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Chimney Pots and Flaunching: The Top of the Stack

Flaunching is the bed of mortar on top of a chimney stack that holds the pots and sheds rain off the top. Renewing it with the pots re-bedded costs €200 to €1,200 in Ireland, and replacing a pot costs €150 to €500. It takes more weather than any other part of the house, so it cracks first. Water then runs into the top of the stack and down between the flues.

What goes wrong at the top, and what's done about it.

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  • €200 to €1,200new flaunching, pots re-bedded
  • €150 to €500a pot replaced
  • First to crackof anything on the roof
Two brick chimney stacks with clay pots above the gable of a white house
Clay pots bedded in flaunching on two brick stacks. From the ground, a cracked bed looks like a dark line under the pot.

What fails at the top

  • Cracked flaunching. Hairline at first, then pieces missing. Rain soaks into the top courses and frost lifts them.
  • A loose pot. It rocks in wind. In a gale it comes off, onto the roof or past it.
  • A cracked pot. Frost, a chimney fire or age. A crack you can see from the ground runs right through.
  • Plants. Buddleia and grass root in cracked flaunching and prise it apart.

How it's renewed

  1. The pots lifted off and set aside, or replaced.
  2. The old flaunching broken away to the brick.
  3. Loose top courses re-bedded.
  4. The pots set back and new flaunching built up round them, sloped to throw water off and clear of the edge.
  5. Cowls or bird guards fitted if wanted.

Matching an old pot

Old Irish stacks carry clay pots in dozens of patterns: plain rolls, cannon heads, crown tops, square pots on Georgian terraces. A like-for-like replacement comes from a salvage yard or a specialist maker and costs more than a plain new pot. On a protected structure it should match. On most houses a plain clay pot of the same height is fine.

The top of the stack, priced

JobTypical costWhat moves the price
Flaunching renewed, pots re-bedded€200 to €1,200How many pots, and whether any are cracked
A chimney pot replaced€150 to €500Matching an old clay pot costs more
A cowl supplied and fitted€100 to €450The type of cowl and how it's reached
Repointing, flashing and flaunching in one visit€700 to €1,600One scaffold for all three

Repair work on a house is at the reduced 13.5% VAT rate. Ask for a written price that includes it, and says whether scaffolding is in it.

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More on chimney repairs

Costs, leaks, mortar, flues and rebuilds.

Two brick chimney stacks with clay pots above a white gableWhat chimney repairs costEvery job, priced. Repointing is €300 to €1,500.A rendered chimney stack with lead flashing at its foot on a slate roofA leaking chimneyWhere the damp shows tells you where the water gets in.An old brick house with a brick chimney at each end of its roofRepointing a stackWhen new mortar is enough, and when it isn't.A period house with a chimney and pots at each end of its slate roofLining a flueFor stoves, tar and cracked flues. €800 to €2,500 fitted.A long slate roof with two rendered chimney stacksRebuilding a stackA lean, bulging or loose bricks. €800 to €2,000 above the roofline.A row of houses with slate roofs and tall brick chimney stacksCapping and cowlsAn unused flue capped with a vent is €300 to €900.

Chimney repair in every county

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Four taps: what's wrong, the height of the house, what the stack is built of and what it's used for. You see the likely job and our price for it. Your number is only asked for at the end, if you want one chimney repair company that covers your county to ring you.

What's wrong with the chimney?

Pick the nearest. A guess from the ground is fine.

Questions people ask

Can flaunching be patched?

A hairline crack can be sealed for a few years. Missing pieces mean it's finished: renew it.

How long does new flaunching last?

Twenty years and more if it's built up properly and not just skimmed over the old.

Is it the same as a chimney crown?

Yes. Crown is the American word for the same thing.

My pot fell in a storm. Is that insured?

Storm damage usually is. Photograph it where it landed before anything is moved, and ring your insurer.

Do I need pots at all?

They lift the smoke clear of the stack and help the draw. Keep them on a flue in use.

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