Chimney Flashing Repair in Rosemead, CA

Signs water is getting in around your chimney

• Stains on the ceiling or wall beside the fireplace, or on the mantel.
• Damp or rusty damper, or water in the firebox after rain.
• Wet, dark framing around the chimney when you look into the attic.
• Cracked mortar or a thick, crumbling black seal where brick meets roofing.
• Shingles or tiles that stay wet on the upslope side long after a storm.
• White crusty deposits on the brick, a sign water is moving through it.

How a chimney should be flashed

Good chimney flashing is a set of overlapping parts, each shedding water onto the next. When one is missing, the rest cannot make up for it.

• Apron flashing across the downslope face, laid over the roofing below.
• Step flashing up each side, one piece woven under every course of shingle or tile.
• A back pan or cricket on the upslope side, so water is split around the chimney instead of pooling behind it.
• Counter flashing set into the mortar joints and folded down over all of the above.

Counter flashing is the piece most often done wrong. It should be let into a raked-out mortar joint, stepping up the sides with the slope, and sealed there. When it is simply glued to the face of the brick, the bond lets go and water runs behind it.

What goes wrong at older Rosemead chimneys

Many local chimneys are older than the roof around them by several reroofs. Each reroof crew either replaced the flashing or worked around it, and many simply troweled roof cement over the old joint. That seal looks fine for a year and then cracks.

Movement is the other cause. Brick chimneys sit on their own foundation and settle differently from the house, and earthquakes test them hard. The M5.9 Whittier Narrows earthquake of 1987 struck close by, and some chimneys in the area still carry cracks or lean slightly. Any gap between brick and roof opens a path for winter rain.

Width matters too. A wide chimney without a cricket acts like a dam. Leaves collect behind it, water stands, and it finds every flaw in the back flashing.

Is it the flashing, the crown or the brick?

Water at a chimney can come from three places, and we check all of them before quoting.

1. Flashing: we lift roofing beside the chimney to see whether step flashing exists and how it laps.
2. Crown and cap: the concrete or mortar top of the chimney cracks, and an uncapped flue lets rain straight down.
3. Brick and mortar: open joints and spalled brick soak up water that then runs down inside the chimney.
4. Attic: we follow stains on the framing to see which face of the chimney the water comes from.
5. Water test: on a dry day, we hose the roof joint first, then the brick, to separate the two.

We repair the roof side. When the crown or brick is the problem, we photograph it and tell you so a mason can take care of the masonry.

Chimney flashing repair in Rosemead, done in layers

Full flashing rebuild

We remove the roofing around the chimney, cut out old metal and cement, and install new underlayment turned up the brick. Then come apron, step flashing and back pan, followed by counter flashing set into freshly ground mortar joints. The roof covering goes back around it.

Chimney cricket installation

A cricket is a small peaked frame built behind the chimney and covered with metal or roofing. Residential code calls for one on chimneys more than 30 inches wide that do not sit on the ridge, and we recommend it on narrower ones where debris collects.

The cricket adds a joint of its own where it meets the brick, so that line gets full counter flashing too. Wherever counter flashing folds over step flashing, we keep an overlap of about 2 inches so wind cannot push water up and behind it.

Roof patch after chimney removal

When a cracked chimney is taken down below the roof, the hole needs framing between the rafters, new decking, underlayment and matching roofing. Done properly, the patch is hard to see. If the removal left soft or charred wood, our roof deck and dry rot repair work covers it.

How long does a chimney flashing job take?

Most rebuilds on a shingle roof take one day. Tile roofs, wide chimneys that need a cricket, and roof patches after removal can run to a second day. If rain is coming, we cover the opening with a tarp overnight.

1. We photograph the chimney, the attic and every face of the joint.
2. You get a written quote that lists flashing, cricket and any decking separately.
3. On the day, landscaping and the fireplace area are protected from debris.
4. Old metal and cement come off, new layers go on, and mortar dust is cleaned up.
5. You receive photos of the new metal before the roofing covers it.

What affects the cost of chimney flashing work

For planning, Manta's 2023 calculator places a typical LA County roof repair at $1,185-$1,625 before permits; it is not a quote. A narrow chimney on shingle with sound mortar sits near the low end of chimney work. A wide stack on clay tile that needs a framed cricket and rotted sheathing replaced costs more, and each of those appears as its own line.

• Chimney size and whether it needs a cricket.
• Roof covering, since tile around a chimney is slow to lift and reset.
• Condition of the mortar joints where counter flashing is set.
• Rotted sheathing or framing around the chimney base.
• Whether the chimney sits mid-slope, at the eave or on the ridge.

Permits, masonry trades and licensing at the chimney

Rebuilding flashing around a standing chimney is usually repair work without a permit. Taking a damaged chimney down and framing the opening is different: it changes the structure, so check with Rosemead Building and Safety, or the city or county office that covers your address, before demolition starts. Where a permit applies, we pull it for the roof patch and book the inspection.

Roof-side work over $1,000 in labor and materials needs a CSLB-licensed contractor in the C-39 Roofing class, and masonry carries its own classification. At cslb.ca.gov you can confirm a roofer's or mason's license and workers' comp record.

Why homeowners with older chimneys call Tylzen Spoke

• Reviewers mention plain explanations of what failed and no push toward work that is not needed.
• A photo record of the old joint and the new layers, plus an itemized written quote.
• Same-day or next-day visits when our crews are free, from our base on Rosemead Blvd.
• We document damage for insurance and can meet the adjuster, though claim negotiation is left to licensed public adjusters.

Manufacturer coverage on the flashing metal and roofing depends on the product line used. Workmanship terms appear in the contract itself; request a written copy of each and check whether a buyer of the house would inherit them.

We work on chimneys in South Pasadena, Sierra Madre and Alhambra, as well as Rosemead. A crumbling peak line near the chimney is a job for ridge cap repair.