A homeowner has a damp patch in an upstairs bedroom. She assumes the roof needs replacing and starts collecting quotations for a new roof.
The tiles are sound. The lead flashing around the chimney is split, the mortar at the base has gone, and water is tracking down inside the stack and appearing several feet away.
The repair is a fraction of the cost of the roof she was about to buy, and the two firms who quoted for a full replacement were not being dishonest. Nobody had looked at the chimney.
1. Check the chimney before condemning the roof
Chimneys, flashings and other penetrations cause a disproportionate share of leaks. Investigating them first prevents a great many unnecessary roof replacements.
2. Explain what flashing does
The junction between the chimney and the roof surface, sealing a gap that would otherwise let water straight in. Homeowners have generally never heard the term.
3. Explain why lead is used
Durability, malleability and longevity when detailed properly. A lead flashing installed well lasts decades and one installed badly fails in a few years.
4. Explain that lead work is specialist
Thickness, fixing, laps, expansion allowance and detailing all matter. A general roofer and a skilled leadworker produce visibly different results on the same chimney.
5. Warn about mortar used instead of lead
Cement fillets in place of proper flashings crack and fail, and they are a common shortcut that produces a repeat leak within a few seasons.
6. Explain the mortar and pointing question
The brickwork and the joints at the top of a stack are exposed to everything. Repointing is a routine maintenance item that is almost never done until something leaks.
7. Explain the flaunching
The mortar weathering at the top of the stack around the pots. It cracks, water enters the stack and appears inside, and it is cheap to replace and rarely inspected.
8. Explain the capping and ventilation position
An unused chimney needs capping in a way that keeps water out and allows ventilation, because sealing it entirely causes damp inside.
9. Explain the removal options honestly
Full removal, removal to below the roofline, or removal of the stack above the roof only. Each has different structural, cost and internal implications.
10. Explain what removal involves structurally
Support for anything remaining, making good the roof, internal reinstatement and potentially building control involvement. Owners expect a morning's work.
11. Explain the access cost
Chimney work needs scaffold, which is a substantial part of the price for a small repair, and which argues for doing everything at once while it is up.
12. Suggest what else to do while accessed
Ridge, flashings elsewhere, gutters and any other high level work. Customers paying for access appreciate being offered the efficiency.
13. Keep the repair or replace question separate
A chimney problem on a sound roof is a repair, which is the honest assessment in roof repair or replacement and the honest answer.
14. Diagnose the chimney at the enquiry stage
An assistant that asks where the damp appears, whether there is a chimney on that elevation, when it started and whether anything was done recently frequently identifies the cause before anybody visits. The insurance position sits in insurance work and what roofers should explain, the specialism question in which brands do you work on questions, and the capture in best ai chatbot for lead generation. See features, start at try, and the sector view sits under roofing.