About 23.8% of Maitland’s homes predate 1970, and the City describes a historical corridor around Lake Lily and Lake Catherine with some houses dating to the 1880s. That decides what a repair here usually involves.
The parts of a chimney that get repaired
Most repairs fall into three groups. The structure: brick, mortar joints and the courses above the roof, where repointing and tuckpointing or chimney masonry work restores what weather has worn away. The top: the crown and cap, which decide how much water reaches everything below; see a rebuilt crown. The inside: the flue liner, which decides whether the fireplace can be used at all; see repairing cracked flue tile.
On a framed chase the same logic applies with different materials: the chase cover, trim, siding and any wet framing, covered by prefab chimney repair.
The local picture in Maitland
On the older houses near Lake Lily, repointing needs a mortar that suits the brick, and on the oldest that can mean a lime-rich mix rather than a modern bagged one. On townhomes, repairs to a shared chase or roof often go through the association first.
Before visible exterior work
If the house is one of Maitland’s older historic homes, ask the City of Maitland whether any review applies before a rebuilt crown, a new cap or different brick or mortar.
What you can check from the ground
- Brick fragments or sandy mortar in the gutter or on the roof
- Cracks or gaps across the top of the chimney, seen with binoculars
- Brick faces that look darker, flaking or chipped on one side
- Rust, soft siding or loose trim near the top of a chase
- A cap that’s missing, bent or sitting crooked
- A gap opening between the chimney and the wall (see what a leaning chimney can mean)
Stay off the roof. If you see any of these, a closer look decides whether it’s a small repair; sandy, eroding mortar joints and crumbling brick and what causes it explain the two most common findings.
The order repairs happen in
- The top first: crown and cap, so water stops reaching the brick; see crown repair
- Then anything loose: top courses relaid before they fall
- Then the flue: cracked tile repaired before the fireplace is used; see flue liner repair
- Then the joints lower down: only the ones that need it, in a mortar that suits the brick
Repointing the middle of a stack under a crown that still leaks is money spent twice. So is a new crown over loose brick.
When the problem is water, not damage
- Stains, drips or water in the firebox: help with water coming in
- Cracked, crumbling or loose masonry, or a damaged chase: repair, on this page
- Unsure what you’re looking at: the yearly chimney inspection
Repairs around Maitland
- Anywhere in Maitland: mention whether the chimney is brick or a framed chase
- Nearby: masonry and chimney repair in Winter Park, repair services in Eatonville and Altamonte Springs chimney repair options
- Everything else for the house: our Maitland service area
Other repairs that may apply: chimney rebuilding.
More detail: the chimney repair service in depth, plus what spalling brick means.
References (2)
Where the Maitland numbers and code references come from.
