Chimney repair, inspection and sweep in Lathrup Village

Masonry by rule

Louise Lathrup and her mother started buying farmland in Southfield Township in 1923, and she platted the village the next year. Her restrictions said every building had to be a single-family house, low in design, faced with brick, stone or stucco and built above a minimum cost. She kept control of what got built until Lathrup Village became a city in 1953. The city is surrounded on every side by Southfield, and about 1,200 properties are in the Lathrup Village Historic District, listed on the National Register in 1998.

So the houses went up with masonry outside walls, and the chimneys from those years are brick or stone. Masonry lasts a long time when water stays out of it. Most of the work we'd expect here comes down to the places where it doesn't.

Brick, stone and stucco

Each finish wears its own way. On a brick chimney the crown and the top courses take the most weather, and when water gets into the brick it flakes and leaves white stains. Our guide to white stains and crumbling chimney brick explains why. On a stone chimney the mortar joints are wider, and once they open up, water can get deep into the chimney.

Stucco is the one people miss. It was one of the three finishes the rules allowed, and some houses here have it on the walls and on the chimney. Hairline cracks in stucco let water in behind it, where it can soak the brick for years before anything shows. A bulge, a hollow sound when you tap it or a piece that falls off usually means the damage behind it has been going on a while.

Two waves of building

The houses from the 1930s are Colonial Revival, English Tudor, English Cottage and Spanish Colonial. Their chimneys are close to ninety years old, and the clay flue tiles inside can crack or separate at the joints without anything showing outside.

After 1945 the building picked up again, and more of the houses were ranches and split-levels, still faced in brick or stone. A ranch chimney from the 1950s is shorter, usually with a fireplace flue and a second flue for the furnace or water heater. An inspection covers every flue in either kind of chimney, and you can add a camera for $75 to see the inside for yourself.

Repairs that match the house

A patch shows on a house where the whole outside is masonry. When a Lathrup Village chimney needs work, we match the brick, the stone or the stucco texture and color to what's already there. On stucco, we open up the damaged area first so we can see the brick behind it before we quote the masonry repair.

Getting to you

We come into Lathrup Village on Southfield Road, Evergreen, 11 Mile and 12 Mile, and pair visits with jobs in Southfield, Beverly Hills and Berkley. The streets curve around circles and small triangle parks, so if your house is tucked away, tell us a landmark when you book. Book online and pick a 3-hour arrival window, or call for same-day availability when the schedule allows.