Chimney repair in Madison Heights

Built by the owners, built in a hurry

Some of the houses near 13 Mile and John R came from Co-operative Homesteads, a nonprofit formed in 1940 to build affordable houses on a 120-acre tract, starting with one on 13 Mile east of John R. The members did the construction themselves. Most of the rest of the city came a decade later, when brick ranches went up during the 1950s boom. Either way, those chimneys are seventy to eighty-five years old now.

Where they break down

On a chimney this age, water gets in at the top. The crown cracks, the joints under it open up, and freeze and thaw pushes the brick faces off a layer at a time. Many of these chimneys also carry furnace or water heater exhaust, and the water vapor in it condenses inside the flue and works on the same brick from the other side.

A common response to a leak is a coat of roofing tar over the top, like the chimney in the photo. Tar seals for a season and then cracks, and the water it traps behind it makes the flaking worse. You can see the broken brick that has already come off on the roof below. A chimney like this usually needs the top courses taken down and relaid, with a new crown on top.

Starting prices

These are starting points. The written quote has the price for your chimney.

• Crown repair starts at $1,000 plus $1 per square inch. A crown rebuild starts at $1,500 plus $1 per square inch.
• Tuckpointing runs $595 to $4,995, depending on how much mortar has to be replaced.
• Replacing 1 to 15 damaged bricks is $850 plus $75 a brick. More than that is priced as a rebuild of that section.
• A single-flue cap is $375.

On a one-story ranch, a ladder usually reaches. If yours needs a lift or scaffolding, it adds $1,249, and we tell you before you get the quote.

How it works

We look at the whole chimney first, including where it comes through the attic if the leak is inside, and take photos. You get the photos, our recommendation, what a smaller repair would and wouldn't fix, and a written price. Nothing starts until you approve it. A chimney inspection in Madison Heights is $49 if you want us to look before you decide anything, and the $49 comes off the repair.