Huntington Woods, Oakland County
Chimney repair in Huntington Woods
Chimney repair in Huntington Woods usually means working on a brick chimney that is close to a hundred years old, with decorative brickwork near the top that has to look the same when we're done.
Where the old chimneys fail
The east side of the city, known as The Hill, was platted in 1916 and 1917 as the original Huntington Woods Subdivision. Most of its houses were built before 1940, many of them brick Tudors and Colonial Revivals, and the city designated it a local historic district in 2004. The rest of Huntington Woods followed through the 1950s, also mostly in brick.
A Tudor chimney is often tall, with corbels that step out near the top and patterned or recessed brickwork below them. Every ledge in that brickwork holds water. After decades of Michigan winters, the joints at the corbels wash out first, then the bricks around them start to spall and crack. The crown on top, often the original, has usually cracked as well, and that sends water straight into the top courses.
Flashing is the other common repair. A lot of these houses have had several roofs, and each re-roof can leave the chimney flashing a little worse. Water that shows up on a ceiling or wall next to the chimney usually starts there.
Starting prices
These are our starting prices. The written quote gives you the number for your chimney.
- Tuckpointing: $595 to $4,995, depending on how much of the chimney needs new mortar.
- Replacing 1 to 15 damaged bricks: $850 plus $75 a brick.
- Crown rebuild: from $1,500 plus $1 per square inch of crown.
- Flashing repair or replacement: $595 to $3,495.
- A lift or scaffolding when a ladder isn't safe on a tall chimney: add $1,249.
Keeping the detail
A corbel rebuilt square, or a patch in a different red, shows from across the street. We match the mortar color and joint style to the original, look for brick close in size and color to what's there, and rebuild decorative courses to the shape they had before.
How it works
We look at the whole chimney first, then the spot that worried you. You get photos and a written quote, and we tell you plainly when a smaller repair would hold for a while. Nothing starts until you approve it. If you'd like a look before deciding anything, book a chimney inspection for $49.
Questions
Our house is on The Hill. Does that change how you repair the chimney?
It can. The Hill is a locally designated historic district, so before we quote anything visible from the street, we check with the city about what the repair needs and put any permit cost on the quote. On the work itself, we plan around keeping the chimney's original shape and matching its brick and mortar color, which is what we'd do on an older house anyway.
Someone patched our chimney with tar years ago. Can that be fixed?
Yes, but the tar has to come off first. Tar holds water against the brick, and on a chimney this age the brick underneath is often soft or broken by the time anyone looks. We remove it, replace the bricks that can't be saved, repoint the joints and rebuild or repair the crown. You see photos of what's under the tar before we give you a price.
Chimney repair near Huntington Woods
Chimney repair in Huntington Woods
Pick a day and a 3-hour arrival window online. If you'd rather talk it through, call (248) 266-9991.