Chimney flashing in New Jersey
A stain on the ceiling next to the chimney, metal lifting off the brick, caulk that has cracked open along the base. We replace the flashing and seal it into the brick and the roof. We do this on houses in 14 New Jersey counties.
NJ HIC 13VH13268400 · Licensed and insured · Free inspection · Fast ResponseModern Home Roofing & Chimney replaces chimney flashing on houses in 14 New Jersey counties under NJ HIC license 13VH13268400. When the metal where the chimney passes through the roof lifts or rusts through, we replace it and seal it into the brick and the roof. Every flashing job starts with a free inspection, photos and a written estimate.
Why a leak beside the chimney is often the flashing
A chimney is a brick box that passes through the roof, and the flashing is the metal that closes the gap between the two. Over the years the metal lifts off the brick, the seal cracks, or the metal rusts through. Then water runs down the outside of the stack and into the house.
The stain usually shows up on the ceiling or the wall right beside the chimney, and it gets bigger after every hard rain.
Signs the chimney flashing is failing
- A stain on the ceiling or wall right next to the chimney.
- Metal at the base of the chimney pulled away from the brick.
- Rust streaks or holes in the flashing.
- Caulk or tar smeared along the base of the chimney and cracked open.
- Damp wood or dark stains on the roof boards around the chimney, seen from the attic.
- A leak that only shows up when the rain blows from one direction.
A leak next to the chimney is not always the flashing. If the metal checks out, the water can be coming through a cracked crown or the brick itself, and we tell you that. How chimney repair works
How a chimney flashing job works
A chimney flashing job with us runs in six steps. Finding where the water actually gets in comes first, and your written estimate lists how long the work will take.
We inspect the chimney and the roof, free
We get up to the chimney when it is safe to and photograph the flashing, the crown, the brick and the shingles around it. If we can, we also check the attic under the stain.
You get a written estimate
What is failing, what we will replace and the price, on paper. If the crown or the brick is letting water in too, that is on the estimate as well.
We take off the old flashing
The old metal comes off so we can see the roof boards around the chimney. If the wood is soft, you get photos and a price before we replace it.
We put in the new step and counter flashing
Step flashing goes in piece by piece up the sides, one under each course of shingles. Counter flashing is cut into the mortar joints and laps down over it.
We seal it into the brick and the roof
The new metal is sealed into the brick and the roof, so water runs over it and back onto the shingles instead of behind it.
We clean up and show you
We clear the old metal and roofing off the roof and the ground, and go over photos of the finished flashing with you.
The pieces of chimney flashing
Chimney flashing is more than one piece of metal. Each piece covers a different side of the chimney, and water finds the one that has failed.
Base flashing
The piece across the front of the chimney, on the downhill side. It sits over the shingles below it and sends water down the roof.
Step flashing
Short bent pieces up each side of the chimney, one under each course of shingles. Water that gets under a shingle lands on metal and runs back out.
Counter flashing
Metal set into the brick that laps down over the step and base flashing, so water running down the brick cannot get behind them.
Back pan or cricket
Behind the chimney, on the uphill side, water and snow pile up. A narrow chimney gets a metal pan there. A wide one usually needs a cricket, a small peaked section of roof that splits the water around it.
The seal
Where the metal meets the brick and the shingles. Once the seal cracks, water gets behind the metal even when the metal itself is fine.
Water coming in around the chimney?
Get a free inspection
What else affects the flashing
Where your house is changes the flashing
Near the shore, in Ocean and Monmouth, wind drives rain sideways at the chimney, and salt air eats at metal flashing and caps. Farther north and west, in Sussex, Warren, Morris and Hunterdon, winters run colder and freezing and thawing works at the seal year after year.
Flashing checks out?
Then the water may be coming through the roof around the chimney. See Roof Repair. We look at both while we are up there.
Related work
Cracked crown or missing cap: Chimney Caps and Crowns. Loose brick or open mortar joints: Chimney Repair.
Check us out before we pull any flashing off
A chimney we finished, before and after
It depends on how wide the chimney is, how steep the roof is, and whether the wood under the old flashing has rotted. We do not quote over the phone. You get a written price after we have been up to look at the flashing and the roof around it.
Most often the flashing where the chimney passes through the roof has lifted or rusted through, and water is running down the outside of the stack. It can also be the crown, the brick, or the roof around the chimney. We find which one before we price anything.
Then the water is getting in somewhere else. A leak next to the chimney is not always the chimney. It can be the shingles around it, a cracked crown on top, or water soaking through the brick. We look at the chimney and the roof while we are up there, and show you the photos.
Yes. Counter flashing is the metal that laps down over the flashing on the roof. We cut a groove into the mortar joints and set it in, so it cannot peel away from the brick the way flashing that is only glued or caulked to the face can.
A cricket is a small peaked section of roof built behind a wide chimney, on the uphill side, so water and snow get pushed around the chimney instead of piling up against it. If your chimney is wide enough to need one and does not have one, we put it on the estimate.
We replace chimney flashing in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren counties. If your town is in one of those, we can come out and look at it.
Find out where the water is getting in
Tell us where you are seeing the stain. We come out, inspect the flashing and the roof around the chimney for free, and give you photos and a written price. If the flashing is fine, you will hear that from us. If you hire someone else, you owe us nothing.
Fast Response · NJ HIC 13VH13268400 · Licensed and insured