Chimney Pointing
Your chimney takes
the worst weather first.
Nothing on your house weathers harder than the chimney — it stands in every storm with no shelter. Repointing its joints is what keeps water out of the rooms below.
Why chimneys fail first
A chimney gets hit from every side: rain driving horizontally, freeze-thaw cycling through winter, and flue gases working from within. Its mortar joints fail years before the walls below do. Once they're open, water tracks down inside the stack and shows up as stains on bedroom ceilings — often blamed on the roof while the real culprit stands right above it.
On DC rowhouses, a failing party-wall chimney can leak into two homes at once. Pointing it is neighborly.
Rooftop masonry, done safely
We set proper roof staging and protection, grind the failed joints to depth, and repoint with mortar matched to the chimney's age — soft lime-based mixes for historic stacks, not hard gray Portland that spalls old brick. Joints are tooled to match the original profile so the repair vanishes.
While we're up there
Every chimney pointing job includes a look at the crown, cap, and flashing — the other three ways chimneys leak. If the crown's cracked or the flashing's lifting, you'll get photos and a separate line-item price. Fix it all in one mobilization and save the second trip charge.
Chimney Pointing questions, answered
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Ready to get a real number?
Free estimates across Washington DC — and 20% off your first project. Call us or send a message and we’ll come take a look.