Service

Chimney repair built for Michigan freeze-thaw

From 1920s Detroit chimneys to Rochester and Grosse Pointe waterproofing, we rebuild, tuckpoint, cap, and seal. One licensed crew. Honest scope. No upsells.

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Licensed MI Masonry Contractor

BBB Accredited

Mason Contractors Association Member

Fully Insured & Bonded

Leaky chimney?

Water in the firebox or staining on the ceiling means active masonry failure. Get an emergency estimate this week.

Leaky Chimney Estimate

Scope

What we repair.

Concrete Cap & Crown Rebuilds

Poured concrete caps and crowns engineered to shed water and survive freeze-thaw cycles. We tear out failed mortar wash and pour a true crown with overhang and drip edge.

Tuckpointing & Mortar Match

Hand-mixed mortar color- and joint-matched to your original brick. Repairs blend into the existing wall instead of standing out as a patch.

Sealing & Firebox Restoration

Breathable silane-siloxane sealing for Grosse Pointe waterproofing. Firebox rebuilds, refractory mortar, smoke chamber parging.

Mason tuckpointing a red brick chimney with fresh mortar

Why chimneys leak

The three failures we see every week.

Most chimney leaks aren't flashing problems. They start at the top and work down. Here's what's actually happening before we ever climb up.

01
Mortar washes crack first
The thin mortar 'wash' poured on top of older chimneys cracks within 10 to 15 Michigan winters. Water then runs straight down inside the brick column.
02
Open joints feed the leak
Once mortar joints lose 1/4 inch of depth, every rain pushes water behind the brick face. You see it as ceiling stains, never on the chimney itself.
03
Flashing is usually blamed unfairly
Roofers replace flashing, the leak comes back, and the homeowner is told it's still 'the flashing.' Nine times out of ten the water is entering through the crown or joints above.

The right fix

A real crown, not a mortar wash.

A poured concrete crown with an overhang and drip edge is what should be sitting on top of your chimney. It sheds water past the brick face instead of letting it run down the column. We form, pour, and finish it in place.

2 to 3 inch thick poured concrete with rebar mesh
1 inch overhang past the brick with a drip edge cut underneath
Bond break around the flue so the crown can expand without cracking
Breathable silane-siloxane sealer on the brick once cured

Poured concrete chimney crown with overhang and drip edge

Recent work

Selected chimney projects.

Real homes, photographed on the job. Where a before photo wasn't captured on site, we document the scope of work instead.

ChimneyRochester

Active leak repair

The problem: Water entering the firebox and staining the ceiling. Open mortar joints up the full chimney column and a failed mortar wash at the top.
What we did: Re-pointed the joints with a color-matched mortar, tore out the old wash, and poured a true concrete crown with overhang and drip edge. Sealed the brick once cured.
Materials: Type N mortar, poured concrete crown, silane-siloxane sealer.

Project photo coming soon

ChimneyGrosse Pointe

Crown rebuild

The problem: Failed mortar wash on a 1940s chimney was letting water into the firebox.
What we did: Removed the old wash, formed and poured a true concrete crown with an overhang and drip edge, then sealed the brick.
Materials: Type N mortar, poured concrete crown, silane-siloxane sealer.

No before photo on file. Scope of work documented above.

Project photo coming soon

ChimneyDetroit

Mortar joint tuckpointing

The problem: Open joints on a pre-1950 brick chimney with original mortar.
What we did: Ground out failing joints by hand, mixed mortar color-matched to the original, and re-pointed with a matching joint profile.

No before photo on file. Scope of work documented above.

Ready when you are

Stop the water now.

Most chimney problems get worse fast through the next freeze-thaw cycle. We send a free written estimate within 24 hours.

Request my estimate Or call (248) 259-4861