Chimney Repair for Arlington Heights Homes

Chimney repair in brief

Chimney repair covers the parts of a chimney that wear out or break. That includes brick and mortar joints, the crown that seals the top of the masonry, the flashing where the chimney meets the roof, the flue liner, the damper, and the cap or chase cover on top. The job starts with finding what's damaged and why. You get a free estimate before any work begins. A few open mortar joints are much easier to fix than masonry that has been soaking up water for years. The details of each part of the job are on our chimney repair service page.

What Arlington Heights housing records say about chimney age

The Village of Arlington Heights' 2015 Comprehensive Plan used 2010 data. It states that almost 51% of the village's housing was built before 1970 and 22% before 1960 (source: Department of Planning and Community Development, Housing Characteristics). Newer figures come from the CMAP Community Data Snapshot, based on American Community Survey 2020-2024 five-year estimates. They put 4.9% of housing units before 1940 and 36.3% between 1940 and 1969, with a median year built of 1974.

A masonry chimney that has stood for fifty years or more has had a long time for its mortar, crown and flashing to wear down. On an older house, a repair should start with a check of the whole chimney, not just the spot where damage shows. Open joints, a cracked crown or loose flashing often turn up together.

House styles and where chimneys meet the roof

Chapter 6 (Historic Preservation) of the same plan describes rapid expansion after World War II. It says that growth created large residential neighborhoods with many ranch, split-level, tri-level, Lustron, neo-colonial, Cape Cod, minimal traditional, cube and mansard designs. Roof shapes differ a lot across those designs. The joint where a chimney passes through the roof is a common place for leaks, so we check the flashing closely whenever we look at a chimney leak.

Permits for chimney work in the Village

The building permit application from the Village of Arlington Heights Building & Life Safety Department lists Chimney and Fireplace as project types. The department's contractor list names mason and fireplace contractors. Both documents are part of the Grading Submittal Process and Checklist.

Check with the Village's Building & Life Safety Department before work starts so you know whether your repair needs a permit.

When repair is the right job, and when something else fits

• Repair fits when you see crumbling or missing mortar, flaking or broken brick, a cracked crown, water stains on the ceiling or wall near the chimney, rusted or lifted flashing, a damper that sticks, or damage to the flue liner.
• Damage at the very top is usually the crown, the cap or, on a factory-built chimney with a framed chase, the chase cover. Our guide on chimney cap vs chase cover explains the difference.
• If you're adding a fireplace rather than fixing an existing chimney, start with fireplace installation for homes in Arlington Heights.

Booking a repair

We also take on commercial and property-manager work, along with gas fireplace and gas appliance work. The rest of what we do in the village is listed under our services across Arlington Heights.