Chimney Repairs & Leadwork in Birmingham

Chimney Repairs and Leadwork in Birmingham

The chimney is the most exposed part of any roof and, on Birmingham's older housing stock, often the most neglected. It catches the wind from every direction, the mortar joints weather faster than the walls below and the lead flashing where the stack meets the roof is doing constant work. When any of that fails, rain tracks straight down into the loft and the chimney breast. J Dowd & Sons have repaired chimneys across the city since 1970, and on the soft red Victorian brick common to Erdington and Aston terraces, getting the mortar mix right matters as much as the workmanship.

Signs your chimney needs attention

• Damp staining on the chimney breast inside, or on the ceiling and walls of the top floor
• Crumbling, sandy or missing mortar between the bricks of the stack
• White salt deposits, spalling or loose bricks near the top of the chimney
• Lead flashing that has lifted, cracked or pulled away from the brickwork
• A cracked or eroded mortar cap and the haunching around the pots breaking up

Brickwork and re-pointing

Our bricklayers rake out the decayed mortar and re-point the stack with a mix matched to the original, breathable lime for solid-wall period homes and the appropriate cement mix for newer properties. Cracked or spalled bricks are cut out and replaced, the haunching around the pots is renewed and a fresh weathered mortar cap is formed to throw water clear. Where a stack has bowed or cracked structurally, we can stitch and rebuild rather than condemn it.

Leadwork done properly

Most chimney leaks are flashing leaks. We strip the failed lead and fit new Code 4 and Code 5 lead, front aprons, stepped flashings dressed into the brick joints, soakers and back gutters, all chased in and pointed so the joint is sealed and stays sealed. Quality leadwork is a craft in its own right, and it is the single biggest reason a chimney either leaks or stays bone dry.

Repair, rebuild or remove

Not every chimney is worth saving in place. Where a stack is sound it pays to repair and re-flash it, which is by far the most common outcome. Where the top few courses have decayed badly but the lower stack is solid, we can take it down and rebuild from a sound level. And where a chimney is no longer used for a fire or boiler and is only ever going to be a maintenance liability, some owners choose to remove it down to roof level and tile over, which removes the leak risk entirely. We will give you a straight recommendation on which makes sense for your stack rather than defaulting to the biggest job.

Pots, cowls and one tidy visit

While we are up there we can fit bird-guard cowls, anti-downdraught cowls and rain caps, or cap off a disused flue while keeping it ventilated. Because our own family team does the brickwork and the leadwork, the whole job is usually done in one to two days with no subcontractors and no hidden extras. You get before-and-after photos, our written workmanship guarantee and a 10-year manufacturer warranty on the new lead. We are NFRC, TrustMark and Guild of Master Craftsmen accredited.