Chimney Repair
The same forces that create potholes are hard at work at the upper reaches of your home. Minnesota winters create intense freeze-thaw cycles that are detrimental to chimney brick and stone mortar work. With each rain or snowfall chimneys are exposed to water which works into hairline cracks in the surface. When that water freezes it expands, creating a slightly larger place for water to find during the next precipitation event. And so the process goes, day after day, year after year. Eventually, the crack works all the way through the concrete cap and from there it goes to work on the body of the chimney. See Kuhl Case Study #42, which examines chimney damage in Minneapolis.
A quality brick or stone chimney is an important focal point on the exterior of any home. It can also turn into a bit of a nightmare if it is ignored too long. A little maintenance goes a long way. Our chimney repair services include mortar restoration through tuck pointing and sealing, concrete cap replacement and total chimney reconstruction. We also install decorative enhancements such as clay pots, custom copper chimney shrouds and stone veneers. Kuhl Case Study #35 looks at how a common chimney reconstruction in Edina can turn from mundane to stunning with the addition of a little creativity.
Because we have our own in-house sheet metal team, we frequently repair or replace the flashing around chimneys including the saddle, the step flashing, the riglet and the cap. We sometimes recommend installing a custom sheet metal cap or shroud on chimneys in order to either enhance the appearance of the chimney or avoid some or all of the cost of a full masonry reconstruction. We have installed new caps on many stucco chimneys in the Minneapolis area that were not properly done in the first place. Kuhl Case Study #18 illustrates how we used copper sheet metal to resolve a leaking chimney in Eden Prairie.
If you have a stone chimney that is leaking there are a few ways to approach the problem. We find that many of the brick and stone chimneys in Minneapolis are leaking from improperly installed flashings where the chimney meets the roof. Field stone chimneys are perhaps the most challenging type to flash successfully. Here is one way to do it: Kuhl Case Study #27 (Orono Chimney Repair).
There are situations where the only solution to a chronically leaking chimney is to attack it from three angles including roofing, masonry and sheet metal, as in Kuhl Case Study #32, where we rebuilt an Eden Prairie chimney. This is one of the best things about working with Kuhl. We design, fabricate and install solutions to every challenge on the exterior of your home, and we do it daily. We repair leaking chimneys all over the Twin Cities, in particular when the problem seems to have stumped previous contractors. If you call a sheet metal guy, he will sell you a sheet metal solution. The same applies to masons. Because we have our own stable of skilled craftsmen we are able to create integrated chimney repair solutions that use a more global perspective.
Many of the chimney repairs we perform are done in conjunction with other work such roofing or siding because the damage is discovered during our inspection for those jobs. We perform chimney repairs all over the metro area including Edina, Wayzata, Orono, Eden Prairie, Minneapolis, and more.
