Chimney repoint and re-flashing, Low Fell

The situation

A Victorian stone terrace in Low Fell, Gateshead. Chimney stack was the worst on the street - pointing had failed to a depth of 30mm in places, the flaunching around the pots was cracked and had pieces missing, and the lead flashing around the base had perished. Owner had been getting damp in the bedroom wall for years and blamed everything else first.

The problem

Three separate failures on the same stack: failed pointing was letting water in through the bricks, failed flaunching was letting water down around the pots, and failed flashing was letting water in at the roof-to-stack junction. Any one of them would have been enough to cause the damp. All three together meant a complete rebuild of the top half of the stack was overdue.

Our approach

Scaffold round the stack (we don't do chimneys off a ladder). Raked out all failed pointing to 25mm depth and repointed in a hydraulic lime mortar (the correct choice for a Victorian stone building). Re-flaunched the pot bases in sand-and-cement with plasticiser. Stripped the old lead flashing off completely and re-dressed new code-5 lead - soakers, step flashing, and a proper apron along the back.

Spec

• Hydraulic lime mortar repoint (NHL 3.5)
• Sand & cement re-flaunch, plasticised
• New code-5 rolled lead flashings (LSA-spec)
• Step flashing raked into brickwork joints
• Apron flashing at back, soakers at abutments
• Full scaffold access, cleaned and removed

The outcome

Three days including scaffold. Damp in the bedroom wall has dried out completely over the following three months. Stack will be watertight for another 40 years easily. Cost: £1,150. Cost of the alternative (stack removal + re-roof): £4,500+.

"Had three quotes for the chimney. Roof Proof weren't the cheapest but the only ones who actually went up and looked. Fair price, proper job."

- Linda H., Low Fell, Gateshead

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