How Much to Rebuild a Chimney Stack?

Homeowners rarely inspect their roofs and pay even less attention to chimneys, which means damage may not become apparent until a survey is carried out. At this point, you may find your property, or your potential new home needs to have the chimney stack rebuilt. If so, you’ll want to know exactly what your options are and how much the repairs are likely to cost.

What Repairs Are Required?

The nature of the repairs will have a significant impact on the cost of the work, so find out exactly what the problem is. The most common issue with chimney stacks is that they need repointing from time-to-time. If the mortar between the bricks degrades or is damaged, it can increase the amount of water that’s absorbed by the bricks and lead to further instability or damp.

Alternatively, if the bricks themselves are damaged or even missing, the stack may need to be fully rebuilt. As you can imagine, this requires more work than repointing a chimney stack, so is likely to cost a little more.

What’s the Average Cost?

Surprisingly, where your chimney is located can have an impact on how much repairs cost. A ridge chimney, which sits higher up than a lower-level eaves chimney, requires more scaffolding to be erected, which can increase the cost of the repairs.

According to homebuilding.co.uk, the average cost of repointing a ridge chimney stack is around £1,075, while the average cost of repointing a lower-level eaves chimney stack is approximately £650. However, if the chimney stack needs to be rebuilt, you can expect to pay approximately £1,900 for a ridge chimney and £1,500 for a lower-level eaves chimney.

Is Any Other Damage Present?

If a survey identifies damage to a chimney stack or you’ve noticed that the chimney on your property looks like it needs repairs, you’ll also need to consider whether any other damage has occurred. If a chimney stack is damaged due to a storm, for example, this could also have caused roof tiles to become dislodged.

Alternatively, if the damage has occurred gradually, over a period of time, you’ll want to know whether subsequent issues, such as penetrating damp, have occurred. Fortunately, a comprehensive survey can help you to determine whether any other issues need to be addressed in order to repair the property, enhance its safety, and keep it well-maintained.