Yarm · Stockton-on-Tees · Middlesbrough · Teesside
Chimney Repair& Re-Pointing In Yarm& Stockton-on-Tees
Stop damp tracking down the chimney breast and make the stack safe again: re-pointing, rebuilds, new flaunching and correctly dressed lead, priced in writing before we start.
10/10 from 50 Checkatrade reviews · 4.91/5 from 99 TrustATrader reviews · £1,000,000 public liability · family run
10/10 on Checkatrade
From 50 verified reviews
4.91/5 on TrustATrader
From 99 reviews since 2020
£1,000,000 public liability
Details available before we start
Guaranteed workmanship
Terms vary by job and materials
Before and after photographs
You see the work without a ladder
The service explained
Chimney Repair in plain English
Everything below is specific to this work on Teesside housing stock, no filler. If you would rather just talk it through, ring Terry on 07919 512218.
What chimney repair covers
A chimney is the most exposed masonry on your house: wind on all four sides, no shelter, and freeze-thaw working on every joint. Chimney repair covers re-pointing eroded joints, replacing spalled or loose bricks, rebuilding the stack above roof level, renewing the flaunching that holds the pots, fitting or replacing pots, cowls and cappings, and re-dressing the lead flashings and back gutter where the stack passes through the roof.
Our own Checkatrade reviews include a stack we repaired and re-pointed that, in the customer's words, "now looks brand new", which is what a properly repaired chimney should look like from the pavement.
Who it is for
Owners of older brick stacks on terraces and semis across Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees and Darlington, homeowners with a damp patch on an internal chimney breast, and anyone whose survey has flagged "eroded pointing and defective flaunching to chimney stack".
It applies just as much to unused chimneys. A capped or disused stack still has to keep water out of the roof and stay structurally sound: abandoning it does not exempt it from the weather.
When it is needed
When you can see raked-out or missing mortar joints, cracked or missing flaunching around the pots, bricks that are flaking and crumbling, a stack that looks out of plumb, mortar or brick fragments in the gutter, or lead flashing that has lifted, split or been replaced with mortar fillets or sealant.
Inside, the tell-tale is damp staining on the chimney breast in an upstairs bedroom or on the ceiling around the stack, usually after driving rain rather than continuous rain.
Why professional chimney work matters
Chimneys are height work on unsupported masonry, and the water paths are subtle: rain can enter through the pointing, through the flaunching, down the flue, or under a failed flashing, and each has a different fix. Sealing the wrong one, a very common outcome, leaves the damp exactly where it was.
It is also the single most common place we see the wrong material used. Cement fillets instead of dressed lead, or a hard modern mortar on soft old brick, both create new problems. We diagnose the actual water path, use code lead where lead belongs, and photograph the stack before and after so you can see what was wrong. £1,000,000 public liability insurance throughout.
What happens if it waits
The cost of leaving it another winter
Chimneys fail from the top down and inward. The mortar goes first, then the water gets into the flue and the roof, and eventually the stack itself becomes the problem.
Damp on the chimney breast
Water entering an open flue or an eroded joint tracks down inside the stack and shows up as staining on internal plaster, ruining decoration and, over time, plaster.
Structural instability
Once enough mortar has washed out, a stack loses cohesion. A leaning or loose stack is a serious hazard and a rebuild is far more expensive than re-pointing was.
Rot in the roof around the stack
A failed back gutter or flashing dumps water onto the roof timbers at the stack. Rafter and batten repairs get added to what was originally a lead job.
Common mistakes we get called out to fix
- Sealing a flashing with mastic or a cement fillet instead of fitting properly dressed lead: it cracks and re-opens within a couple of years.
- Re-pointing soft old brickwork with hard cement mortar, which pushes the damage into the bricks themselves.
- Capping a disused stack with no ventilation, so trapped moisture stays inside the flue and keeps the breast damp.
- Treating breast damp as "rising damp" or condensation and re-plastering, without fixing the stack that is feeding it.
- Removing pots and flaunching without making the top weathertight, leaving the flue open to the rain.
How the job runs
Our chimney repair process, step by step
- 01
Inspection
We get up to the stack, check the pointing, bricks, flaunching, pots, capping, flashings and back gutter, and look at the internal staining pattern where relevant.
- 02
Diagnosis
We identify the actual water path (pointing, flaunching, flue or flashing) and photograph it, so the quote fixes the cause rather than the symptom.
- 03
Written quote
A free written price stating whether you are having re-pointing, partial rebuild, full rebuild above roof level, new flaunching, new lead, or a combination.
- 04
Execution
Joints raked out and re-pointed with a suitable mortar, spalled bricks cut out and replaced, flaunching renewed, pots re-set, and lead flashings and back gutters dressed and wedged into raked joints.
- 05
Weather testing and verification
We check the completed stack and flashings for water paths, confirm the roof around it is sound, and photograph every elevation of the finished stack.
- 06
Completion and guarantee
Debris removed, roof and ground cleared, before and after photographs supplied, workmanship guaranteed with terms depending on the job and materials.
What you get out of it
The difference it makes to the house
The damp stops at the source
Fixing the actual entry point means the chimney breast dries out and stays dry, instead of being re-plastered every few years.
A safe stack overhead
Sound mortar and secured pots remove the risk of masonry coming down onto the roof, garden or street.
Roof timbers protected
Correct lead flashing and a proper back gutter keep water off the rafters and battens around the stack.
Lead that lasts
Code lead, dressed and wedged properly, outlives sealant and cement fillets by a wide margin, with no annual re-sealing.
Kerb appeal restored
A crisply re-pointed stack with clean flaunching is one of the most visible improvements you can make to an older house.
