Chimney Repairs in Keighley, Bradford

Have you ever looked up at your bedroom ceiling and noticed a faint, tea-coloured stain appearing near the breast? Or maybe you've found odd bits of grey mortar or red brick dust sitting in your gutters? These are the early warning signs that your chimney is crying out for a bit of TLC. Most people don't think about their chimney until a leak starts dripping onto the carpet, but by then, the internal damage to your timbers and plasterwork can be quite pricey to fix. It's much easier (and cheaper) to catch a loose pot or a bit of cracked flaunching early on. We always tell our neighbours: if you can see grass growing out of your chimney or a noticeable lean, it's time to give us a shout for a quick look.

In towns like Keighley and Bingley, we have some beautiful older properties, but they often suffer from what we call 'sulfate attack'. This happens when the gases from old coal fires react with the moisture in the mortar, causing it to crumble and expand. When this happens, the joints between your bricks or stones simply wash away, leaving the stack unstable. We provide professional repointing that doesn't just look the part but actually seals the stack against the elements. Whether your home needs traditional lime mortar to let a heritage property breathe or a modern, hard-wearing mix for a newer build, we ensure the finish is neat, tidy, and built to last.

The joint where your roof tiles meet the chimney stack is a prime spot for water to sneak in. To keep this area bone-dry, we use lead flashing—including those L-shaped pieces called soakers and the stepped aprons you see on the side of the stack. If your lead has started to crack, pull away from the wall, or was never installed correctly in the first place, you'll know about it as soon as the next storm hits. Our team are specialists in leadwork, shaping and fitting it precisely so that water is diverted away from the house and straight into your gutters. It’s a bit of an art form, but getting it right is the difference between a dry loft and a damp disaster.

That sloped bed of mortar at the very top of your chimney? That’s the flaunching. Its job is to hold your chimney pots firmly in place and shed rainwater away from the flue. Because it's so exposed, it often cracks under the summer sun and winter frost. If it fails, your pots can become loose and, in high winds, genuinely dangerous. We can strip back that old, failing mortar and lay a fresh, reinforced bed to keep everything secure. While we're up there, we can also fit bird guards or rain cowls. These are great for stopping jackdaws from nesting in your flues and preventing that annoying 'downdraught' that can blow soot back into your living room.