Chimney Repairs in Reading
Roof repairs, re-roofing and flat roofs across Reading and the Thames valley. Free surveys, fixed written quotes, tidy workmanship.
Reading Roofing Company repairs and rebuilds chimney stacks across Reading — repointing, new flaunching, code 4 lead flashings, pots and cowls, partial rebuilds and full removal. On the terraced streets near the centre most stacks straddle a party wall and serve two houses, which changes both the survey and the bill.
A stack is the most exposed brickwork on any building. It gets weather from every side, it has no roof of its own, and the mortar in it is often the oldest surviving mortar on the house.
Why stacks fail before the rest of the roof
Rain drives into a stack from four directions and there is nothing above it to shed water. Once the joints erode, water sits inside the brickwork, freezes, and pushes the faces off the bricks. The flaunching — the mortar fillet that beds the pots — cracks first because it is the thinnest section up there, and from then on water runs straight down inside the stack.
That water has to appear somewhere. Damp on a chimney breast in a bedroom is far more often a failed flaunching or a perished flashing than a roof leak, and it can carry hygroscopic salts out of the old flue lining that keep the plaster damp long after the stack is fixed.
Chimney work and what it costs
| Chimney job | Guide price | Access needed |
|---|---|---|
| Rake out and repoint a stack | £550 – £1,400 | Scaffold to the stack |
| New flaunching, pots re-bedded | £350 – £900 | Scaffold or tower |
| Full flashing set renewed in code 4 lead | £400 – £1,000 | Scaffold to the roof slope |
| Rebuild from roof line up | £1,200 – £3,000 | Scaffold with a lift above the stack |
| Remove stack to below roof line and make good | £900 – £2,200 | Scaffold, plus internal work if the breast comes out |
| Cap a disused stack with a vented hood | £180 – £400 | Usually a tower |
Reading guide figures for 2026. Stacks are inspected close up before anything is quoted, and the price you get in writing is the one you pay.
How the work is done
Repointing in the right mortar
Soft Victorian brick wants a lime-rich mix. Hard modern cement is stronger than the brick around it, so the brick face spalls instead of the joint — the opposite of a repair.
Flaunching and pots
The old fillet comes off, pots are re-set plumb and the new flaunching is weathered so water runs off it rather than pooling against the pot.
Lead done as lead should be
Front apron, side soakers, stepped cover flashing and a back gutter, all in code 4 or code 5 to BS EN 12588, chased into the joint and wedged. Mortar fillets and flashing tape are not a substitute.
Redundant stacks
Removing a stack takes weight off old rafters and removes a maintenance liability. Keeping it and capping it with a vented terminal preserves the street elevation and lets the flue breathe. Both get priced if you want the choice.
Shared stacks on terraced streets
Where a stack sits on the party wall, the flues inside it belong to two houses and so does the masonry. Repointing one half is not really possible, and structural work needs both owners on side under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. We survey the whole stack, quote it once, and split the figure between the two addresses so neither neighbour is guessing what the other is paying.
It also means one scaffold instead of two, which is the single biggest saving available on this kind of job.
Terraced roofs in general
Party walls, shared valleys and access on a Reading terrace.
Frequently asked questions
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Call 0118 230 9278