Should you repair or rebuild a chimney?

We always look at repair first. A few bad bricks, a cracked crown or worn mortar joints can usually be repaired or repointed. A rebuild makes sense when:
- Bricks are loose or missing across the top courses, not just in one spot.
- The chimney leans, has cracked through, or is pulling away from the house.
- Spalling covers large areas of the brick.
- The mortar is soft and sandy throughout, so repointing would mean replacing nearly all of it.
- Water has been getting in for years and the inside of the chimney has broken down.
- The chimney was badly built or badly patched in the past.



