Chimney and fireplace repair: costs and warning signs

HUD's inspection guide names these parts and what to check on each:¹

• Firebox. Where the fire burns. It should be checked for deterioration or damage.
• Damper. Where there is one, it should be checked to see that it works.
• Hearth. It has to be big enough to protect any combustible material next to it. For older fireplaces the guide gives a minimum of 20 inches deep from the face of the fireplace and a foot past the opening on each side, and says to check local codes too.
• Flue liner. The lining inside a masonry chimney should be tight along its whole length, intact, clear and suited to the fuel you burn. An unlined chimney should be looked at for a metal liner.
• Cap and hood. A masonry chimney without a hood should have a stone or reinforced concrete cap on top. A sloped layer of mortar, called a cement wash, is also used, but it's the least durable. Some chimneys have a hood over the flues.
• Flashing and cricket. The flashing where a chimney comes through the roof should be inspected. A chimney on the side of a pitched roof needs a cricket on its uphill side to send water around it, with watertight seams, flashed into the chimney and the roof, and as wide as the chimney.

HUD lists the common chimney problems and what each one calls for:¹

• It leans away from the house and cracks where it's joined to the other masonry. HUD lists this as what uneven settling from a foundation that isn't up to the job does to a chimney that's part of an outside wall, and says to consult a structural engineer.
• The brick or mortar is crumbling near the top. A worn cap lets water into the masonry below, where it freezes and thaws. A cement wash cap cracks and breaks after several years.
• It leans where it sticks up above the roof. Mortar joints wear out from the chimney swaying in the wind, or from flue gases attacking the mortar where there's no tight liner. Worn joints should be repointed, and a chimney that's unstable or visibly leaning should be taken down and rebuilt.
• The cap is cracked or flaking. A cement wash that's badly cracked, spalled, rust stained or not sloped right should be replaced. A stone or concrete cap with minor, shallow damage can be repaired, and one with extensive damage should be replaced.
• There's discoloration around the mantel. It can mean a smoky fireplace that doesn't draw well.
• An antenna on the chimney seems to be straining it. It should come off.

A chimney fire is a reason for a check on its own. Its heat can crack the tile liner of a masonry chimney, so once the fire's out, have the chimney checked. Cracks or holes left in the flue can let sparks through into the attic or the framing around the chimney.²

The US Fire Administration's advice is to have heating equipment and chimneys cleaned and inspected each year by a professional.³ The EPA passes on fire officials' advice to have a wood-burning appliance, its chimney and vent professionally inspected each year, and says that includes looking for cracks, which can let smoke into the house or expose the chimney's parts to heat that may start a fire.⁴

Creosote is the main reason for cleaning a chimney: when the buildup on its inside surface catches fire, that's a chimney fire. How often to clean depends on how much you burn, the wood, the kind of stove or fireplace and how you run it, from every couple of weeks to no less than once a year. Burning well-seasoned wood cuts down the buildup.² The EPA says nearly 7 percent of home fires are caused by creosote buildup in the chimney.⁵

A blocked flue can usually be opened by a chimney sweep, but if there's doubt about whether the flue itself is sound, HUD says to consult a chimney expert.¹

If you smell smoke in the house, the EPA says to shut down the fire, open a window, make sure the flue is open, check the chimney carefully, and call a professional stove installer or chimney sweep.⁴

These are published national ranges from cost guides. They aren't quotes. Each one is where two or more cost guides' ranges agree, credited to each guide it rests on. Use them to check a price, then ask masonry and chimney companies near you to look at your chimney and quote the job.

A chimney that has to be taken down and rebuilt isn't a repair, so ask for that price on its own. If you qualify for heating assistance, the EPA says you may also qualify to have your wood heater and chimney cleaned, repaired or replaced through your local heating assistance office.⁴

A sweep cleans the flue and looks it over. Repointing joints, replacing a cap and rebuilding a chimney are masonry work. HUD's guide sends a blocked flue to a sweep, a flue whose soundness is in doubt to a chimney expert, and a chimney leaning from settlement to a structural engineer.¹ The EPA suggests checking the credentials of whoever installs or maintains a wood-burning system.⁴

Whether chimney or masonry work needs a state license depends on where you live. Your state's rules page on this site has its rules, with their sources.

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• What the inspection found, written down, with photos of the top of the chimney and the flue where they can take them.
• Whether the price is for a repair or a rebuild, and what it covers: the cap, the flashing, the liner, taking away debris.
• For a new cap, whether it's stone, concrete or a mortar wash.
• For a liner, what kind it is and whether it suits the fuel you burn.
• Who gets the permit, if your town needs one.
• The price in writing before work starts.

Before you hire, how to check a masonry contractor covers what to look up. If you'd like prices from companies near you, you can send a request through the request form.