets I, Eric Johnson, CC BY-SA 3.0
Planning a fire before the first hard freeze, or puzzled by something up on the roof? Ask us.
Our phone line is staffed Sunday to Saturday, 7 AM until 9 PM, and the form never closes.Taking calls now, until Calls resume . Use the form meanwhile.
Book online