ROOFING NINJAS
Roof Leaking Around a Chimney: What Needs Checking?
Homeowner advice from Roofing Ninjas · 14 September 2026
A stain near a chimney does not automatically mean the chimney only needs repointing. The masonry and the roof details around the stack need to be considered together.
Look at the whole junction
Ask what has been checked around the sides, the uphill side and the adjoining roof covering. A quotation described only as “seal chimney” gives you little information about what will change. The proposal should identify the defective work and whether the surrounding roof needs opening to put it right.
Repointing and leadwork are different jobs
Repointing addresses mortar joints in masonry. Leadwork deals with weathering details where the roof meets the stack. One does not automatically resolve a defect in the other. On our Ormskirk project, the agreed work included repointing, new leadwork, felt and battens around the chimney, and a new lead back gutter. That was a defined scope rather than a claim that repointing alone would do everything.
Ask what the quotation leaves in place
You should know which existing details will remain, what will be renewed and how the new work connects to the roof. Ask for photographs of the work you cannot normally see from the ground. Do not access the roof yourself to inspect a chimney.
Include the chimney in a re-roof plan
If the main roof is also due for replacement, discuss the chimney at the quotation stage. Retaining, repairing or removing it are different scopes with different implications. Removal needs a separate assessment of the structure and any flues still in use. We will not treat it as an incidental extra decided without proper planning.
See the actual work
See the Ormskirk chimney and leadwork project. View the project photographs and the work recorded for that property.
Useful next reading
- Can a Chimney Be Removed During a Roof Replacement?
- Leaking Roof Valley: Repair or Replacement?
- Compare roof replacement quotations
See our chimney repair service and roofing leadwork for the work involved around these junctions.
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