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Chimney Crown Rebuild in Shoreline, WA
Most Shoreline crowns are original mortar wash from the 1950s. A proper cast crown starts at $299, with a free quote.
- Serving Shoreline & King County
- Free 2nd-opinion quotes
- Price match + 10–25% discount
Free Chimney Crown Rebuild Quote in Shoreline
We'll confirm a time by phone or text.
The crown on a Shoreline chimney is usually the original one, and on a 1950s or 60s rambler that means a thin mortar wash troweled over the top course of brick rather than a cast concrete crown with an overhang. Mortar wash shrinks, cracks, and pulls away from the flue tile, and once it does, rain runs straight down between the liner and the brick. From the ground the signs are a crown with chunks missing, a visible gap around the tile, or moss growing in the cracks. From inside, it's stains on the chimney breast and efflorescence on the brick.
We remove the failed wash down to sound brick, form a new crown that overhangs the brick with a drip edge, slope it to shed water, and leave an expansion joint around the flue tile so thermal movement doesn't crack it again. Crown rebuilds start at $299, the quote is free, and we price match plus 10–25% off any written quote. Most Shoreline crown rebuilds are a single-visit job; we schedule them for a dry window so the crown cures properly, and same-day quotes are often available.
Symptoms
Signs Shoreline homeowners notice
- Pieces of concrete or mortar missing from the top edge of the chimney
- Cracks wide enough to see daylight or fit a coin into
- The crown is flat or dished in the middle so water pools on it
- No overhang: the slab ends flush with the brick faces
- The top two or three courses of brick are spalling or loose
- A previous crown sealant is peeling off and the cracks underneath have reopened
Shoreline Conditions
Why this happens in Shoreline
Shoreline's median home dates to 1969, its housing stock is predominantly mid-century ramblers with masonry brick chimneys, and the crown is the one part of those chimneys with no protection from above. The Sea-Tac normals put 40.34 inches of rain a year on it, with about 73% of that October through March. A cracked mortar wash stays saturated through that stretch, and the region's winter pattern, with lows averaging 37.1°F in December, about 60 days a year that touch 32°F but only about 4 that stay frozen, means water in the crack freezes at night and thaws by day, over and over.
Brick industry guidance describes exactly that: saturated masonry under repeated freeze-thaw cracks, spalls and disintegrates. Moss closes the loop; it spreads fastest October through April on shaded surfaces, roots into crown cracks and holds water in them. The cure is a proper cast crown, and the time to pour one is the dry season, when July averages only 0.60 inches.
How It Works
Our chimney crown rebuild process
Remove the failed crown
We break out the old slab or mortar wash down to solid brick, protecting the flue opening so debris does not fall into the chimney.
Repair the top courses
Any loose or spalled brick in the top courses is reset or replaced so the new crown sits on sound masonry.
Form with overhang and slope
We build a form that projects past the brick faces on all sides and slopes the surface away from the flue so water runs off instead of sitting.
Pour and finish
The crown is poured in a single placement with a bond break around the flue tile so heat expansion does not crack it, and a drip edge is formed on the underside of the overhang.
Cure and seal
Once cured, we apply a breathable water repellent and, where useful, a flexible sealant at the flue joint. A new cap goes on if the old one is damaged.
Full details, options and pricing factors on the main Chimney Crown Rebuild page.
Need chimney crown rebuild in Shoreline?
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Chimney Crown Rebuild in Shoreline — FAQ
Can the crown on my Shoreline chimney just be sealed instead of rebuilt?
Sometimes. A solid cast crown with a few hairline cracks can take a flexible sealer. A mortar-wash crown that has cracked through, lifted at the edges or lost pieces, which describes most original Shoreline crowns, needs a rebuild, because sealer over loose material fails by the next winter. We tell you which it is from the roof, and the quote is free.
Will a new crown fix the stains above my fireplace?
If the crown is the entry point, yes, though existing stains need to dry out and be repainted. We water-test before rebuilding so you're not paying for a crown when the real leak is a missing cap or open joints. A crown rebuild starts at $299, and if it doesn't stop the water we're not done; we come back at no charge.
How soon can you do chimney crown rebuild in Shoreline?
We confirm a time by phone or text after you request a quote; same-day service is often available for urgent problems in Shoreline and the rest of King County.
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