Chimneys fail from the top down. The mortar cap that holds the pots cracks, water gets into the stack, and the frost does the rest. By the time it shows as a damp patch on a bedroom ceiling, the repair is bigger than it needed to be.
Caught early it is a straightforward job. The before-and-after on this site is exactly that: a stack with the cap broken open, then the same stack recapped and the pots reseated.
- Flaunching
- The mortar cap around your pots. It is meant to be renewed every so often — it was never designed to last the life of the house.
- Leaks and shared flues
- A flue leaking into a void, or one shared with next door, is a carbon monoxide risk — not just a draw problem.
- Pots and cowls
- Reseated properly and bedded in, not balanced back on and pointed round.
