Where brick meets shingles, four different flashing jobs meet too — apron, steps, back pan, counter-flashing. Done as metalwork it seals for decades; done as caulk it seals for seasons.
Chimney Flashing done properly comes down to components most quotes never mention: the counterflashing, the crown and the chase cover. We inspect each before pricing, photograph what we find, and put the scope in writing so you see exactly what you're paying for. Licensed and insured across Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.
Water damage gets worse every hour — call nowChimney Flashing Repair & Replacement — priced in writing before we start, no obligation.
Chimney flashing is a two-part assembly: step flashing woven into the shingle courses and counter flashing set into a cut mortar joint above it. Leaks occur when the counter flashing is surface-caulked to the brick instead of embedded, or when old flashing is reused during a roof replacement. Sealant alone is not a flashing detail. Related: chimney leak repair and chimney repair in ohio.
Downslope face: an apron sheds water around the base. Sides: step flashing weaves piece-by-piece with the shingle courses. Upslope: a back pan — or better, a cricket that splits the current on stacks past two feet wide — keeps water from pooling against brick. Over all of it, counter-flashing cut into mortar joints caps the assembly so water can’t sneak behind. Four jobs, one sequence, and the same metalwork discipline as every wall on the roof.
Most chimney flashing we rebuild arrives buried in generations of roof tar — each coat a season’s reprieve and a bigger excavation later, trapping water against brick the whole time. Real repair strips the archaeology, rebuilds the metal in sequence, and re-points the counter-flashing joints. If the “flashing leak” survives that, the water was never entering there — which is why leak diagnosis tests before anyone blames the metal.
You often can’t from inside — flashing, crown and brick leaks all stain the same ceiling. The water test on our leak repair page separates them before money moves.
It is the cap layer set into the mortar itself, lapping over the step flashing so water running down the brick face lands on metal, not behind it. Skipping it is the classic shortcut.
The surrounding shingle courses lift and re-lay as part of the job — another reason this is roofer metalwork, not a caulk-gun visit.
Age, movement between roof and masonry, and generations of tar smeared over the original problem — the black goop era traps water against brick while hiding the failure.
A small peaked diverter behind the stack that splits water around it — generally recommended (and often required) for chimneys more than two feet wide.
Sealant has a small finishing role at counter-flashing edges — as the whole strategy, it’s the tar-cycle trap. The system is metal; caulk is a detail.
Aluminum and galvanized serve well; copper is the buy-once-cry-once option that outlasts everything around it. Compatibility with masonry and budget decide.
Counter-flashing cut into mortar joints (not surface-glued), woven steps at the sides, and a cricket behind wide stacks — three glances that grade most installs.
The exterior works as one assembly — these are the pieces that connect to this one.
The usual sources are failed flashing at the roof line, a…
Learn more →The recurring issues are deteriorated mortar joints, a cracked crown, a…
Learn more →Flashing is the metal that seals the joints where a roof…
Learn more →A chimney cap covers the flue opening to keep rain, snow,…
Learn more →The crown is the sloped concrete or mortar surface capping the…
Learn more →An inspection covers the cap and crown, the flue and liner…
Learn more →Chimney Flashing is available across our licensed service territory in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. Find your city below, or call (330) 918-1018.
Free inspection of all four sides — metalwork quoted, tar cycle ended.
Takes about 20 seconds.
