Chimney Repair Bernardsville NJ

The Leak Is Usually Where Brick Meets Shingle

On Bernardsville roofs, the thing people call a chimney leak generally starts at the joint where the chimney passes through the roof.

When the flashing along that seam fails, rain runs in behind it and the stain shows up on the ceiling next to the chimney. People often blame the brick.

When it really is the flashing on a Bernardsville house, the answer is a proper flashing and waterproofing job. If the masonry is the cause, you see photos of it, and you pay only for that repair.

Why Metal Flashing Beats a Bead of Tar

A lot of the flashing we find on Bernardsville roofs has been patched at some point with roofing tar, which turns brittle within a few years.

Sun and the freeze-thaw of a North Jersey winter crack it, and water comes through. We do not patch a flashing seam with tar.

We cut step flashing into the brick course by course, layer counter flashing over the top, and weave it into the shingles so the seam sheds water the way the roof does.

Crown, Cap, and the Joints in Between

The crown sheds water off the top, the metal cap keeps weather and squirrels out of the flue, and the mortar joints hold the brick together. On the older homes in Bernardsville the joints wear fastest in winter.

We repair all three, and the free inspection shows which ones are failing.

Repoint With the Right Mortar, Not Just Any Mortar

Repointing means raking out the deteriorated mortar and packing in fresh mortar, and on a Gilded Age estate house the mix has to suit soft old brick.

Modern high-strength mortar packed into joints between century-old bricks is harder than the brick, so the brick faces spall off in the freeze-thaw cycle. We match the new mortar to the old in hardness and in color, then tool the joints to the original profile.

One Trip for the Roof and the Chimney

Chimney flashing has to be woven into the shingles around it. Handling roof and chimney on a single visit means one setup.

If your roof has work coming anyway, add the chimney to it. Ask about a combined look when you book roof repair in Bernardsville.

What the Somerset Hills Climate Does to Brick

Bernardsville sits up in the Somerset Hills, where cold, snowy winters and nor'easters that push rain sideways into the brick are hard on masonry.

Water soaks into the joints during a thaw and cracks them when it freezes again overnight.

The borough's housing skews older and single-family, and a lot of it dates to the Mountain Colony estate era of the late 1800s through the 1930s. Those homes were built with tall masonry chimneys, including the Tudor Revival and Colonial Revival houses in the Olcott Avenue Historic District. Caught early, almost all of that work is repair.

We are based in Clifton, in Passaic County, and provide chimney repair in Bernardsville. Call to discuss an appointment for your property.

Fireplace Flues and Furnace Flues Fail Differently

Plenty of the old chimneys around Bernardsville no longer serve a wood fire and now vent a furnace or a water heater. Newer high-efficiency equipment sends damper exhaust up flues that were not sized for it, and that moisture damages the liner, joints and crown from inside.

If your heating system was swapped in the last decade or so and nobody checked the chimney afterward, that is worth one inspection even with no visible damage.

What It Costs and How You Pay

On a Bernardsville job you get an itemized written number after the free inspection, based on the actual damage.

Flashing repairs and repointing are the smaller jobs, while a full rebuild is priced separately with matched brick and a new crown.

Seniors and military take $500 off, and 0% financing is available.

Does a Bernardsville chimney still need attention after the previous owner sealed off the fireplace? Yes. A sealed flue is still exposed to weather on the outside.

An unused stack with a cracked crown lets water into the wall under it for years, so cap it and seal the crown.