Chimney Repair & Rebuild

This two-story home in Elk River had severe spalling on all four sides of the chimney. Multiple freeze-thaw cycles had pushed the face brick off the chimney stack, and the crown had deteriorated completely. Tim's crew demolished the chimney down to the roofline and rebuilt it course by course with matching brick, new flashing, a fresh poured crown, and a stainless steel chimney cap.

Homeowners in Zimmerman noticed white streaking (efflorescence) on their brick chimney and called Tim before winter. Inspection found a cracked chimney crown allowing water entry and mortar joints crumbling on two sides. Tim cut out the deteriorated mortar to a depth of ¾ inch, packed fresh mortar matching the original color, poured a new crown with proper overhang, and applied penetrating waterproofer across all surfaces.

A Buffalo homeowner discovered multiple bricks on the south-facing chimney side had spalled — the face of each brick had blown off, exposing the soft interior. This is common on older chimneys where low-quality brick was used alongside a hard Portland cement mortar that can't flex with the brick. Tim replaced the damaged bricks with tightly matched replacements, repointed surrounding joints with a softer lime mortar blend, and applied waterproofing treatment.

This Big Lake home's chimney had developed a noticeable lean — about 2 inches off vertical — due to years of water infiltration softening the mortar bed joints. Tim's crew disassembled the top 8 courses, relaid them plumb with new mortar, installed a new steel-reinforced crown, and repointed the remaining chimney. The chimney is now structurally sound and properly waterproofed for Minnesota winters.