Chimney repair in Richmond CA - sound brick up top and water kept out of the house
Loose mortar, flaking brick or a stain on the ceiling by the chimney? We find the right repair and keep the water outside.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- We reply within 1 business day.
Does my chimney need repointing, a new liner or a rebuild?
Chimney repair in Richmond, CA, runs from repointing worn mortar joints to adding a flue liner or rebuilding damaged brick, and done right it leaves your chimney standing on sound brick and keeps water out of your house.
Most calls start with something small, like a crumbly joint you spotted from the yard, a brown ring on the ceiling or a note from your chimney sweep. The price mostly depends on how far the damage goes, because tired mortar on good brick is a much smaller job than flaking or leaning brick that has to come down, and a new liner or new flashing adds work to either one. The schedule depends on how much brick comes off and whether the city wants a permit for your repair, which we check before we start. I'll walk the chimney with you and put all of it in a written estimate, so you have your own number in hand before you decide anything.
How can you tell your chimney needs repair?
Sandy or missing mortar
If you can scrape the joints with a key, or they've sunk back behind the face of the brick, the mortar is worn out. Caught now, it's usually a repointing job, but if you leave it, water works in behind the brick and loosens it, and that's a bigger bill.
Brick flaking or leaning
Brick that's flaking off at the face, which masons call spalling, or a chimney with a crack or a lean you can see from the street, means the brick itself is failing and not just the mortar. That usually means taking the top down to sound brick, and the longer it sits, the more brick comes down with it.
A stain near the chimney
A brown ring on the ceiling or wall beside the chimney usually means water is getting in at the roof joint or through the top. Waiting lets it soak the framing and drywall, and take it from an old carpenter, that turns a masonry fix into a carpentry job too.
Our chimney repair work, from the top down
I start on the roof and look hard at the brick before I quote, because good brick with tired joints is a very different job from brick that's flaking or leaning. I'll show you what I saw up there so you know why I'm suggesting what I am. Once you go ahead, we protect the roof and the plants below and work from the top down. That means grinding out and repointing the joints, taking damaged brick down to where it's sound and laying it back up, fitting a liner if the flue needs one, and resetting the seal where the chimney meets the roof. We finish by cleaning the roof, the gutters and the yard, because mortar crumbs get everywhere.
A worn-out chimney often isn't the only brick on the house that needs attention. If the walls have the same sandy joints, our tuckpointing work picks up where the chimney leaves off, and cracked or loose brick on walls, steps and planters is handled through brick repair.
Repointing tired joints
This is for a chimney whose brick is still hard and whole but whose mortar has gone soft or recessed. We cut out the worn mortar and pack in fresh mortar that suits the old brick, so the two can move together.
Partial rebuild to sound brick
This is for a chimney with flaking, cracked or leaning brick near the top. We take it down to where the brick is solid, lay it back up straight and finish it with a new crown, the sloped cap that sheds water off the top.
Resetting the roof flashing
This is for a chimney that leaks into the house while the brick looks fine. We pull the old seal where the chimney passes through the roof and put in new flashing, so water runs past that joint instead of into it.
Get a written estimate for your chimney
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set up a visit. I'll look the chimney over with you and send a free written estimate, with no pressure and no obligation.
(510) 369-4799- Based in
- Richmond, CA 94804
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call us about your chimney?
From your first call to the last swept gutter, here's how a chimney repair runs with us and who you'll be dealing with at each step.
Call or send the form
You call (510) 369-4799 or fill out the form, and we set up a time for me to come out. Tell us roughly what you've noticed, like a stain, loose brick or a sweep's note, so I know what to look at first.
I walk the chimney with you
I look the chimney over with you from the yard and the roof, then send a written estimate with the repair I'd suggest and the reason for it. You have the scope and the price in writing before you commit to anything.
We take care of the permit
If your repair needs a permit, we handle it and the inspections. Richmond issues most permits that don't need drawings once it receives and checks the documents, and minor like-for-like repairs of worn masonry may be among them.
Our crew works, I stay on
Our own crew does the repair with me on site running it from start to finish. We don't leave until the chimney is done and the roof and yard are cleaned up.
Why Richmond homeowners call Stonework Richmond Concrete and Masonry for chimney repair
The owner comes out himself
I'm the one who comes out, climbs up and walks the job with you, and our own crew does the work with me there to run it. You deal with the same person from the first look to the cleanup.
