Chimney Repairs in Geelong

Repairing Victorian and Edwardian chimneys the way they were built

Geelong's older suburbs carry a large stock of Victorian and Edwardian chimneys, many on homes in character areas where a repair has to look right as well as work. The masonry is lime-mortar brick that has been shedding weather for well over a hundred years, and what fails first is the top: the crown that seals the stack, the flashing at the roofline, and the mortar joints in the exposed upper courses.

Corio Bay adds its share. Salt in the air corrodes the metal flashing and cap sooner than inland, and the damp it carries works into any joint that has already opened. So a Geelong inspection looks at the stack as a system: we photograph the crown, the flashing, the mortar and the flue on camera, and match the symptom you can see inside to the cause we can see on the roof.

The repair is then done in the original manner. Joints are raked out and repointed in a lime-based mortar coloured to the existing, spalled bricks are replaced with matching units rather than patched with render, the crown is rebuilt with a proper fall so water sheds clear, and flashing is replaced in a material that will not rust in the bay air. Where the unlined flue itself is cracked, a stainless liner is quoted firm after the camera inspection.