Chimney Sweep in Paoli, PA
Stone and brick under mature tree cover. Around Paoli the chimney problems tend to start at the very top: a failed crown, a missing cap, and flashing that was sealed rather than fitted.
Serving Paoli, Berwyn, Daylesford, Tredyffrin, Willistown and Sugartown.
The three usual culprits
- A cracked or flat mortar-wash crown
- No cap, or one sized wrong for the flue
- Flashing bedded in roof cement, not cut in
- Leaves and nesting debris in open flues
- Damp held in stone by heavy tree shade
Where the failures are around here
Chimneys on shaded lots stay wet longer. Tree cover keeps sun off the stack, so masonry that gets soaked in a storm dries slowly and stays damp through a freeze-thaw cycle it would otherwise have survived. That is why the same stack under open sky lasts noticeably longer.
The crown
Should be a poured, sloped, reinforced slab overhanging the brick with a drip edge. What we usually find is a thin mortar wash laid flat and cracked straight through.
The cap
Under trees, an open flue is a debris collector and a nesting site. A correctly sized cap with mesh stops both without restricting the draft.
The flashing
Properly done it is stepped and cut into the mortar joints. Badly done it is black roof cement that has hardened, shrunk and split.
What we are called for
Caps, crowns and chase covers
Crown rebuilds, crack sealing, stainless and copper caps sized to the flue, and top-sealing dampers.
Read moreLeaks and waterproofing
Diagnosis from the top down, then breathable siloxane sealing once the entry points are closed.
Read moreMasonry and repointing
Stone and brick repointing with matched mortar, spall replacement and stack rebuilds.
Read moreChimney cleaning
Annual sweeping plus clearing the leaves, twigs and nesting material that accumulate in open flues under tree cover.
Read moreChimney inspections
Level 1 and Level 2 with video scan, including for property transfers along the Main Line.
Read moreLiners and relining
Stainless relining where water has already cracked the tile, and correct sizing for stoves and inserts.
Read moreRuling things out in order
Look at the cap first
It is the cheapest possible answer and it is right more often than people expect. We check it before anything else.
Then the crown
Cracks, slope, overhang and the joint where it meets the flue tile.
Then the flashing
Whether it is cut into the joint or surface sealed, and whether the counterflashing is doing anything at all.
Then the joints
Open mortar joints are a masonry repair, not a waterproofing job, and no sealer will fix them.
Then porosity
Only once the structural entry points are closed does a breathable sealer make sense.
Then condensation
If none of the above explains it, we look at whether the flue is oversized and the moisture is coming from inside.
Local answers
There are leaves and debris coming down my chimney. What is that?
Usually an uncapped or badly capped flue under overhanging trees. It collects leaves, twigs and nesting material, which restricts the draft and holds moisture against the flue. A properly sized cap solves it.
My roofer says the leak is the chimney. Is it?
It might be, and the flashing sits between the two trades, which is why this argument happens so often. We look at the flashing, photograph it, and tell you plainly if the problem is actually the roof surface.
Our chimney is stone with a stucco cap on top. Is that right?
It is common, and it is often the failure point. A thin mortar or stucco wash across the top of a stack cracks and lets water into the structure. A proper crown is poured, sloped, reinforced and overhangs the masonry.
Do you cover Berwyn, Daylesford and Tredyffrin?
Yes, along with Willistown, Sugartown and out toward Malvern and Devon.
Start at the top of the chimney
Crown rebuilds, caps, flashing and leak diagnosis across Paoli, Berwyn and Tredyffrin.