Level 1 sweep and inspection to the NFPA 211 annual standard - flue, crown, cap, and flashing checked and photographed
Chimney sweep logs do not sweep chimneys. They loosen some creosote - which then falls where a brush and vacuum still have to collect it.
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AfterFast, Reliable Chimney Repair Across Decatur
Chimney repair in Decatur, GA typically costs between $350 and $2,800 depending on what’s failing, with flashing repair at the lower end and full crown rebuilding higher. Most jobs on Decatur’s older brick chimneys are diagnosed in one visit and completed in a single day once materials arrive. If you’ve spotted water stains inside near the fireplace, crumbling mortar on the chimney exterior, or a rusted cap, call Flint Chimney Sweep at (830) 251-4560 for a written quote before any work begins.
We’ve been repairing chimneys across Decatur’s 30030 bungalow grid long enough to know the difference between a flashing leak and a crown crack from the street. Our crews carry the parts that fail most in this climate, which means fewer return trips and a faster fix on homes from Winnona Park to Oakhurst.
Key takeaways:
- Upfront written pricing on every repair, so the invoice matches the approval. No surprises at the door.
- 365-Day Done Right Promise: every repair carries a written one-year guarantee, and a covered failure means we return at no charge.
- Our technicians are background-checked and uniformed. The phone is answered by a live person, 24/7.
- We work on everything from 1920s brick chimneys to newer prefab systems.
Why Flint Chimney Sweep Is Decatur’s Preferred Chimney Repair Company
Decatur homeowners have a lot of choices, and plenty have been burned by companies that no-show or move the price after the work is approved. That’s exactly why Flint Chimney Sweep operates under The Garrison Standard, the same code every Garrison Partners location follows: a written price before a single tool comes off the truck, a written one-year guarantee on every repair, and a free return visit if a covered repair fails. We’ve been doing this since 2002 as part of the Garrison Partners family of independently owned chimney service companies.
Our reputation in Decatur is built on showing up when we say we will, with a price that doesn’t shift, and leaving the fireplace ready to burn safely. Hank Delano leads our team with a simple rule: if it’s not documented, it didn’t happen. That’s why every inspection includes a camera report you can see, and every repair leaves with a written guarantee. We serve the entire Decatur area, from the neighborhoods around the square out to the DeKalb Avenue corridor.
When you call, a live person answers. Not a voicemail tree, not a call-back form, not a recording that tells you to wait until Monday. That matters when you’re calling at 9 p.m. because a storm just soaked the chimney breast wall and you don’t know whether it’s urgent or can wait until morning.
Chimney Flashing Repair in Decatur
Chimney Flashing Repair in Decatur addresses the metal (or, on many older homes, tar-and-fabric) seal where your chimney meets the roofline, and typical flashing repair on a Decatur bungalow runs $350 to $900. Flashing fails when the sealant dries, cracks, and separates from the brick, letting water wick into the attic and run down around the chimney chase. The telltale sign is often a water stain on the ceiling or wall several feet from the fireplace itself, not right at the chimney.
What a flashing repair actually involves
On a pitched Decatur roof, we remove the old flashing, inspect the intersection for hidden rot, and install new step or continuous flashing with proper counter-flashing cut into the mortar joint. The sealant we use is high-temp rated and holds up to Georgia summer heat and winter freeze cycles. We photograph the job before and after so you see exactly what was replaced.
When to suspect a flashing leak in a Decatur home
If water only appears after a hard rain with wind from a specific direction, flashing is the likely culprit. A crown crack leaks more consistently, regardless of wind. On restored 1920s homes near Ponce de Leon Avenue, original flashing has often outlived its expected service life two or three times over, and it’s the most common repair we quote during spring rains.
Chimney Crown Repair in Decatur
Chimney Crown Repair in Decatur fixes the concrete or mortar cap on top of the chimney, and on the older flat-cornered brick chimneys common in 30030, crown rebuilding runs $800 to $2,800 depending on how much of the crown needs to be replaced. The crown’s job is to shed water off the top of the chimney and away from the flue liner. When it cracks, water seeps into the brickwork, freezes during Decatur’s winter cold snaps, and the expansion widens cracks with every cycle.
Spalled brick and cracked crowns go together
On a 1920s bungalow off Ponce de Leon Avenue near the Decatur square, our tech pulled the cap and found the chimney crown spidered from years of standing leaf-pack, water tracking down the outside of the flue liner and past a corroded Gelco cap that had rusted through at the seam. We rebuilt the crown, bolted down a new stainless cap, and ran a camera down the firebox-to-chimney crown run to confirm no spalling mortar had dropped onto the smoke chamber shelf before we called it done. That’s the difference between a patch and a repair intended to last.
Not every crack means a full rebuild
Hairline cracks can sometimes be sealed with a high-bond crown coat, but larger cracks or a crown that’s visibly separated from the brick need to be reformed. We’ll give you both options in writing and tell you straight what we’d recommend for your house, not what earns us more. A crown repair done right stops the water that eventually wrecks your damper assembly and rusts out the damper frame.
