Chimney Repair, Crickets & Leaks

Why South St. Louis Chimneys Leak From the Back

South St. Louis (63111, 63116, 63118 and the surrounding neighborhoods) is built on genuinely excellent brick. Much of it will outlast everyone reading this. The mortar holding it together is a different story: soft, lime-rich mixes designed to breathe and flex, with a real service life of about 60 to 80 years. On a lot of these homes it ran out decades ago.

The other thing South City has in abundance is wide chimneys on sloped roofs — and very often nothing behind them. The IRC requires a cricket (a small peaked roof structure, also called a saddle) on any chimney more than 30 inches wide where it meets a sloped roof. But that requirement isn't retroactive, so a wide chimney on a house built in 1925 legally has none.

Without a cricket, everything coming down the roof — rain, snowmelt, leaves, pine needles, grit — hits the back wall of the chimney and stops. Debris packs into that corner and holds moisture against the masonry permanently, not just when it rains. And sitting right in that wet trough is the flashing: the single most failure-prone detail on any roof. It corrodes, the seal fails, and water enters the roof deck and wall cavity — usually years before anyone sees a ceiling stain.

A cricket costs a fraction of what water in a wall cavity costs, and it's one of the rare repairs that stops a problem from ever starting rather than cleaning up after one.

We serve South City: Carondelet, Dutchtown, Bevo Mill, Holly Hills, Tower Grove South and the Patch (63111, 63116, 63118).

Our South St. Louis Services

Chimney Sweep & Cleaning Level I, II & III Inspection Tuckpointing & Masonry Chimney Relining / Liner Chimney Repair & Rebuild Chimney Leak Repair Gas Fireplace Service Storm Damage — FREE Assessment

Serving all of South St. Louis, MO (63111) and the surrounding communities. Free written estimate on every job.

RECENT PROJECT IN SOUTH ST. LOUIS

Chimney Cricket, Built From Scratch

Framed · Decked · Underlayment · Shingled · Flashing integrated

A wide chimney in South St. Louis (63111) with nothing behind it — just a flat trough on the uphill side of the roof where rain, snowmelt, leaves and grit collected and stayed. And sitting in that permanently wet trough: the flashing, the single most failure-prone detail on any roof.

The code (IRC) requires a cricket on any chimney more than 30 inches wide where it meets a sloped roof — but only for new construction. It isn't retroactive, so plenty of older homes with wide chimneys have none, entirely legally. That's not a violation. It's a leak that hasn't happened yet. We framed the cricket into the deck, waterproofed, shingled, and layered the flashing so water is always handed outward and downward.

Water and debris now travel around the chimney. Nothing collects behind it again.

BEFORE — NOTHING BEHIND THE CHIMNEY

Roof behind a wide chimney with no cricket, South St. Louis

FRAMING & DECKING

Framing a chimney cricket behind a wide chimney

Decking and underlayment on a newly framed cricket

Shingling and flashing a new chimney cricket

AFTER

Completed chimney cricket installation, South St. Louis MO 63111

Finished chimney saddle diverting water around the chimney

Wide chimney with a flat trough behind it?

We'll look at the back of your chimney and tell you honestly whether a cricket is worth building.

CALL FOR INSPECTION

RECENT PROJECT — ABOVE-ROOFLINE REBUILD

Above-Roofline Rebuild — A Third of a Teardown

Exposed section rebuilt · New flue tile · New crown & cap

Only the part of a chimney sticking above the roof ever really fails. The section running through the house is dry, temperature-stable, surrounded by conditioned space, and goes through essentially zero freeze-thaw cycles. Left alone it can last as long as the house.

The four feet above the roof lives somewhere else: 60–100 freeze-thaw cycles per Missouri winter, full UV on all four sides, wind loading with no lateral support, and direct rain on the crown. So when a mason says "the chimney is failing", ask where. If the answer is above the roof, you're likely looking at a $3,500–$8,500 rebuild, not a $15,000–$25,000 teardown.

New brick, new flue tile, new crown with overhang and drip edge, new cap, flashing re-integrated. The original chimney below the roof stays.

BEFORE

REBUILD

AFTER

Completed above-roofline chimney rebuild with new crown and cap

Quoted $20,000 to "replace the chimney"?

Get a free second opinion before you sign. We'll photograph what's actually up there.

CALL FOR INSPECTION

Frequently Asked Questions

South St. Louis Chimney Questions, Answered

What is a chimney cricket and do I need one?

A cricket — also called a saddle — is a small peaked roof structure built behind the chimney on the uphill side of a sloped roof, to divert water and debris around it. The IRC requires one on any chimney more than 30 inches wide, but the requirement isn't retroactive, so many older South City homes with wide chimneys have none.

What happens if my chimney has no cricket?

Rain, snowmelt and leaves collect in the corner behind the chimney and hold moisture permanently against the flashing and masonry. That accelerates flashing failure, and once the flashing goes, water enters the roof deck and wall cavity — often for years before an interior stain appears.

How much does tuckpointing cost in South St. Louis?

Chimney tuckpointing starts at $800 and typically runs $800–$4,500 for a full chimney, depending on height, how many faces are exposed, and whether spalled brick needs replacing. On pre-1950 South City brick, the mortar must be matched for hardness as well as colour — a hard modern mortar on soft old brick will crack the brick faces instead of the joints.

Can a cricket be added to an existing roof?

Yes. We open the roof behind the chimney, frame the cricket into the deck, and re-integrate the shingles and flashing around it. It's most economical during a re-roof, since the flashing is being replaced anyway, but it can be done at any time.

Chimney Repair, Crickets & Leak Fixes in South St. Louis