Where the chimney leak starts, found and fixed in Parkland

Questions to ask about a leak proposal

A leak repair proposal should make sense to you before you approve it. These questions help test whether it does, whichever company wrote it.

Our estimate answers these in writing. If any answer is unclear, ask us to explain it again. A repair you understand is easier to judge when the next heavy rain comes.

• What evidence points to this part as the source
• Which other paths were checked and ruled out
• What happens if the leak continues afterward
• What the proposal leaves out, and why

A leak in a chimney nobody uses

A chimney that sits unused still stands in the weather. Rain that gets into it can damage the masonry, rust the damper and stain the walls, whether or not a fire is ever lit below. Leaks in chimneys that nobody uses tend to be found late because nobody looks.

A retired fireplace still deserves an occasional look at its top and its roof line, and a maintenance visit is a natural time for it. Should that look turn up a leak, the repair is exactly what it would be on a chimney used every week.

Water streaming down the brick face

A chimney top that sheds water off its edges keeps the brick below drier. Brick industry guidance describes crowns with an overhang and a drip so water falls clear of the face. Where the top is flush or cracked at the edge, water runs down the brick and soaks in.

Dark streaks on the brick below the top after rain can be a sign of this. We check how the top sheds water and where the face stays wettest. If the top is the reason the brick is soaking, its repair is listed first, ahead of any masonry work lower down.

A second look at a leak diagnosis

Perhaps someone has told you that your chimney in Parkland needs major work to stop a leak, and it does not sit right. Getting another view is sensible. We trace the leak on our own terms and explain what we find, whatever the earlier advice said.

Bring the earlier estimate if you have it. We explain where our findings match and where they differ, with the evidence for each. Sometimes the larger repair is justified. Sometimes a smaller one will stop the water. You get the reasons in writing either way.