Cracked crown, loose brick or water stains by the fireplace? We find where the chimney is letting water in and fix that.
At Mastercraft Antioch Masonry and Concrete, chimney repair in Antioch, CA, means fixing the crown, the flashing and the brick so your chimney keeps water out of the house again, and telling you plainly whether that takes a repair or a partial rebuild.
Most calls start with something you can see: a crack across the cap on top, brick that's flaking, or a damp spot on the ceiling near the chimney. Those usually trace back to water getting past the flashing, the metal seal where the chimney meets the roof, or into the gap between the brick and the flue liner, the inner lining smoke travels up. Sealing that gap and replacing a worn liner are both part of chimney repair.
The price moves with how much of the chimney needs work. Sealing and new flashing is the smaller end, a new liner is more, and taking the top down and rebuilding it is the most. The schedule turns on whether a sweep's inspection has to come first, whether the job needs a permit, and the weather, because we're working on your roof. The written estimate spells out what we'll do and what we won't.
One thing to check before you hire anyone. California lets someone without a contractor's license take a job only up to $1,000, and only when the work needs no permit and they have nobody else working on it. A crew up on your roof falls outside that, so ask whoever you're considering for their state license.
Three parts of a chimney do most of the work of keeping water out. When I'm on your roof, these are what I look at first, and what they show decides the repair.
The crown is the concrete cap across the top of the chimney, and its job is to shed rain away from the brick. Once it cracks, water runs straight down into the masonry. Small cracks can often be sealed, but a crown that's broken up or pulling away has to come off and be poured again.
Flashing seals the joint where the chimney comes through the roof. When it lifts, rusts or was never set into the brick right, water gets in there first, and you usually see it inside as a stain on the ceiling or wall. We reset or replace it and seal it tight to the brick.
Spalling, when the face of a brick flakes off, and mortar joints gone sandy or missing tell you the chimney has been soaking up water for a while. Near the top, where it's most exposed, bricks can work loose. How far it's gone is what decides between a repair and taking that section down.
Here's how a chimney job goes with us, from your first call to the walk-through at the end. I'm the one you deal with at each step.
Call (925) 503-1025 or send the form, and most of the time it's me who gets back to you. It helps if you can tell me how often you use the fireplace and whether the chimney has had a fire or come through an earthquake.
I come out, look over the crown, the flashing and the brick, and tell you what I see. If a sweep's inspection should come first, I say so before quoting, and then you get a written estimate of what we'll do and won't.
If you go ahead, we pull any permit the job needs and line up the inspections. I'm on site while the crew works, and we keep your roof, yard and firebox protected from debris.
When we're done, we walk the job with you and show you the new crown, flashing or brickwork. We clean up before we leave, and if the permit calls for a city inspection, we're there for it.
I start on the roof. I look over the crown, the flashing and the brick, and then I tell you whether your chimney needs a repair or a partial rebuild. Most of the time the answer comes down to where the water is getting in, because that's what's doing the damage, and I'd rather fix that than cover up the stain it left on your ceiling.
When the mortar is the problem, the fix is tuckpointing, grinding out the worn joints and packing in fresh mortar. When bricks are cracked or flaking, we do brick repair, cutting out the bad ones and setting new brick in their place. Neither one lasts if the crown or flashing is still letting water in, so those get fixed in the same job.
Sometimes I can't tell from the outside what's going on inside the flue. When a full inspection by a chimney sweep makes sense first, I say so before I quote, because pricing a liner or a rebuild without knowing what's inside is just guessing with your money.
When the brick is mostly sound, we fix the crown, reset the flashing and repoint or replace the bad brick. It keeps the chimney you have and costs less, as long as the structure underneath is solid.
When the brick above the roof is loose or badly broken, we take that section down and relay it on sound masonry. It's the bigger job, and on a chimney that far gone it's the one I'd pick.
Send the form and you'll hear back within one business day, most of the time from me. I'll set a time to come out and look at your chimney, and the estimate is free at your property with no obligation to book.
(925) 503-1025In Antioch, the city's Building Services Division issues building permits and inspects the work, checking it against the current California building codes. Whether your chimney job needs a permit depends on what's being done, so if it isn't clear, we ask the city's Building Division, which answers questions about specific projects, before work starts. When a permit is needed, we pull it and line up the inspections.
Bigger fireplace jobs have one more rule to know about. A regional air report describes a rule for fireplace or chimney remodels that cost more than $15,000 and need a local building permit, and under it those remodels have to put in a gas, electric or EPA-certified wood-burning unit. If you're planning a remodel that size, check the current rule with the regional air district before you settle on a design.
We're based in Antioch and work in the cities around it, from Concord and Walnut Creek out to Brentwood and Rio Vista, including Pittsburg and Oakley. Around here we see a lot of brick chimneys on older homes, where the crown and flashing take the weather first. If you're not sure we cover your address, call and ask.
I started out as a helper on a masonry crew, mixing mortar and hauling block long before anyone let me lay a brick, and I learned the trade from people who'd been at it for decades. I opened this business in Antioch in 2023. I come out to look at every job myself, and I'm on site with our crew when the work gets done.
I'll tell you the truth about your chimney, even when the truth is a smaller job than you expected. We're licensed and insured. Satisfaction guaranteed on every job. If you'd like me to take a look, call (925) 503-1025 or send the form.
When the mortar joints on your chimney or walls have gone soft and sandy, fresh mortar packed into cleaned-out joints keeps water from working into the brick.
Cracked, flaking or loose bricks on a chimney, wall or step can be cut out one at a time and replaced, so you don't have to rebuild the whole thing.
These are the cities with their own page on our site. We work in other nearby cities too, so if yours isn't listed, give us a call and ask.
Chimney repair across the US usually runs about $550 to $6,800 per job, installed, from a cap and crown repair at the low end to a rebuild above the roofline at the top. Where yours lands depends on how much of the chimney needs work, and my written estimate gives you the figure for your house.
For a fireplace you use regularly, one liner company's guide calls flexible stainless steel the right call, even though it costs more. The same guide says clay tile costs less upfront but can crack from thermal shock, a sudden swing in heat. That's why I ask how often you burn before we talk about liners.
Trade guidance recommends one before a chimney is lined or relined, when the home is sold, and after a chimney fire, severe weather or an earthquake. It includes a video scan or a similar look inside the flue, so it shows what can't be seen from the roof. If yours fits, book it before you choose repairs.
Clear a path to the roof and to any attic, basement or crawl space you can get into, because a Level 2 inspection goes into each of them. Move stored boxes away from the chimney in the attic and keep pets out of the way on inspection day.
Not always. One federal set of retrofit plans lists options from capping the chimney at the roof or ceiling to replacing just the part above the shoulder, where the chimney narrows. A rebuild can keep the masonry firebox or swap the firebox and chimney for a factory insert and metal flue, which decides how much old brick stays.
A crown or flashing repair is usually a short job, while a rebuild takes longer because the brick comes down and goes back up course by course. A sweep's inspection or a permit adds time before we start, and we schedule roof work around rain so fresh mortar isn't soaked.
Call (925) 503-1025, or email a photo of the top of your chimney to team@antiochmasonryandconcrete.com so I can see what I'm walking into before I come out.
