Common Masonry Repairs for Your Chimney
Whether you have an old, historical home or a modern house with a masonry chimney, you will most likely need to have masonry restoration work done at some point. The most common cause of masonry repair is water damage as water can leak into masonry joints and wear them down, causing deterioration. Other causes of masonry repair are weathering, earthquake damage, poor workmanship, and negligence. If you need masonry repair work done, it is important to find a company experienced in the different types of masonry restoration, like Santa’s Friend Chimney Service. Our masons know how to do each type of this repair work, and we would like to tell you more about the most common masonry repairs.
Tuck Pointing
One of the most common types of masonry restoration, tuck pointing is the process of removing damaged and deteriorating mortar in masonry joints, and then restoring those joints with new materials. A painstaking process, tuck pointing is made even more complicated when an older house is involved. Today’s mortar materials differ greatly in terms of hardness and permeability when compared to the bricks and mortars of years’ past. Experienced masons like the ones at Santa’s Friend Chimney Service know to think about the original materials when dealing with an older home because if they used modern materials, the chimney structure will be unsound as the new and old materials will not work together properly. Our technicians make sure the repairs are invisible and strong enough to last for years.
Chimney Crown Restoration
Since your chimney crown sits atop your chimney to protect it from the elements and animals, it is completely exposed to rain and snow, which causes water erosion damage. The sun causes more damage from the constant heat exposure. After years of these types of damage, your chimney crown starts to crack and spalling begins to occur. When this happens, repair is a top priority because you do not want water leaking into your chimney and penetrating into your masonry joints, which can cause even more problems. Santa’s Friend Chimney Service has experience working with chimney crown restoration, and we can recommend a couple of different approaches, depending on the condition of your crown. If you have minimal damage, our technicians can apply a crown coat repair, a flexible sealant which covers the entire crown, that will seal all cracks and create a waterproof barrier. If the damage is more expensive, we will most likely have to construct a new chimney crown for you; however, with our years of experience, we can build a crown to last a lifetime as well as coat the new crown with a waterproof sealant to protect it from rain and snow.
For more information about the different types of masonry repairs we provide, contact Santa’s Friend Chimney Service. Our expert staff is happy to answer any questions you may have.