Working brick and stone since 2013
We've been in business since 2013, and I came to masonry after years of framing houses as a carpenter. That background still helps where a chimney passes through the roof and the wood around it needs a careful eye.
Licensed and insured for masonry work
California licenses masonry contractors for work in brick, stone and fire brick, the heat-resistant kind used around fires, and we're fully licensed and insured. Richmond also has contractors register with a state license card, a workers' compensation certificate and a current city business license before it issues them permits.
The right repair, not the biggest
I'd rather tell you a chimney just needs its joints done than sell you a rebuild, because old brick that's treated well can outlast all of us. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.
On a chimney, the most important thing is matching the repair to what the brick actually needs, so call (510) 369-4799 or tell us about your chimney and I'll come take a look.
Chimney and brick work on Richmond's older houses
The City of Richmond requires a building permit before anyone builds, alters, repairs or demolishes a building or structure, so we never assume a chimney job is exempt. When your job needs a permit, we pull it as the licensed contractor and set up the city inspections, and if we're not sure what the city wants for your chimney, we ask before we start instead of guessing.
A lot of the chimneys we work on here sit on older houses, and many of them are plain brick with no steel inside. In an earthquake, a chimney like that can fall onto the yard or into the house, and retrofitting it lowers that risk. The state's geologists have released preliminary earthquake fault zones for public review that affect Richmond and Contra Costa County, so if yours is old unreinforced brick, it's worth weighing a retrofit alongside the repair. We see the same older brick chimneys on jobs in El Cerrito and San Pablo, and I'll tell you plainly what I think yours needs.
Questions about chimney repair in Richmond
When does a chimney need a rebuild instead of a repair?
A chimney usually needs a partial rebuild once the damage goes past worn mortar into flaking, cracked or leaning brick. One masonry guide puts the line there and says the chimney then comes down to sound brick, typically to the roofline, so the state of the brick sets how big the job is. A rebuild can use new or salvaged brick, and it's fair to ask which one we plan to use on yours.
Which flue liner is best for an existing chimney?
For most existing chimneys, a stainless steel flexible liner is the common choice, because it threads down the flue without tearing anything apart. The same masonry guide says clay tile is only practical when the chimney is being rebuilt anyway, and a cast-in-place liner, poured inside the flue, suits chimneys that are irregular or damaged. One liner maker also advises having a certified chimney sweep clean and inspect the chimney before relining, so the mortar and brick get checked first.
How often does a chimney need repointing?
Most chimneys need repointing every 25 to 50 years, according to one masonry guide. Where yours falls depends on the type of mortar, how exposed the chimney is and how well it was built in the first place. If the joints are sandy or sunk back from the brick, it's worth having someone look, whatever the age.
Who can get a building permit for chimney work in Richmond, CA?
Richmond issues building permits only to property owners, their authorized agents and licensed contractors. If you hire us, the permit is our job, so you don't have to deal with the paperwork yourself.
How much does chimney repair cost in Richmond?
The cost depends mostly on how much brick has to come off. Repointing joints on good brick is at the low end, a partial rebuild down to sound brick costs more, and a new liner or new flashing adds to either one. The height and pitch of your roof change the setup too, so the way to get your own number is the written estimate after I've been up there.
What causes a chimney to leak into the house?
Usually the water gets in where the chimney passes through the roof, at the flashing, which is the seal that sheds water off that joint. A masonry trade guide says that joint needs both base flashing and counter flashing, and it recommends metal because it holds up to heat and outdoor weather. Worn mortar or a cracked top can let water in too, which is why I look at the whole chimney before blaming one spot.
Other brick work that often goes with chimney repair
Tuckpointing
If the walls of your house show the same sandy, recessed joints as the chimney, tuckpointing renews that mortar before water gets in behind the brick.
Brick repair
Cracked, chipped or loose brick on a wall, step or planter can be cut out and replaced with a matching brick so the damage stops spreading.
Chimney repair in Richmond and the cities nearby
Stonework Richmond Concrete and Masonry is based in Richmond, California, and does chimney work across the cities around it, including Berkeley and Oakland. Twelve cities have their own page below, and if yours isn't one of them, just ask.
Richmond, CA
Send us a look at your chimney
Take a few photos of the chimney top, the roof joint and any cracked or leaning brick before you call (510) 369-4799 or fill out the form, so I come out already knowing what to look for.