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.
What to tell us about the leak
Describe where you see damp: on the chimney breast, on the ceiling beside it or inside the loft, if that area is already safely accessible. Tell us when it appears and whether you have noticed debris in the fireplace or damaged mortar visible from the ground. These observations help explain the problem; they do not establish its cause or which repair is needed.
Send photographs you already have or can take safely from indoors or the ground. Do not climb onto the roof, disturb loose material or enter an unsafe loft to gather evidence.
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.
Clarify access before agreeing the work
Ask how the chimney will be inspected and how the proposed repairs will be reached safely. Access for an inspection and access for carrying out the work may differ. Your quotation should explain the access arrangements and whether scaffolding, where needed, is included. Photographs help with the initial enquiry but cannot show every hidden detail.
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.
Request help with a chimney leak
Send your postcode, the location of the damp and any safely taken photographs. You do not need to choose between repointing, leadwork or a wider roof repair before asking us to assess the problem.
Request a chimney leak assessment. An enquiry does not book an appointment or commit you to work.
Considering a complete roof replacement?
If the wider roof also needs renewal, we carry out complete roof replacement across Liverpool, Sefton, Knowsley and surrounding areas. Use the replacement route below to discuss that wider scope; a chimney leak alone does not establish that a full re-roof is necessary.
START WITH WHAT YOU KNOW
A roof plan.
A clearer next step.
A few straightforward questions. You can leave the technical details to us.