The four repairs, from smallest to largest
Re-sealing. The counter-flashing is embedded in a mortar joint and sealed; the sealant has failed. Real, and worth doing — but if a contractor proposes sealant as the answer to flashing that is corroded or was never stepped properly, that is a patch with a short life.
Step and counter flashing replacement. The correct assembly is a step flashing piece interleaved with every shingle course up both sides, with counter-flashing let into the masonry above it. Replacing it means opening the shingles back around the chimney. This is the most common real repair.
Crown and masonry. A cracked crown or open mortar joints let water in above the flashing, and no amount of roofing fixes that. It is a mason’s job and an honest roofer will say so.
The cricket. On a wide chimney a saddle is built on the up-slope side to divert water around it. Where one is missing, water pools behind the chimney and no flashing detail survives that for long. Building one is framing plus roofing.
Why the cheap fix keeps coming back
A bead of sealant around a chimney will stop a leak for a season or two. It is the most common thing a homeowner has already had done before calling us, often more than once.
The reason it fails is that sealant is being asked to do a job metal is supposed to do. Correct flashing drains water; sealant blocks it. Blocking works until the sealant moves, and it moves every year with heat and frost.
The practical consequence: if you are on your second sealant repair on the same chimney, you are being sold the wrong repair.
When it should be done with the roof
If the roof is within a few years of replacement, doing the flashing alone means paying to open the same area twice. Flashing is part of the roof, not part of the chimney.
If the roof is new and the flashing is failing, that is a contained job and nobody should be quoting you a roof for it. If a roof was installed recently and the chimney flashing was reused rather than replaced, that is a workmanship question for whoever installed it.
Storm damage and insurance
Wind and hail damage flashing as well as shingles, and flashing is one of the items most often missing from a first insurance scope because it is small and easy to overlook. If a storm went through, have it documented with the rest of the roof.
You file and own the claim, your carrier decides coverage, and we are a licensed roofing contractor rather than a public adjuster. On an approved claim your deductible is typically your out-of-pocket cost.
What the free inspection settles
Which of the four repairs you need, whether the masonry is involved, and whether it is a contained job or one worth doing with the roof. Free across Maryland and Northern Virginia, usually within twenty four hours, photo report yours to keep.
We do not publish a chimney flashing price because the honest answer moves between the four jobs above, and a figure quoted from a phone call is a number chosen before the problem was identified.
Get it looked at, free
We inspect across Maryland — Montgomery, Prince George's, Howard, Anne Arundel, Frederick, Carroll and Baltimore counties. Free inspection, photo report within 24 hours, and the report is yours to keep whether or not you hire us.