Trusted Brands We Service in Decatur
We install and service professional-grade chimney products from manufacturers that stand behind their work because we stand behind ours. That includes Chimney Repair work using DuraFlex liners when a new flue liner is warranted, Olympia Chimney caps and dampers for sealing the top of the flue, and Copperfield chase covers and flashings. Because we stock common parts for Decatur’s older brick chimneys, most repairs are completed in one trip. You can search any of those brands online and check what they build; we’re comfortable being judged by the materials we use.
Common Chimney Repair Problems We See in Decatur Homes
- Cracked crowns on 1900s-1920s brick chimneys. Decatur’s 30030 ZIP has one of Georgia’s oldest tree canopies over the city’s original bungalow grid, and rain-slicked oak and pecan litter keeps chimney caps loaded for months. That standing leaf-pack is brutally hard on flat-cornered brick crowns, which crack far more often here than in the newer subdivisions east of the city.
- Freeze-thaw spalling. Decatur’s winter nights dip below freezing often enough that water trapped in old, soft brick expands and pops the face off, which is the primary driver of spalling brick repair requests we see from Oakhurst and Winnona Park homes.
- Rusted dampers and caps. By the time a cap is visibly rusted, a good portion of every summer rain has been getting straight down the flue. That accelerates third-degree creosote formation inside the flue, a tar glaze a brush alone cannot break loose.
- Failing flashing on original tar-and-fabric rooflines. Decatur’s bungalows often still have their original flashing installation, which was never intended to last 100 years. The resulting leaks show up as stains far from the chimney, which is why many Decatur attics have water damage that gets misdiagnosed as a roof issue.
Pricing for Chimney Repair in Decatur, GA
Here are the numbers Decatur homeowners can expect. Flashing repair: $350 to $900. Crown repair with a full recast: $800 to $2,800. Spalling brick replacement: $60 to $120 per brick plus the mortar work behind it. A new stainless cap installed: $400 to $850. Tuckpointing a single face of the chimney: $450 to $1,100. What moves the price is access (steep pitches or chimney height), how much of the crown must be recast, and whether the existing flashing can be saved or needs full replacement.
Every estimate is free. We hand you a written price before any work begins, and the number on that sheet is the number on your invoice. Call (830) 251-4560 to book a chimney inspection with a camera run, and we’ll show you exactly what’s happening so you can make a decision with evidence, not a sales pitch.
We Also Serve Cities Near Decatur
Our crews serve Decatur and the neighboring communities of Scottdale, Clarkston, Stone Mountain, and Tucker. If you’re in any of those areas and need chimney crown or flashing work, call (830) 251-4560 and we’ll get you on the schedule with the same written pricing and one-year guarantee we provide in Decatur.
Serving Decatur, GA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Decatur area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About Chimney Repair in Decatur
Yes. An unused chimney can degrade faster than one in regular use. In Decatur’s humid summers, moisture collects inside a cool flue and accelerates mortar deterioration, and animals often nest in an idle chimney during the spring and summer. A level 1 or level 2 inspection in the off-season catches crown cracks and flashing failures before water gets into your attic. Call (830) 251-4560 to schedule an inspection with a camera report, whether or not you burned a single fire last winter.
First-degree creosote is loose sooty powder that brushes off with standard sweeping. Third-degree creosote is a hardened tar glaze, formed when wet wood or low-heat fires leave condensed smoke on the flue walls, that a brush alone cannot remove; it requires chemical treatment or mechanical removal. In Decatur, chimney caps rusted open from years of leaf-debris moisture let rain into the flue, which accelerates the glazing process significantly. We identify the degree by camera and tell you exactly what your chimney needs.
We run a water test and a camera from the top of the flue down to the firebox. A crown leak creates a consistent drip or dampness after any significant rain, while a flashing leak typically shows up only when wind-driven rain hits a specific side of the chimney. Decatur’s 1920s bungalows often have both failing simultaneously, which is why we inspect the entire system rather than assuming. We’ll show you the photos before we recommend a dollar of work.
Repair can safely wait when the camera inspection shows no water intrusion, no flue liner damage, and no loose mortar that risks falling into the smoke chamber. A hairline crown crack that we recoat for $400 can wait until the next inspection if the liner is sound and the cap is still shedding water. What cannot wait: a functioning fireplace with a damaged flue liner or a chimney leaking into your attic, both of which get worse and more expensive with every passing season. We’ll tell you plainly which category you’re in and give you a written price either way.
We install and repair products from DuraFlex, Olympia Chimney, Copperfield, HeatShield, Gelco, and Famco. These are professional-grade materials specified by the job, not whichever brand carries the best margin. If your Decatur home already has components from one of these brands, we can service or match them. If it has something else, we’ll tell you what we recommend and why, and the written quote is yours to keep regardless of whether you hire us.
If you’re seeing water where it shouldn’t be, a crack you can stick a finger in, or rust on the cap, call Flint Chimney Sweep at (830) 251-4560. We’ll set a written price before work starts, show you the camera evidence, and guarantee the repair in writing for a full year. That’s The Garrison Standard, and it’s what you get on every job in Decatur.
Written by Hank Delano, Owner at Flint Chimney Sweep, serving Decatur since 2002 as part of the Garrison Partners family.