Our work — an honest gallery

What good chimney work looks like.

Before-and-after photos are everywhere in this trade — and most tell you very little. This page does something more useful: it shows representative examples of the three most common chimney repairs and explains what failed, what the fix involves, and how to tell it was done right.

The visuals on this page are representative examples of common chimney services — not Charter Oak job photos. Every real job we do is photo-documented for the homeowner; a gallery of our own completed projects is in the works.

Request a Repair Assessment Call (475) 260-0922

$149 inspection fee, credited toward service if you proceed.

Example 01 — Masonry repair

Failing mortar joints, repointed

Mortar is the sacrificial part of a chimney: Connecticut's freeze-thaw cycles crumble it long before the brick fails. Once joints recede or crack, water gets behind the brick face and the damage accelerates. Repointing means grinding the failed mortar out to a sound depth and repacking the joints with a mortar matched to the original. Done right, you see full, evenly tooled joints — not a thin skim coat smeared over crumbling material.

Brick chimney with cracked and receding mortar joints — Before — eroded mortar joints Representative example

Brick chimney with fully repointed, evenly tooled mortar joints — After — repointed and tooled Representative example

More about masonry repair →

Example 02 — Crown repair

A cracked crown, sealed against water

The crown is the concrete slab that caps the top of the chimney. Hairline cracks look harmless, but water settles in, freezes, and pries them wider each winter — then soaks down into the flue and masonry below. A proper repair either seals a structurally sound crown with a flexible crown coat or rebuilds a failed one with a slope that sheds water. Done right, the surface is smooth, pitched away from the flue, and free of spots where water can pool.

A weathered chimney crown with lichen and a rusted cap — Before — weathered crown, rusted cap Representative example

Chimney crown with a smooth, sealed, water-shedding surface — After — sealed, water-shedding crown Representative example

More about crown repair →

Example 03 — Flashing repair

Leaking flashing, properly layered

Flashing is the layered metal where the chimney meets the roof — and it's the most common source of the "chimney leaks" that show up as ceiling stains. It fails when the metal rusts, lifts, or was never layered correctly and someone chased the leak with roofing tar instead. A real repair uses step flashing woven into the shingle courses and counter flashing set into the mortar joints above it. Done right, you see clean overlapping metal — not smears of black sealant.

Failed chimney flashing with gaps where the chimney meets the roof — Before — failed flashing at the roofline Representative example

New step and counter flashing neatly layered where the chimney meets the roof — After — step and counter flashing layered Representative example

More about flashing repair →

The real promise

Every Charter Oak job is documented

We'd rather show you your own chimney than someone else's. That's how every visit works — no exceptions.

Photos before the work startsYour chimney, that day — so you can see exactly what we saw

Photos after the work is doneThe finished repair, documented for your records

A written scope before anything extraIf we find more than expected, you approve it first — in writing

Documentation you keepUseful for your records, your insurer, or a future home sale

Job documentation being prepared on a tablet — Fig. 01 — Documenting the job Illustrative

Next step

See what your own chimney needs.

A $149 assessment, credited toward service if you proceed — with photos of your chimney, not stock imagery.

Request a Repair Assessment Call (475) 260-0922