Chimney Crown Repair in Winnipeg
The crown is the concrete slab on top of your chimney, and it's what stops rain and melting snow from running down into the brick. Once it cracks, water gets in every time it rains, which is why it's so often the first repair a Winnipeg chimney needs.
Ballpark
- Sealing cracks
- $300 to $800
- New crown
- $900 to $2,500
- Work time
- About a day
- Best season
- May to October
What the crown does
Why a Cracked Crown Matters
Look at the top of your chimney and you'll see a layer of concrete or mortar around the flue tiles. A good crown is poured concrete, slopes away from the flue, and sticks out past the brick by about two inches with a groove underneath, called a drip edge, so water drops clear of the chimney instead of running down its face.
A lot of Winnipeg chimneys were finished differently. They have a few inches of mortar trowelled on and sloped by hand, with no overhang at all. Mortar soaks up water, and after enough freezing and thawing it cracks and starts to come apart. From then on, water goes straight into the middle of the chimney, and most of the crumbling you eventually see on the outside began up here.
- Cracks you can see from the ground with binoculars
- Chunks of mortar or concrete on the roof or in the eavestrough
- Damp or white-stained brick near the top of the chimney
- Water in the fireplace or a rusty damper after rain
Repair or replace
Sealing the Cracks, or a New Crown?
Sealing is cheaper and works well on a crown that's solid underneath. A crown that's breaking up, or one made of mortar, needs replacing.
| Sealing the cracks | A new poured crown | |
|---|---|---|
| Makes sense when | The cracks are fine and the crown is still solid and sloped | Wide cracks, loose pieces, a mortar crown, or no overhang |
| What's involved | Cracks ground open and filled with a flexible sealant, then the crown coated with a breathable waterproof sealer | Old crown broken off, a form built with an overhang and drip edge, and concrete poured with a bond break around the flues so they can expand on their own |
| Ballpark | $300 to $800 | $900 to $2,500 |
| Good to know | Only worth doing on a crown that's sound underneath | A good time to add a cap, since the old one comes off anyway |
Every repair and its ballpark is listed in the chimney repair cost guide.
FAQ
Chimney Crown Questions
If your question isn't here, call and ask. It's a quick conversation and there's no charge for it.
(431) 441-8780What's the difference between a chimney crown and a chimney cap?
The crown is the concrete slab covering the top of the brick. The cap is the metal cover with mesh sides that sits over the flue opening on top of it. The crown keeps water out of the brick and the cap keeps rain, snow and animals out of the flue, so most chimneys should have both.
Can a cracked crown be fixed in the winter?
Not properly. Sealant and concrete both need dry weather above freezing to bond and cure, so crown work is usually done between May and October. If it's leaking badly in the middle of winter, it can be covered temporarily until the weather allows a real repair.
How long does a new chimney crown take?
The work itself usually takes about a day on a typical house chimney. The concrete then needs a few days of reasonable weather to cure before it's sealed.
How much does chimney crown repair cost in Winnipeg?
Sealing cracks in a crown that's still sound is about $300 to $800. A new poured crown is about $900 to $2,500, depending on the size of the chimney, how many flues it has and how easy it is to get to. These are ballparks, and you'll get an exact price once we've seen it.
Free estimate
Tell us what your chimney is doing
Describe what you're seeing, or give us a call. We'll come out, get on your roof for a proper look, and give you a written price before anything is booked.
Rather talk it through? Call or text(431) 441-8780