Chimney services, Portland metro
Chimney rebuilds in Portland, from the roofline up or from the footing
We take down failing brick to sound courses and rebuild Portland-area chimneys with matched brick, new flue tiles, a poured crown and a cap, from the roofline up or from the footing when the damage runs that deep. Photos come with every stage.
Updated
What you are seeing
A rebuild is usually on the table when a homeowner describes more than one of these at once.
- The stack above the roof leans, or a gap has opened between the chimney and the siding.
- Brick faces have popped off across most of the chimney, not just in a few spots.
- Mortar joints are washed out deep enough to slide a screwdriver into them.
- Whole bricks or chunks of crown have landed on the roof or in the gutter.
- A roofer or inspector wrote that the chimney moved when touched.
- The chimney has been repointed two or three times and the joints keep opening.
What we do on a rebuild visit
A rebuild runs from the inspection that sets its depth to the date of the first fire, and this is the order we work in.
Set the depth with a camera and a look at every face
The camera goes down the flue and we walk the exterior and the attic, because the choice between a roofline-up rebuild and a deeper one depends on where sound brick begins. Spalled brick above the shoulder points to a partial rebuild; open joints in the attic or a lean that starts below the roof mean the takedown goes further.
Protect the roof, the yard and the rooms below
Roof jacks or scaffold go up, plywood and tarps cover the shingles, and a chute carries old brick to the ground. Inside, the firebox opening is sealed and the damper closed so grit stays out of the room. Anything venting into the chimney, usually a furnace or water heater, is shut off and tagged before a brick comes out.
Take the stack down to sound courses
Brick comes off one course at a time until we reach mortar that resists a chisel and brick with its face intact, then one course more. Usable brick is cleaned and stacked for the street face. The old flue tiles are lifted out and the brick below the roofline is photographed, since that is the moment to change the plan if it needs changing.
Relay the brick around new tiles, with steel where it fits
New clay flue tiles go up first, set in refractory mortar with staggered joints, and the brick is laid around them with the air space the tiles need. Where the design allows it, reinforcing bar runs through the cores and straps tie the stack to the roof framing. The mortar is mixed softer than modern mortar, because a joint harder than old brick breaks the brick instead of the joint.
Pour the crown, flash the base and fit the cap
The crown is poured in concrete rather than a thin mortar wash, with an overhang and a drip edge so water falls clear of the brick, and a bond break around the tiles so the two can move as they heat. New counter flashing is let into the joints where the old was cut out, a cricket goes on the uphill side of a wide stack, and a cap with mesh finishes it.
Cure, clean up and hand over the photos
Fresh mortar needs to cure before heat goes through it, so we give you the date of the first fire rather than leaving you to guess. The roof is swept, the chute comes down, the furnace flue is reconnected and checked for draft, and you get the photo set from first course removed to finished cap.
Partial rebuild from the roofline or full rebuild from the footing
A partial rebuild replaces the chimney above the roof, where rain, wind and freezing do their damage, and leaves the sound brick inside the house in place. A full rebuild replaces the whole stack from its footing.
Many rebuilds stop at the roofline, because brick inside the attic and walls stays drier and keeps its mortar while the exposed stack fails. A full rebuild comes up when the lean starts below the roof, when the firebox and smoke chamber are failing at the same time, or when a seismic retrofit of the house calls for a new reinforced chimney.
When a rebuild beats another round of repointing
A rebuild beats repointing once the brick faces are gone across most of the stack, or the joints have been repointed before and keep opening; at that point the mortar is no longer the problem.
Repointing fixes joints in brick that is still sound. The clearest sign it will not hold is a lean. A stack above the roof that has tilted has lost the bond between its courses; it is a falling hazard in a windstorm and a quake, and the honest quote is a rebuild rather than repointing it once more.
Matching the brick on a street-facing chimney
On a 1920s house the chimney is part of the street face, so sound brick from the takedown is cleaned and laid on the visible sides, with new brick where nobody sees it.
