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Chimney leaks and flashing

If there is a stain on your ceiling near the chimney, the roof usually gets blamed. Five times out of six, the water came in through the chimney.

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A weathered chimney with failed masonry above a wet Washington roof

The five ways water gets in

Straight down the flue

No cap, or a failed one. The simplest problem on this list and the cheapest to solve.

Through the crown

Cracks in the top slab let water into the masonry, where it freezes and widens the crack.

Through the brick itself

Brick is porous. In a climate this wet, unsealed masonry takes on water like a sponge.

Through the mortar joints

Once the joints recede, every horizontal surface on the chimney becomes an inlet.

Through the flashing

The metal joint where chimney meets roof. It separates, it lifts, and someone at some point sealed it with roofing tar instead of replacing it.

Finding which one

That is the whole job. Five causes look identical from your living room ceiling and cost wildly different amounts to fix.

Cap, crown, chase cover — three parts, three jobs

Two of those five are the cap and the crown, and almost nobody uses the words correctly — including some of the people writing you quotes.

The capThe metal lid with mesh sides that sits over the flue opening. Keeps out rain, birds and embers. The cheapest part of the chimney and the one that prevents the most expensive damage.
The crownThe sloped concrete or mortar slab across the top of a masonry chimney. It sheds water away from the brick. When it cracks, water goes into the structure.
The chase coverThe metal top on a framed chimney chase — the boxed kind on newer houses. Not a crown. When the cheap galvanized ones rust through, water pours straight down inside the chase.
Why the mix-up mattersA quote for a “crown” on a house that has a chase cover is a quote written by someone who did not go up on the roof.
  • Rain sound inside the firebox, or water in the ash
  • Rust streaks down the outside of the chimney — usually the chase cover
  • Birds, or the sound of them, above the damper in spring
  • White chalky staining on the brick, which is water moving through masonry
  • Chunks of concrete in the gutter or on the roof below the chimney

Cap replacement $200 – $850 · crown repair or rebuild around $1,550. Puget Sound market ranges, 2026 — published so you can check any quote against them, ours included.

Waterproofing, and when it is a waste of money

A vapour-permeable masonry sealer keeps water out while letting the wall breathe, and on sound brick in this climate it is genuinely worth doing. On brick that is already spalling, or over cracked mortar, it seals moisture into the wall and accelerates the damage. Sealing comes after the repair, never instead of it.

Water damage compounds. Quickly.

A leak found in September is a cap. The same leak found in March is masonry.

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