Roofing service · Yorkshire

Chimney repairsand re-pointingin Doncaster and Yorkshire

Name: Roofserve Ltd
Address: 3 Newfield Avenue, Thorne, Doncaster, DN8 4RX, GB
Telephone: 07947 493640

Chimneys take the worst weather on the building and cause a disproportionate share of internal damp. We re-point, rebuild, re-flash and weatherproof the stack so it stops feeding water into your walls.

Request your free assessment 07947 493640

Free assessment · Damp traced back to the stack · Fully insured

Damp issues traced back to the stack, not guessed at

£2m public and £10m employers' liability insurance

Code-correct lead flashings formed and dressed on site

Free assessment before anything is quoted

Service overview

Chimney works & pointingexplained properly

What the service is

Chimney works covers everything that keeps a stack watertight: re-pointing eroded mortar joints, rebuilding brickwork above the roof line, renewing lead flashings, re-bedding or replacing flaunching and pots, and capping or weatherproofing disused stacks. It also covers diagnosing damp that appears on chimney breasts inside the property.

Who it's for

Owners of older Yorkshire housing stock, terraces, semis and period properties, where the stack is original and has never been re-pointed. Also anyone with a redundant chimney that's still collecting water, and anyone with staining on an internal chimney breast.

When you need it

Mortar joints are eroded or missing. Bricks are spalling, cracked or loose. The flaunching around the pots is cracked. The lead flashing has lifted, split or been replaced with mortar or mastic. There's a damp patch on the chimney breast in a bedroom. Or the stack visibly leans.

Why it needs a roofer

A chimney is masonry standing proud of the roof on all four sides, so it's wetted from every direction and dries slowly. Once the pointing goes, the brickwork absorbs water and carries it down inside the building, usually appearing as a stain on a chimney breast rather than a drip. It's also the single most common place for a leak to be misdiagnosed, because the flashing detail is difficult and easy to bodge with mastic.

What ignoring it costs

Left alone, thisgets more expensive

Chimney damp is the classic 'we've had three people look at it' problem. Meanwhile the stack keeps absorbing water and the brickwork keeps deteriorating.

How the damage escalates

Saturated brickwork carries damp into bedroom walls and chimney breasts, blowing plaster and ruining decoration.
Freeze-thaw on wet, poorly pointed masonry spalls the brick faces off, turning a re-point into a rebuild.
Failed flashings let water directly into the roof structure at the stack, rotting rafters and battens where they're hardest to inspect.
Cracked flaunching lets water down the flue itself and loosens pots that then sit above a public footpath or your own front door.
A leaning or unstable stack is a structural risk, and it doesn't correct itself.
Disused stacks that are left uncapped keep taking water in with nothing venting it out.

Mistakes that make it worse

Sealing the flashing with mastic or a mortar fillet instead of dressing lead into the brickwork. It buys one winter.
Painting the stack with waterproofer over failed pointing, trapping moisture inside the masonry.
Repointing with a mix that's harder than the brick, so the brick face fails instead of the joint.
Assuming a chimney breast stain is condensation without anyone getting up to look at the stack.
Removing a stack without properly weatherproofing what's left behind.

Our process

Five steps fromfirst call to sign-off

01
Free assessment
Jamie inspects the stack, the flaunching, the pots and the flashings, and links what's visible outside to where the damp is showing up inside.
02
Diagnosis
You get a clear explanation of whether the problem is pointing, brickwork, flaunching, flashing or a combination, and what will and won't fix it.
03
Written quote
The work is scoped in writing: metres of re-pointing, courses of rebuild, whether flashings are being renewed, and whether the stack is being capped.
04
Works carried out
Joints raked out and re-pointed, brickwork rebuilt where needed, flaunching re-formed, lead flashings and soakers formed and dressed on site, and capping fitted where the stack is redundant.
05
Check, photos and clear-up
Work checked, useful, since you can't see the top of your own chimney, and the site left clean.

What you get

Specific outcomes,not vague promises

Internal damp addressed at source

Fixing the stack removes the cause rather than redecorating over the symptom every couple of years.

Masonry protected from freeze-thaw

Sound pointing stops water sitting in the joints and taking brick faces off over a Yorkshire winter.

Lead done properly

Code-correct flashings formed and dressed on site, not a mortar fillet or a bead of mastic.

Safety above the roof line

Loose pots, cracked flaunching and unstable brickwork dealt with before they end up on the ground.

Cost contained

Re-pointing a stack early is a fraction of the cost of rebuilding one that's been left to spall and lean.

You know what was done

A plain explanation of the condition we found and the work carried out on a part of your house you will never otherwise look at.

In detail

Materials, methodsand where they apply

Chimney work sits at the junction of roofing and masonry, which is exactly why it gets bodged so often. Getting it right means treating the brickwork, the flaunching and the roof junction as one system.

