Chimney flashing and cricket repair in Long Beach, CA

A chimney is a big box sticking up through the roof, and water hits the uphill side of it with nowhere to go. On a wide chimney, water and debris pile up behind it during every rain. If there is no cricket to divert that water, and the flashing around the base is old, rusted or loose, the chimney leaks.

Our roofers rebuild chimney flashing the full way: step flashing up the sides, a counter flashing cut into the mortar joints or stucco, an apron at the front, and a properly flashed cricket at the back when the chimney is wide enough to need one. We also check the chimney itself for cracks and loose brick that can let water in from above the roofline.

What a cricket does and when you need one

A cricket, sometimes called a saddle, is a small ridged roof built on the uphill side of the chimney. It turns the flat dam behind the chimney into two little slopes, so water and debris flow around the chimney instead of sitting against it. Wider chimneys are the ones that need it, and many older homes were built without one.

We frame the cricket from lumber, sheath it, cover it with underlayment, and flash it with metal or cover it with roofing that matches the rest of the roof. Done right, it ends the pooling that causes most rear chimney leaks.

• Diverts water around wide chimneys
• Stops leaves and debris piling up behind
• Framed, sheathed and fully flashed
• Covered in metal or matching roofing

How chimney flashing is built

Chimney flashing is a two-part system. The base flashing, steps along the sides and an apron at the front, is tied into the roofing. The counter flashing is set into the chimney itself, cut into a mortar joint on brick or into the stucco, and laps down over the base flashing. That overlap lets the roof and chimney move separately without opening a gap.

Many chimney leaks we see have only a single layer of metal, glued or caulked to the face of the brick. When the caulk lets go, water runs right behind it. Rebuilding with proper counter flashing stops that.

Brick, stucco and seismic concerns

Older Long Beach homes have brick chimneys, and some newer ones have wood-framed chimney chases with stucco. Brick can absorb water through cracked mortar and crowns, which looks like a flashing leak but starts higher up. Stucco chases crack and leak at the top. We check the crown, mortar and cap as part of every chimney flashing job.

Unbraced brick chimneys are a known risk in earthquakes. We do not do masonry rebuilds, but if we see loose brick, wide cracks or a chimney that has shifted, we tell you so you can have it looked at by a chimney or masonry specialist.

• Cracked crowns and mortar on brick chimneys
• Stucco cracks and failed caps on framed chases
• Loose brick or a chimney that has shifted
• Rusted chimney caps and spark arrestors

When to call about chimney flashing & crickets

Chimneys on older Long Beach homes

Many of the city's chimneys sit on the Craftsman bungalows and Spanish Revival homes built in the 1910s through the 1930s in Belmont Heights, Bluff Heights, California Heights and Bixby Knolls. A lot of those chimneys are wide brick, original to the house, and were built without a cricket. Their flashing has often been patched many times with caulk over the decades.

Some homeowners in these neighborhoods no longer use the fireplace, but the chimney still has to keep water out. In historic districts we keep the chimney's look the same, matching flashing lines and roofing around it. Post-war ranch homes in Los Altos and Lakewood Village have their own chimney styles, often brick or block, and the same flashing principles apply.