Chimney costs
How much does chimney flashing repair cost?
$300–$1,000. Cheap for a leak fix, and dearer if somebody has already been at it with tar.
$300 to $1,000. If it has been tarred before, expect the top of that range.
Chimney flashing repair cost sits between $300 and $1,000 for most houses, which makes it the cheapest way to stop the most common chimney leak there is. The variable that surprises people is previous repairs. Roofing tar smeared over the joint has to be cut and scraped off before anything proper can be done, and it frequently ruins flashing that could otherwise have been reset. A tarred chimney is a more expensive repair than one nobody touched, which is worth knowing before reaching for a tube.
What makes it dearer
Somebody got there first
Roofing cement shrinks and cracks, and it has to come off before a proper repair. It adds cost rather than saving it.
On this pagePrice table3 sections+2
Chimney flashing repair cost by job
Every figure here is a band, because a single number for work nobody has looked at yet would be a guess dressed up as a quote.
| The job | Typical range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Reseal sound counter-flashing | $300–$500 | Half a day, metal reused |
| Full step and counter-flashing replacement | $600–$1,000 | New metal woven into the shingle courses |
| Removing old tar first | +$150–$400 | How much and how hard it has set |
| Cricket or saddle on a wide chimney | $1,000–$2,500 | Code needs one over 30 inches across the slope |
| Deck repair under the shingles | +$400–$1,200 | How long the water has been running |
| Flashing with a roof replacement | $200–$400 | Cheapest moment there is to do it |
US-wide bands for planning, not a quote. Regional labour rates move all of these, and the only number that means anything is a written estimate for your chimney.
What actually decides the number
Whether the metal can be reused
Counter-flashing that has only worked loose can be reset and repointed. Once it is corroded or has been tarred, it is replacement.
Roof covering and pitch
Shingle is straightforward. Slate and tile are slower and need more care, and a steep roof needs different equipment before anyone starts.
Whether old roofing cement has to come off
Slow, unpleasant work, and it is the single most common reason a flashing quote comes in higher than expected.
Whether the deck has rotted
Water running where it should not have been eventually reaches the boards under the shingles. That turns a flashing job into roof work.
Whether a cricket is needed
On a chimney wider than about 30 inches across the slope, code calls for one. Its absence is why the back of a wide stack keeps leaking however often the flashing is redone.
Should be included
- Step flashing woven into the shingle courses
- Counter-flashing cut into a fresh reglet in the mortar
- Sealed with a polyurethane made for masonry
- Old material removed and taken away
- Photographs of the finished joint
Priced separately
- Deck or shingle repair, where water has already reached
- A cricket, where the chimney is wide enough to need one
- Crown or pointing work, if that is where the water is entering
- Interior repairs to ceilings and plaster
- Scaffolding on a roof that requires it
Quotes to walk away from
- Roofing tar offered as the repair. It buys a season and costs more to undo than it saved.
- Flashing reused on a brand new roof. That is the most predictable future leak on a house.
- A quote that does not mention counter-flashing. One layer of metal is not a flashing detail.
- Sealant applied over the old sealant rather than cutting back to sound material.
- No cricket discussed on a wide chimney whose back keeps leaking.
The VIO Standard
- A written estimate first
- License and insurance checked
- Nothing starts without your OK
Common questions
Why is flashing the most common chimney leak?
Because it is a moving joint between materials that expand at different rates. Brick and roof deck respond differently to every temperature swing and the metal in between takes the strain, while freeze-thaw works away at the mortar joint the counter-flashing sits in. It is not a defect so much as the part of a roof with the shortest natural life, which is why it should be the first thing checked on any chimney leak.
Can I just seal chimney flashing with roofing tar?
You can, and it will hold for a season or two, and it will cost you more overall. Roofing cement shrinks as it cures and keeps shrinking as it ages, so it pulls away from the brick and cracks somewhere you cannot see. It then has to be cut and scraped off before a proper repair, and it often ruins flashing that could have been reset. A tarred chimney is dearer to fix than one nobody touched.
Should flashing be replaced when the roof is replaced?
Yes, and it is worth insisting on. Reusing flashing under a new roof is a common saving and it is the single most predictable future leak on the house, because the new shingles will outlast the old metal by decades. The extra on a roofing quote is small, and the alternative is paying for roof work twice to reach the same joint.
What is a chimney cricket and do I need one?
A small peaked structure built on the upslope side of a chimney, splitting water and debris around it instead of letting them pile against the back. Code generally requires one where the chimney is more than 30 inches across the slope. If you have a wide chimney with no cricket and the back leaks however many times the flashing is redone, that is the reason, and no amount of sealant substitutes for it.
How long should chimney flashing repair last?
A proper two-part repair in new metal, twenty years or more. A reseal of sound existing metal, five to ten. A tar patch, one or two seasons. The spread is why the cheapest quote in this category is so often the most expensive over a decade, and why it is worth asking specifically what is being installed rather than what is being applied.
These are national ranges, not quotes — how we publish cost ranges.
The only number that counts is the one for your chimney.
Ranges are a starting point. A written estimate after someone has looked at it is the real answer, it costs nothing to ask for, and you are not committed to accepting it.
The people behind every visit
Founded by Ryan Carter in 2019. Every page you read here is reviewed by Ethan Miller, our chimney specialist. A written estimate before any work, and the findings in writing whether or not anything needs doing.
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