Chimney Repair & Masonry in College Park, GA

Chimney Repair & Masonry for College Park Homeowners

The College Park historic district is one of the biggest collections of pre-1935 housing in the southeast, and the chimneys reflect it: tall, multi-flue stacks on substantial Victorian and Craftsman homes, often serving three or four fireplaces from a single structure. That is a different job from a modern single-flue chimney. Multi-flue stacks need each flue checked separately, they are more prone to cross-contamination between flues when a divider wall fails, and their crowns are large enough that when one cracks, a great deal of water gets in. Set against that, the newer building out toward Godby Road is straightforward by comparison.

Large pre-1935 multi-flue stacks in the historic district serving several fireplaces each, alongside newer, simpler construction further out.

Almost every chimney failure in this part of Georgia is a water story. The crown — the concrete slab across the top — is the stack's roof, and when it cracks, rain runs straight into the masonry core instead of off it. From there the freeze-thaw cycles we get in January do the rest: water in the brick expands, and the face of the brick shears off in flakes. That is spalling, and once it starts it accelerates, because every flake exposes more absorbent surface. A crown recast while the cracks are hairline is a routine job. The same chimney left four winters is a rebuild from the roofline up, at several times the cost.