If you need a chimney rebuild in Chatteris, here is exactly what a properly run job looks like from the initial inspection right through to clearing up and leaving site.
Every chimney rebuild starts with someone getting eyes on the full stack - not just the base of it from the garden. A ground-level look can tell you something is wrong, but it cannot tell you how much of the stack needs to come down, what state the brickwork is in above the flashing line, or whether the flashings themselves are the primary source of any damp problem.
A proper inspection involves getting onto the roof. The roofer should look at the condition of each face of the stack, probe the mortar joints, check the lead flashings and their pointing, examine the haunching around the pot, and look at the roof covering immediately around the base of the stack for any signs of slipped or lifted slates or tiles. Any crack, gap or area of spalling brickwork should be noted. This is the information that determines whether a repair will hold or whether a rebuild is the right course of action.
We cover Chatteris and the wider area from our base in Ely. The inspection tells us exactly what the job involves before we give a price - there should be no surprises once work starts.
Once the inspection is done, the roofer should be able to tell you clearly: how many courses of brickwork need to come down, where the rebuild starts from, what materials will be used, whether the flashings need replacing in full or in part, and whether the pot is being retained or replaced. All of this should be in writing before any money changes hands.
A chimney rebuild in Chatteris on a typical two-storey semi-detached house - taking the stack down to just above the flashing line and rebuilding from there - typically costs in the region of £1,500 to £3,500 including scaffold. Taller properties, larger stacks or the need to source unusual matching bricks will increase the figure. Make sure scaffold is included in the quote or quoted separately and clearly - it is an unavoidable cost for this type of work.
A chimney rebuild cannot be done safely from a ladder. Scaffold is required to give safe working access to the stack and the roof slope around it. For a standard domestic chimney on a two-storey house, the scaffold is usually a short tower or a section of tube-and-fitting scaffold tied to the building. This is erected by a scaffolding contractor, usually the day before the roofing work begins.
The scaffold will typically stay up for a few days after the work is complete to allow for any minor adjustments and for the mortar to begin curing before it is taken down. On a small job the total scaffold-on-site time is usually five to ten days. It is normal for scaffold to occupy part of a path or garden temporarily - this is worth flagging to neighbours in advance if access is shared.
Once scaffold is in place, the roofer takes the chimney stack down to the agreed level. This is done course by course, with each brick carefully removed to avoid damaging the roof covering below. Debris goes into a skip or is lowered by hand - brickwork dropped from height onto a roof will cause serious damage to tiles or slates.
The old lead flashings are removed at this stage. If the flashing chases (the cuts in the mortar joints that hold the lead) are in good condition they may be re-used, but on a rebuild it is usual to cut fresh chases into the new brickwork as the stack goes up.
At this point you get a clear view of the sound brickwork the rebuild is starting from. If the roofer finds the deterioration goes lower than expected once the stack is opened up, that is the moment to discuss - with evidence in front of you - whether the scope needs to change.
Before the new brickwork goes up, a damp-proof course (DPC) is laid at or just above roofline level across the full width of the stack. This is a horizontal barrier - typically a proprietary polypropylene or polyethylene sheet - that prevents moisture from rising up through the masonry. It is a building standards requirement and should not be omitted, regardless of whether the original stack had one.
The new brickwork goes up course by course, with each joint fully filled and tooled to match the profile of the original as closely as possible. The mortar mix is chosen to suit the age and type of the existing brickwork - a softer lime-rich mix for older properties, a standard sand and cement mix for mid-20th century construction. Getting this wrong is one of the most common causes of accelerated failure on rebuilt chimneys.
Bricks are sourced to match the existing in colour, size and texture. On older properties this sometimes means using reclaimed stock or hand-made bricks - this takes more effort to source but produces a far better result. The roofer should have confirmed the brick source before the job starts, not be improvising on the day.
New lead flashings are dressed in as the brickwork rises to the correct height. The flashing system on a chimney typically consists of a front apron flashing, step flashings up each side and a back gutter or soaker arrangement depending on the roof pitch and covering. Each piece of lead is cut, dressed and fixed to the correct code - code 4 or code 5 is standard for most domestic chimneys, with heavier lead on more exposed details.
The lead is turned into the fresh mortar joint (the chase) and pointed over with mortar once the stack is complete. Leaving the pointing until the end means the lead can be properly dressed first without the mortar constraining it.
The chimney pot is set onto the top of the new stack and haunched in with mortar, sloping away from the pot to shed water. The haunch should form a solid, continuous fillet with no cracks or voids - water sitting against the base of the pot is one of the first routes into the core of a stack. If the pot is being retained from the original, it is checked for cracks before being re-set.
Before the scaffold comes down, the roof covering immediately around the chimney base should be checked. Slipped tiles or slates near the stack are common where the scaffold feet have been set, or where brickwork debris has displaced the covering during the take-down. Any disturbed tiles should be re-set and checked for seating before the scaffold is struck.
A properly run chimney rebuild leaves the site clean. Old brickwork, broken mortar and lead offcuts should be removed - not left on the lawn or in the gutters. If a skip was used, it should be collected promptly. Any mortar smears on tiles or slates around the base of the stack should be cleaned off before the roofer leaves.
We carry out chimney rebuilds in Chatteris and nearby towns including Ely, March, Stretham and Little Thetford. Call us to arrange a roof survey and we will walk you through exactly what your chimney needs.
No obligation · We usually respond within 2 hours
Storm damage, active leak, damaged ridge - we aim to be on-site within 24 hours.