When salvage runs short we match new or reclaimed brick by size, color range and texture, and photograph a sample against the house before ordering. Mortar color matters as much as brick color, so the mix is tinted to the old joints.
A rebuild is the moment to deal with an unreinforced brick chimney
Unreinforced brick chimneys can break and fall in an earthquake, and a rebuild is the one time the stack is already down and steel can go in.
The State of Oregon puts the chance of a magnitude 7.1 or larger Cascadia earthquake in the next 50 years at about 37 percent. A chimney relaid with reinforcing bar through its cores and straps tied to the framing rides out shaking better; federal retrofit guidance says it may not prevent damage or collapse.
The same guidance describes another option: replace the upper chimney with a listed metal chimney inside a framed and braced chase. It weighs far less, and we lay both prices side by side before you choose.
What changes the price of a chimney rebuild
The posted starting price is for taking down and relaying a single-flue stack above the roofline, and these are the things that raise it.
- How far down sound brick starts: every course below the roofline adds demolition inside the attic or wall.
- Height and roof pitch, which decide between roof jacks, scaffold and a lift.
- A second flue in the stack, with its own tiles and a wider crown to pour.
- Brick matching for a street face, when salvage falls short and reclaimed brick has to be found.
- Reinforcing bar and straps tied to framing, and a cricket or new counter flashing at the roof.
- Access and disposal, when the only chute route runs over a garden or a neighbor fence.
When a repair stops making sense
A chimney with a few spalled bricks and a cracked crown is a repair, not a rebuild, and we quote it that way. Taking down a stack that repointing and a crown coat would have carried for years helps no one.
In the other direction, a fireplace nobody lights under a failing stack may not be worth rebuilding in brick. The masonry can come down to the roof and be capped, which ends the use of that fireplace, or a furnace liner can run up a lighter metal chimney in a chase.
Rebuild: common questions
How do I know whether my chimney needs a rebuild or just tuckpointing?
Look at the brick faces, not only the joints. Tuckpointing is right when the brick is intact and the mortar has failed; a rebuild is right when faces have spalled across much of the stack, the chimney leans, or the joints have been repointed before and opened again. A camera run and photos settle it in one visit.
Does a partial chimney rebuild above the roofline need a permit in Portland?
The City of Portland states that chimneys may be repaired above the roofline without a building permit, while a new chimney or work below the roofline needs one. We confirm which side of that line your rebuild falls on before quoting, and in the suburbs we check with the permit office of that city first.
Can earthquake reinforcement be added during a chimney rebuild?
Yes, and a rebuild is the easiest time to do it, because the stack is already down. Reinforcing bar runs through the brick cores and steel straps tie the chimney to the roof framing. It improves how the chimney handles shaking; federal guidance says it may not prevent damage or collapse, so we also price the metal chimney option.
How long after a chimney rebuild can I light a fire?
Not until the mortar and the crown have cured, and we give you that date in writing before we leave. Heat through green mortar cracks it from the inside. A furnace or water heater that vents into the chimney is reconnected and checked for draft on the last day, since those cannot wait.
Does a chimney rebuild include a new liner and a cap?
A roofline-up rebuild includes new clay flue tiles for the rebuilt section, a poured crown and a cap with mesh. If the camera shows cracked tiles below the roofline, or a stove or insert will use the flue, a stainless liner the full height is quoted alongside the rebuild so you see both numbers at once.
Can a leaning chimney be rebuilt, or does it have to come down for good?
It can be rebuilt once the lean is understood. A lean that starts above the roof is a failed stack and is taken down and relaid plumb. A lean that starts at the footing means the base has settled, and a full rebuild on a sound footing or a lighter metal chimney in a chase are the two honest choices.
Related pages
Where we do this
Rebuilds take us to the older brick stock in every area below, from Irvington and Sellwood to the early 1900s houses of Canby and Forest Grove.
Ready to book a sweep?
Call with what the fireplace is doing, or text a photo of the opening and one of the chimney top, and we will name the service and its posted price before we come out.