Photographic proof
You get before and after pictures of a part of your house you will otherwise never see.
Detail, materials and methods
Chimney Repair: the technical detail
Re-pointing and brick replacement
Re-pointing means raking out the eroded joint to a sound depth and refilling it with a mortar suited to the brick, not simply smearing new mortar over the old face, which lets water sit behind it.
Where individual bricks have spalled (the face has frozen off), they are cut out and replaced with matched bricks. Where a large proportion have gone, a rebuild above roof level is the honest answer and we will say so.
- Full or partial re-pointing to the stack above roof level.
- Cutting out and replacing spalled, cracked or loose bricks.
- Rebuild above roof level where the masonry is beyond re-pointing.
- Complete removal and weathering-in where a stack is genuinely redundant.
Flaunching, pots and cappings
Flaunching is the sloped mortar bed on top of the stack that holds the pots and throws water clear. It is thin, exposed and usually the first thing to crack. Once it has, water runs straight into the top of the stack.
We renew flaunching, re-bed or replace pots, and fit cowls where you want to keep birds and rain out of a live flue or vent a disused one.
- New flaunching correctly sloped and finished.
- Pot re-bedding, replacement or removal.
- Bird guards, rain caps and anti-downdraught cowls.
- Ventilated capping for disused stacks so the flue can still breathe.
Lead flashings and back gutters
Where the stack passes through the roof there should be four distinct lead details: front apron, stepped side flashings (or soakers with plain tiles), and a back gutter behind the stack. The back gutter is the hardest-working and most commonly botched of the four.
We use appropriate code lead, dress it to the tile profile, wedge and point it into raked joints rather than relying on sealant, and allow for the movement lead needs. Our lead work and flashing page goes into the detail.
How we tell where the water is getting in
Internal staining gives us a lot. Damp high on the breast at ceiling level usually points to flashing or back gutter failure; staining lower down and across a wider area often points to the flue or the top of the stack; damp only after driving rain from one direction points to the pointing on that face.
We combine that with what we can see on the stack itself. This is why we inspect rather than quote off a photograph: a chimney quote given without looking at both ends of the problem is guesswork.
Live flues, disused flues and gas
A stack serving a working fire or stove has to stay clear and correctly terminated. A disused flue needs to be either properly capped with ventilation or fully weathered in. Blocking a flue at both ends with no airflow is what causes persistent breast damp.
We handle the masonry, weathering and lead work. Anything requiring a gas-registered or sweep-certified operation (appliance work, flue lining certification, sweeping) we will tell you to arrange separately rather than pretend it is part of our scope.
Residential and light commercial
Most chimney work we do is on houses, terraces and bungalows across Teesside. We also repair stacks on pubs, shops and small commercial buildings where the masonry and roof construction are conventional.
Straight answers
Chimney Repair questions we get asked
- How much does chimney repair cost in Teesside?
- It depends entirely on the scope: re-pointing one face is a very different job to a rebuild above roof level with new flaunching and lead. We inspect, photograph and then give you a free written price for the agreed work.
- Is the inspection and quote free?
- Yes, no charge and no obligation. We look at the stack properly before quoting because chimneys cannot be priced accurately from the ground.
- How long does chimney work take?
- Re-pointing and flaunching on a single stack is usually a short job of a day or two. A rebuild above roof level with new lead takes longer, and the expected duration is set out in the written quote.
- Should I repair or remove my unused chimney?
- Both are valid. Repairing keeps the look of the house and the option of a fire; removing and weathering in takes the maintenance away permanently. We will price both if you want to compare.
- How long does re-pointing last?
- Correctly raked out and re-pointed joints in a suitable mortar are a long-term repair, and new lead outlives sealant repairs by a wide margin. Exposure changes the answer, so we will comment on your specific stack after inspecting it.
- Is the work guaranteed?
- Yes. We guarantee our workmanship, with terms varying depending on the job and the materials used.
- Are you insured for chimney work?
- Yes, £1,000,000 public liability insurance, with details available before we start.
- My chimney is leaking now, can you come out urgently?
- Ring us on the number above. We are contactable seven days a week, 9am to 5pm, and active water ingress is prioritised.
- Do you need scaffolding for a chimney?
- Often yes: safe access to a stack usually means proper scaffold or a tower. It is included and priced in the written quote so there are no access surprises.
- Will the new brickwork and mortar match?
- We match bricks and mortar as closely as available materials allow. One of our Checkatrade customers described their repaired and re-pointed chimney as looking brand new, which is the standard we work to.
Related work we carry out
- Lead Work & FlashingCorrectly dressed code lead to abutments, valleys, dormers and chimneys: the detail most leaks start at.
- Roof RepairLeaks, slipped tiles, storm damage and bay roofs diagnosed properly and fixed once, with photo evidence.
- RoofingNew pitched and flat roofs, re-roofs and full replacements, built to shed Teesside weather for decades.
- Moss RemovalCareful moss clearance and gutter flush that restores drainage and protects tiles from frost damage.
See all our roofing and roofline services or head back to the T&T Rooflines homepage.
Where we do this work
- Yarm
- Stockton-on-Tees
- Middlesbrough
- Eaglescliffe
- Ingleby Barwick
- Thornaby
- Darlington
- Northallerton
- North Yorkshire
We work monday to sunday, 9am – 5pm. Ring 07919 512218 or use the contact form and we'll arrange a free look at the roof.
Speak to Terry today
Get the damp on your chimney breast diagnosed properly
We inspect the stack, photograph what is actually letting water in and give you a free written price for the repair that fixes it, not a sealant patch.