Chimney repair in St. Cloud.

1. The crown.

   Sitting on top of the masonry, the crown carries rain off the brick and the flue, and it takes more weather than any other part. Under Florida's residential code it should slope, with a drip edge and a caulked joint at the liner (R1003.9.1).

   Sealing works for a hairline crack. A slab that is crumbling or has come away from the liner is taken off and a new one cast. Summer rain here is rarely gentle: the Kissimmee normals put 24.77 inches between June and August.

2. Caps and mesh.

   A cap shuts out rain, birds and squirrels, and its mesh keeps sparks inside. For masonry the Florida code requires any spark arrestor or rain cap to offer at least four times the flue outlet's open area (R1003.9.2, R1003.9.3).

   Metal caps take dents in storms, work loose in gusts and corrode. Once the weather clears, check for dents, screws working out, rust at the seams and mesh that droops or clogs. A new cap waits if swifts are using the flue: federal law covers the birds, and the Fish and Wildlife Service prefers such chimneys left open.

3. Flashing at the joint.

   The flashing seals the joint where chimney meets roof. Rain driven by wind looks for a lifted edge or sealant that has dried out and cracked; indoors the clue is usually a brown stain on the ceiling or wet insulation by the stack.

   Wide chimneys need a cricket: when the width along the ridge tops 30 inches and the chimney does not straddle the ridgeline, a cricket goes on the uphill side with flashing and counterflashing at the masonry (R1003.20).

4. Brick, veneer and mortar.

   Joints should wear before brick does. When they open up, water finds its way behind the brick face and the surface starts peeling, a failure masons call spalling.

   Tuckpointing grinds out the worn mortar and fills the joints with fresh material while the brick is still sound. Bricks cracked through or flaked deep are cut out and replaced. Where brick is laid as a veneer on a framed chimney, through-flashing and weep holes must let water escape (R1003.10.1).

5. Inside the firebox.

   Heat from the fire works on the firebrick and its mortar every time. Where joints have opened or brick has cracked, that heat can travel toward the wood framing behind the wall; a small gap closed early is a small job.

6. The flue liner.

   From damper to cap the liner shields the house from smoke and heat, and the code says masonry chimneys are to be lined (R1003.11). Heat can reach the framing, or fumes the living space, through a cracked tile, a slipped tile or a rusted seam in a metal liner. Nothing about these faults shows from the roof or from the firebox; a camera sent down the flue is the only way to see them, which is what Level 2 is for. The typical St. Cloud house went up in 2003, so its flue has more than twenty years behind it.

7. Chase covers and metal pans.

   Not every chimney is masonry. Many are framed chases, finished to resemble the house and capped with a metal pan. A factory-built flue inside a chase must carry a listing and label (R1005.1). If the pan rusts through or droops, water collects and runs into the framing; a screened cap, over a pan that drains well, keeps that framing dry.

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