Chimney repair required by an insurer

This customer's insurance company would not write the policy until the chimney was dealt with. Chimney maintenance gets overlooked until bricks start raining down from above. This one was one wind storm away from losing some. The first three rows of brick simply lifted off with no effort.

Once the top came off, the rest of it was easy to see: a cracked cap that had been holding water, mortar joints washed out down the stack, and a clay flue liner that had deteriorated. We removed the cap, all the loose brick, and the bad liner.

Then it went back together. We re-installed the loose bricks, re-pointed the deteriorating mortar joints, repaired the top liner section, added a drip edge and constructed a new cap.

It leaves the roof looking like a chimney should. Solid brick, and a cap that throws water clear of the joints instead of feeding it into them. The carrier had nothing left to object to.