Roofing & Exterior
The Chimney Leaks More Than the Roof Does
Flashing, siding, trim, caps, and chase covers — we fix the exterior water problems that make chimneys the single most common leak point on a Northwest roof, and we tell you straight when it's a mason's job instead of ours.
Free inspection & photo report · Fixed, line-item bids· Written workmanship warranty
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- Written workmanship warranty
Signs to watch
Is this you?
A stain on the ceiling near the chimney
The chimney interrupts the roof plane, so water has to be routed around it — and that routing is flashing, which fails more than any other detail. The stain is almost always a flashing or counter-flashing gap, not the roof itself.
Rotted or open trim on a framed chase
Many PNW chimneys are wood-framed chases wrapped in siding and trim. Those materials take moisture like any wall does — and worse, because they sit up in the weather. Open joints and soft trim let water into the framing.
A rusted, undersized, or missing cap
The cap or chase cover is the roof of the chimney. A rusting steel cover or a missing crown lets rain straight down into the structure — cheap to replace now, expensive once it has been running inside for a winter.
Stains or efflorescence on the masonry
White chalky residue or dark streaks on brick usually mean water is getting in above and traveling down. Sometimes that's a flashing or cap fix we handle; sometimes the masonry or crown itself is failing and needs a mason — we'll tell you which.
Your options
The exterior water problems — and the honest boundary
We rebuild step and counter-flashing where the chimney meets the roof, replace and reseal siding and trim on framed chases, install or replace caps and chase covers sized to the flue, and chase down rot in the surrounding framing before we close it up. What we don't do is pretend to be a mason: cracked crowns, spalling brick, deteriorating mortar joints, tuckpointing, and interior flue and liner work belong to a chimney or masonry specialist, and we'll say so plainly and point you to one rather than caulk over a structural problem.
The method
How we do it
- 01
Find where the water actually enters
We inspect the flashing, cap, siding, trim, and masonry together, because a chimney leak is usually two problems stacked. Photos of everything, and an honest call on whether it's ours or a mason's.
- 02
Fixed-price repair quote
You approve the number before a tool comes out. If part of the work is masonry, that scope is called out separately so you're never surprised by a specialist referral.
- 03
Repair, flash, and seal
New flashing woven into the roof, trim and siding restored, cap or chase cover fitted, everything tested with water before we call it done. Before/after photos for your records.
Straight numbers
What chimney exterior repair costs
It depends heavily on what's failing: reseating flashing and swapping a cap sits at the low end, while rebuilding rotted chase framing, siding, and trim runs well up from there. Height, access, and how far water has traveled all move the number. We quote fixed prices, and if a mason needs to handle the crown or brick, we price only our exterior scope and let their bid stand on its own.
Where we do this work
Chimney Exterior Repair: straight answers
Why does my chimney leak when the rest of the roof is fine?
Because the chimney is a hole in the roof that water has to be steered around, and that steering depends on flashing, a cap, and sound trim — three separate details that each fail on their own schedule. A perfectly good roof field leaks at the chimney all the time. It's the most common leak point we see.
Do I need a mason or can you handle it?
We handle the exterior envelope: flashing, siding, trim, caps, chase covers, and the framing behind them. Cracked crowns, spalling or loose brick, failing mortar, and anything with the flue or liner is masonry work, and we'll tell you honestly when that's what you're actually dealing with rather than selling you a fix that won't hold.
Is a chase cover the same as a chimney cap?
Close, and people use the terms loosely. A chase cover is the metal top on a framed (wood-and-siding) chimney chase; a cap or crown tops a masonry chimney. Both keep rain out of the structure, both fail when they rust or crack, and both are squarely exterior work we handle.
Can you just seal it instead of replacing the flashing?
Sometimes a targeted sealant buys real time, and we'll say so when it's honest. But caulk over failed step-flashing is a season's reprieve, not a repair — water finds the next gap. When the flashing is genuinely done, we rebuild it right rather than sell you the same leak again next winter.
Get the chimney exterior repair conversation started.
Free 20-minute inspection. Photo report you keep either way. Zero pressure.