Dearborn Heights, Wayne County
Chimney repair in Dearborn Heights
On a lot of Dearborn Heights chimneys, the first thing we have to do is get under a layer of roofing tar that someone spread over a crack years ago.
What we find on these chimneys
The median house in Dearborn Heights was built around 1956, and both halves of the city are mostly brick houses from the 1950s and 1960s. On the streets off Van Born and Telegraph in the south end, and just as much in the north end, that means a brick ranch, bungalow or Cape Cod with one brick chimney, often carrying two flues.
After sixty-some years, the crown has cracked on a lot of them. Plenty of owners, or the roofers they hired, have dealt with that by spreading black tar over the top, like on the chimney in the photo. Tar stops a drip for a season. Then it splits, holds water against the brick, and the faces of the bricks start to pop off. By the time we see it, the job is often a crown rebuild and some brick, where it might once have been a coat of sealer.
Prices to start from
Your written quote has the real number. These are where the common repairs start.
- Crown sealing from $249 to $875, when the crown is cracked but still solid.
- Crown rebuild from $1,500 plus $1 per square inch.
- Replacing 1 to 15 damaged bricks: $850 plus $75 a brick.
- Tuckpointing from $595 to $4,995.
- Waterproofing from $795 to $2,725, once the masonry is sound.
Why we take the tar off
Sealer, mortar and new flashing won't bond to tar, and we can't tell you what a crown needs while it's buried. So the first step on a tarred chimney is clearing enough of it to see the concrete and brick. On these low ranch roofs that's usually ladder work. If a lift or scaffolding is needed for a taller chimney, it adds $1,249, and we say so before we quote.
How quoting works
We look at the whole chimney along with the spot that's leaking, and take photos, because the cause isn't always where the water shows up. Then we go through the options with you, including what a smaller repair would and wouldn't fix, and give you the price in writing. Nothing starts until you approve it. If you'd like a full look first, a chimney inspection in Dearborn Heights is $49, credited toward the repair if you go ahead.
Questions
Somebody put tar over my chimney crown. Can you just add another coat?
We wouldn't. Tar traps water in the brick under it and hides how bad the crown is. It also has to come off before a sealer or new mortar will stick. We clear enough of it to see what's underneath, show you photos, and then tell you whether the crown can be repaired or has to be rebuilt.
Do you work in both the north and south ends of the city?
Yes. We work across Dearborn Heights, from Warren Avenue and Ford Road in the north end down to Van Born and Telegraph in the south end. The houses are about the same age in both halves, so the repairs we see are much the same.
Chimney repair near Dearborn Heights
Chimney repair in Dearborn Heights
Pick a day and a 3-hour arrival window online. If you'd rather talk it through, call (248) 266-9991.