Rainier Valley — Roman Brick Stack Rebuilt From the Roofline Up
Brick faces coming away, joints washed out and a crown broken open at the top. The stack was past repointing, so it came down to sound masonry and went back up in matching Roman brick.
The Challenge
The upper courses had lost their mortar and several brick faces had spalled off — the face pops away when water gets in behind it and freezes. At the top the crown had broken apart, which meant water was no longer being thrown clear of the flue but running straight down inside the stack. Repointing here would have meant bedding new mortar against brick that was already failing: the repair goes before the chimney does.
Our Solution
The chimney was taken down from the roofline to masonry that was still sound and rebuilt from there in matching Roman brick, with new mortar and structural reinforcement tied properly into the existing roof system. A new crown was formed to shed water outward, and two flue extensions were added to improve draft and bring the flues up to code height.
The Result
A stack rebuilt on a sound base, matched to the original brick so the house reads as it always did, and a crown that finally sends water away from the flue instead of into it. Three quotes were issued over four days; the work was approved at $5,030 on 13 April 2026.