Scope
Chimney rebuild from roofline, crown replacement, new flashing
Materials
Brick repointed, new poured crown, copper step-and-counter flashing
Timeline
3 working days
The Challenge
The homeowner had spent four years and significant money on caulking, flashing reseal, and a partial crown patch from two different contractors — and the upstairs bedroom ceiling kept staining every heavy rain. By the time they called us they were ready to assume the roof itself was the problem and were getting estimates for a full roof replacement.
Our Approach
Our inspection ruled out the roof immediately — the shingles were 8 years old and in excellent shape. The chimney was the source. The previous contractors had focused on the flashing where chimney meets roof, but the actual water entry was at the chimney crown — a hairline crack invisible from grade had been letting water down inside the chimney itself. From there it ran down between the brick and the metal liner, eventually finding the path through the wall framing into the bedroom ceiling. Caulking the flashing did nothing for water entering 6 feet higher.
What We Found On-Site
- Hairline crack in the chimney crown invisible from grade
- Deteriorated mortar joints in the upper 8 courses of brick (freeze-thaw damage)
- Step flashing was actually fine — the previous contractors were repairing the wrong thing
- Brick had absorbed enough moisture over four years that it needed waterproofing after rebuild
Outcome
Removed the top 8 courses of brick, rebuilt with matching brick and fresh mortar, poured a new concrete crown pitched to shed water with drip edge, installed new copper step-and-counter flashing, and waterproofed the rebuilt section. We came back six weeks later after the first major rain event to confirm the leak was gone — it was. The bedroom ceiling was repainted by the homeowner and hasn't re-stained.
“We'd been chasing this leak for four years. Two contractors took our money and the leak kept coming back. Tri-State diagnosed it on the first visit and the rebuild has held through every storm since.”
