01
A crack running up the chimney, or a stack leaning off the house?
- A stair-step crack climbing the mortar joints
- A gap opening between chimney and wall
- Doors sticking and drywall cracks appearing in the same season
Why it happens in Texas: Much of urban Texas sits on expansive clay that swells and shrinks with the rain, moving whole houses, and the chimney, tallest and stiffest, shows it first. A cracked or leaning Texas stack is as often a foundation story as a weather one, and telling those apart is the first job of any honest inspection here.
What fixes it, and what it costs
First, the honest diagnosis: weather damage and foundation movement crack chimneys differently, and the repair budget goes to very different places. We read the crack pattern, check plumb, and tell you which story this is. Masonry repair follows only once the cause is named: repointing a stack the soil is still moving is paying twice.
- Repointing one face
- $400–$1,200
- Flashing reseal or replacement
- $300–$1,000
- Crown seal
- $200–$500
