Chimneys. Re-pointed, rebuilt, properly flashed.

Chimney Repair · Boston

From a hairline crown crack to a full reconstruction from the roofline up. Brick matched to your home, mortar matched to the era, copper flashing sweat-soldered. New England winters tested.

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The work we do

Where most leaks actually come from.

If your roof leaks during a snow melt, the chimney is the suspect ninety percent of the time. The crown, the cricket behind it, the step-flashing where the brick meets the slate — these fail before the field of the roof does. They also fail invisibly. Water tracks down inside the masonry, behind the wall, and shows up two stories down.

We do full chimney work. Re-pointing failed mortar joints with lime-and-cement mortar matched to the era of your home. Rebuilding crowns with proper drip-edge and overhang. Replacing rusted-out flashing with sweat-soldered copper. Tearing down compromised chimneys from the roofline and rebuilding to brick-match.

We also do the quieter work that keeps a sound chimney sound. Waterproofing — a breathable protective treatment over the masonry that sheds water without trapping moisture inside the brick, so the freeze-thaw cycle has nothing to pry apart. And cap installation, sized to the flue, to keep rain, snow, leaves, and the occasional squirrel out of the chimney rather than down inside the wall. Neither is glamorous. Both prevent the leaks that turn into the rebuilds.

On older Boston homes, the chimney work is often more involved than the roof work. We bid both honestly. If the chimney needs to come down to the roofline before we install your slate, we’ll tell you on the first walk.

Our Process

How the work actually gets done.

Senior craftsmen, owner-walked, period-correct materials, sweat-soldered copper. No shortcuts on any of these.

01 / DIAGNOSE

Full Diagnostic Walk

Crown, mortar, flashing, cap, cricket. We document each component’s condition and tell you what’s leaking now vs. what will leak in three years.

02 / SCOPE

Targeted Scope

Re-point only what needs re-pointing. Rebuild only what won’t hold. We don’t oversell. The smaller fix often is the right fix.

03 / REPAIR

Period-Matched Repair

Brick matched to era and color. Mortar matched to original composition (lime-cement ratios). Copper flashing where steel was. Cricket installed if it was missing.

04 / WARRANTY

Documented Warranty

We hand you a binder: photos of every component before and after, material spec, installation date, warranty terms in writing.

Recent Work

A glimpse of the portfolio.

See the Full Portfolio  →

Research Tool

Should I file a claim on this chimney damage?

The Benefitra-built tool runs your specifics through the actual math. No signup. No email gate. No upsell.

• Storm Damage Triage Emergency
• Ice Damming Risk Score Winter prep

How likely is your roof claim to be approved?

Adjusters turn down roof claims when the homeowner cannot show the damage was sudden and storm-related rather than gradual wear. This estimates where your roof sits before you call the carrier, using the same scoring the Benefitra tool uses.

Roof age (years) Estimate from the build date or the last re-roof. Carriers commonly depreciate roofs past twenty years.

Roof material Asphalt / composition shingle Slate Metal (standing seam, panel) Wood shake / shingle Clay / concrete tile Copper Rubber / EPDM (flat roof) Other / mixed

ZIP code Not scored. It rides along on the enquiry so Arturo can check your date against the NOAA storm record for that part of Greater Boston.

Damage signs — check every one you can see

Some signs support a sudden-loss reading; others point to gradual wear, which is rarely covered. Answer honestly, because the adjuster inspects the roof either way.

Missing tabs or shingles Wind uplift

Hail dimples or pockmarks Reads as sudden if a storm is on record

Tree limb or debris strike Dated event

Daylight visible in the attic Structural breach

Water in the attic or an active leak Outcome depends on cause

Lifted or curled shingles Mixed, age-dependent

Flashing failure at a chimney or vent Mixed, install versus storm

Ceiling stain and nothing else Often read as gradual

Granule loss in the gutters only Wear, rarely covered on its own

A sagging area on the roof Often read as maintenance

When did the damage happen? Within the last 30 days 30 to 90 days ago 90 days to 1 year ago Over 1 year ago Not sure, no event noticed Most policies ask for prompt notice. Thirty days is a common standard.

Roof claims filed in the last 5 years Three or more in five years is a common non-renewal trigger.

Approval likelihood — Adjust the figures above.

Typical payout range — Based on material and how much of the roof is affected.

What is moving the number

• Fill in the roof detailsEach answer adds or removes points.

Suggested next step

Fill in the form to see the suggestion.

Documentation to gather either way

• A wide shot of the full roof from each side. Ground level is fine.
• Close-ups of every damage sign you checked above.
• Photos of ceiling stains or any interior water marks.
• A photo of what is in the gutters. Granule piles read as age, debris reads as storm.
• Receipts for any emergency tarp or temporary repair.
• Date stamps on the photos. Most phones record these automatically.

This is an estimate of likelihood, not insurance advice and not a coverage decision. Art Slate does not sell insurance and cannot tell you what your policy covers. Your carrier, your policy language, your deductible and the adjuster's findings decide the outcome. The percentage is a heuristic built from industry approval patterns, not a reading of your policy.

Want the roof looked at before you call the carrier? Arturo will climb it, photograph what is there and tell you plainly whether the damage reads as storm or as wear. The assessment is free, and if the answer is that filing would be a waste of your time, that is what you get told.

Your name Email

Phone Property address

Have Arturo look at the roof

“Should I file a claim on this damage or pay out of pocket?”

Chimney damage from storm events often falls in the gray zone of insurance claims — sometimes worth filing, sometimes worth paying out-of-pocket to avoid a premium hit. The Insurance Claim Likelihood calculator runs the math.

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Schedule Your Assessment

If the roof is leaking, the chimney is usually why.

We bid chimney work honestly. The smaller repair is often the right one. The best time to find out which you need is fall — an annual inspection before winter catches the crown crack or failed joint while it’s still a re-point, not a rebuild.

The diagnostic walk is free, no obligation, across Boston, Cambridge, and the surrounding towns. You’ll know what’s leaking now, what will leak in three years, and what it costs before any work begins.

Schedule Your Assessment  →

or call 617-913-1130 — available 24/7 for emergencies