Chimney repairs and repointing

Chimney repairs keep the most exposed brickwork on your house standing and watertight. A stack takes weather from every direction at the highest point of the roof, so its mortar, flaunching and flashing fail decades before the walls below do. Caught early, most chimney problems are a few hundred pounds; ignored, they end in rebuilds, internal damp and bricks on the drive.

What chimney repair covers

• Repointing: raking out failed mortar joints and refilling them, the most common chimney job on older stacks.
• Flaunching: renewing the sloped mortar bed the pots sit in, which cracks and lets water into the top of the stack.
• Lead flashing: resealing the joint where the stack meets the roof. Failed flashing is behind many chimney-breast damp patches, and on older stacks it is a job for a leadwork specialist.
• Pots and cowls: replacing cracked pots and fitting cowls or caps to keep rain and birds out of the flue.
• Rebuilds: taking down and rebuilding a stack above the roofline where the brickwork itself has decayed or the stack has started to lean.

When your chimney needs attention

The stack usually announces itself before anything falls. Crumbling mortar joints, sandy grit in the gutters and mortar fragments on the ground below the chimney all mean the pointing is shedding. Damp on the chimney breast inside points at failed flaunching, flashing or pointing letting water track down the flue. A leaning stack needs a professional look promptly, because wind loading only pushes it further. And unused chimneys are not exempt: an unmaintained stack sheds debris onto the roof whether or not a fire has been lit in decades.

How the work runs

A chimney job starts with an inspection, often by drone or from a ladder, to confirm what the stack actually needs. A scaffold tower then goes up around the stack, because nearly every chimney repair happens at ridge height and safe access is non-negotiable. The roofer repoints, re-flaunches or renews the lead as quoted, and a good firm will photograph the finished work so you can see what you paid for without leaving the ground. Most repairs are done in a day or two once access is up.

What chimney repairs cost

These are the 2026 rates from our chimney repair cost guide, which also covers shared stacks and why access drives the price:

Why use a vetted chimney roofer

Chimney work happens where you cannot see it, at the highest point of the house, which makes it a favourite for doorstep traders quoting for work that is never done properly or needed at all. Every roofer we refer is vetted for insurance, trading history and the quality of recent work, and their quotes can be checked against the fair rates above. Get up to three itemised quotes through our free quote service, with no obligation to accept any of them.