Materials we use

Matched facing bricks for rebuild work above the roof line
Appropriate lime or cement-based mortar specified to suit the existing brick
Code-correct lead for front aprons, side soakers, back gutters and step flashings
Sand and cement flaunching re-formed around the pots
Chimney pots, capping and vented caps for redundant stacks
Damp-resistant detailing where the stack passes through the roof covering

How we do the work

Raking out failed joints to a proper depth rather than skimming the surface
Rebuilding courses where brick faces have spalled beyond re-pointing
Forming lead soakers, step flashings and back gutters to the correct code
Chasing lead into brick joints and wedging it, not sticking it on
Re-forming flaunching with correct falls so water runs off the stack head
Capping disused stacks while retaining ventilation to the flue

Variations of this service

Chimney re-pointing

Raking out and re-pointing eroded joints on an otherwise sound stack: the most common and most cost-effective intervention.

Partial or full stack rebuild

Where brickwork above the roof line has spalled, cracked or moved, the affected courses are taken down and rebuilt.

Flashing renewal

Front apron, side step flashings, soakers and back gutter renewed in code-correct lead where the existing detail has failed or was never right.

Flaunching and pot works

Cracked flaunching re-formed and loose or damaged pots re-bedded or replaced.

Capping and weatherproofing disused stacks

Redundant chimneys capped and weatherproofed so they stop taking water in, with ventilation retained where appropriate.

Situations this applies to

Damp patch on an upstairs chimney breast
Eroded, missing or sandy mortar joints on the stack
Spalled or cracked brick faces above the roof line
Lead flashing lifted, split, or replaced with a mortar fillet
Cracked flaunching or a leaning pot
A disused chimney that's still causing damp

Residential and commercial

Predominantly residential. Victorian and Edwardian terraces, interwar semis and period detached homes across Doncaster, Thorne and the wider Yorkshire area. Commercial and institutional stacks follow the same principles with access planned around the building's use.

Roofserve Ltd is fully insured, £2,000,000 public liability and £10,000,000 employers' liability. On larger jobs payment is staged, with the final payment taken only once you're satisfied. Cash and bank transfer only.

We work from Thorne, Doncaster across South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, East Yorkshire. Local pages for Doncaster, Thorne, Rotherham, Barnsley and other towns set out where we cover.

Questions answered

Chimney works & pointingFAQs

Cost, timescales, guarantees and how the work is actually carried out. If your question isn't here, call Jamie on 07947 493640 , open 24 hours, 7 days a week.

How much does chimney re-pointing cost?+

It depends on the size of the stack, how much of it needs raking out, whether brickwork needs rebuilding and how access is arranged. You get a written quote after a free assessment, no 'from' pricing.

How long does chimney work take?+

Re-pointing a domestic stack is usually a short job once access is in place; a rebuild or full flashing renewal takes longer. Jamie confirms timescales with the written quote.

Is my chimney breast damp definitely the chimney?+

Not always, which is why it's inspected before it's quoted. It can be pointing, flashing, flaunching, a redundant flue, or something else entirely, and we'll tell you which.

How long does chimney re-pointing last?+

Correctly raked out and re-pointed joints in a suitable mortar last for many years. Pointing smeared over failed joints in an over-strong mix fails quickly and can damage the brick.

Can you cap a chimney we no longer use?+

Yes. Redundant stacks are capped and weatherproofed, with ventilation retained where appropriate so the flue doesn't sweat.

Do you replace the lead flashings as part of the work?+

Where the flashings have failed, yes, formed and dressed on site in code-correct lead rather than sealed with mastic.

Do you need scaffolding for chimney work?+

Access is arranged appropriately for the job and the height. Where scaffolding is required it's included in the written quote.

Is chimney work covered by a guarantee?+

We stand behind the work we recommend and carry out. Where we've advised a full re-roof and a repair is chosen instead, that's noted on the invoice and no workmanship guarantee applies to that repair.

Can you attend urgently if a pot is loose?+

We're open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and treat anything with a falling risk as a priority.

Which areas do you cover?+

South, West, North and East Yorkshire. Doncaster, Thorne, Rotherham, Barnsley, Sheffield, Wakefield, Leeds and Selby among them.

Next step

Stop the stackfeeding dampinto your walls

Free assessment of the stack, flaunching, pots and flashings, a written quote.

Prefer to talk?

07947 493640

Open 24 hours, 7 days a week. You'll speak to Jamie, the owner, not a call handler.

£2m public and £10m employers' liability insurance
Detailed written quotes, no 'from' pricing
Final payment only once you're satisfied

Free assessment for potential work. Roof surveys are a separate paid service: price on enquiry.