Wayne County
Chimney repair, inspection and sweep in Van Buren Township
Northern Van Buren Township, between Belleville Lake and Ecorse Road, has older houses on straight streets off Belleville Road and subdivisions of colonials built from the 1990s on, off Haggerty, Tyler and Morton Taylor.
North of the lake
Our service area takes in the northern part of Van Buren Township, north of Belleville Lake along I-94 and Ecorse Road. If you live on the lake or south of it, call and ask before you book, and we'll tell you whether we can get to you.
The lake itself dates from 1925, when the French Landing Dam went in on the Huron River. Willow Run Airport sits at the township's west edge, and about 90 percent of its land is in Van Buren.
Two kinds of streets
Along Belleville Road and the North I-94 Service Drive, the older streets run straight, with houses of about the same size on rectangular lots. Away from the main roads, the newer subdivisions have curving streets and cul-de-sacs. Van Buren Estates, off Haggerty between Tyler and I-94, was built from 1993 to 2002. Walden Woods, off Morton Taylor and Tyler, went up from 1999 to 2009. The township grew from about 23,600 people in 2000 to about 30,400 in 2020.
The older houses on those streets often have a brick chimney with a flue for the fireplace, and sometimes a second one for the furnace. In the subdivisions it's a mix. Some colonials have a full brick chimney, and some have a factory-built fireplace in a framed chase with a metal cover on top. An inspection tells you which you have and what each flue does.
A chimney on the outside wall
The house in the photo has siding on the walls and a brick chimney running up the outside of the gable end, past the second floor and above the roof. A chimney like that is out in the weather from the ground up. Rain driven against it soaks into the brick and the mortar joints along its whole height.
On blended brick like this, white streaks or flaking faces near the top are the first signs that water is getting in. Our guide to white stains and crumbling chimney brick explains why it happens. A breathable water repellent made for masonry keeps rain from soaking in and still lets the brick dry.
Repairs on tall brick chimneys
On a chimney twenty or thirty years old, the crown is often where the trouble starts. Once it cracks, water gets into the top courses and works down. We tell you whether a crown repair will do or the top needs rebuilding, and you see the photos before we quote either one.
Getting to you
We come into northern Van Buren Township on Belleville Road, Ecorse, Tyler, Haggerty, Morton Taylor and Rawsonville Road, and pair visits with Canton and Ypsilanti Township. Book online and pick a 3-hour arrival window, or call for same-day availability when the schedule allows.
Van Buren Township and the cities around it
We work across Oakland, Macomb, Wayne and Washtenaw counties.
More Wayne County cities: Allen Park, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Detroit, Garden City, Inkster, Livonia, Northville, Plymouth, Redford, Taylor, Westland.
Every area we serveServices in Van Buren Township
Chimney repair
Crowns, caps, masonry, flashing and leaks, quoted after we've looked at the chimney.
From $195
Chimney crowns
Cracked and crumbling crowns repaired, or rebuilt when they're too far gone to patch.
From $249
Chimney caps and chase covers
Rusted chase covers replaced with ones that fit, and caps in standard and custom sizes.
From $195
Masonry repair and tuckpointing
Crumbling brick, failed mortar joints, tuckpointing and partial rebuilds, matched to the house.
From $595
Chimney inspection
We inspect the chimney inside and out and walk you through what we found, in plain language.
$49
Chimney cleaning
We sweep the chimney and inspect it on the same visit, then clean up before we leave.
$349
Questions
The brick chimney on the side of our Van Buren Township colonial has white streaks. Is that a problem?
It means water is moving through the brick. A chimney on an outside wall takes rain from the ground to the top, and the white streaks are salts the water leaves behind as it dries. On its own the staining isn't damage, but it tells you where the water is going. We check the crown, the mortar joints and the cap, and if the brick is sound, a breathable water repellent can slow it down.
Do you offer same-day service?
Same-Day Availability When Schedule Allows. Call (248) 266-9991 and we'll tell you what we can do today.
Book a chimney visit in Van Buren Township
Pick a day and a 3-hour arrival window online. If you'd rather talk it through, call (248) 266-9991.