Chimney reflashing and flashing repairs in Country Walk

The layer under the roofing counts too

Flashing is one of two lines of defense at the roof line. Under the shingles or tile there is an underlayment, and at a chimney it should turn up the brick behind the base metal. If that layer was cut short or torn, water that gets past the metal meets bare deck.

We can only judge the underlayment where the roofing is lifted. The estimate says whether we expect to see it and what happens if it is damaged. Repairing it close to the chimney is usually part of the flashing work, while wider underlayment problems are a roofing matter.

Repairing a single face

Water often gets in at one face of a chimney rather than all four. When the evidence points at one side and the other faces are sound, the repair can be limited to that side. The new pieces then have to lap correctly into the old ones at each corner.

We explain how the new metal will tie into what stays. If the old corners are too worn to join, we say so and suggest extending the work around the corner. A partial repair should still leave a complete, lapped junction, not a new face bolted onto an old one.

Questions worth asking about any flashing quote

A flashing quote can look complete and still leave the important parts vague. These questions help you see what is actually included, whoever wrote it.

Our estimate answers each of these in writing. If another company has quoted the same job, you can set the two side by side and compare the work rather than the headline figure.

• Which faces of the chimney are included
• Is the counter flashing set into a joint or surface-mounted
• What happens to the roofing around the chimney
• What is excluded, and why

Roofing laid over older roofing

Some roofs are replaced by laying new roofing over the old layer. At the chimney, that raises the roof surface, and the upturn of the base flashing may end up shorter than intended. The counter flashing may then cover less of it.

If you know the roof has more than one layer, tell us. We check how much upturn remains above the new surface and how far the counter flashing reaches over it. Where the overlap is too short to shed water, the estimate explains how new pieces would restore it.