Flashing & Leak Repair in Detroit
On a brick chimney, flashing is masonry work. The metal goes into the joint
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CSIA & NFPA certified
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1-year workmanship warranty
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Written quote before any work
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$49 fee credits toward repairs
Pricing, before you commit
Four candidates, one visit.
Flashing, crown, joints, or cap. Four repairs at four prices, and no photograph settles it. The $49 visit does, and the fee comes off the fix.
Estimate preview
Live
flashing-leak-repair
$595 – $3,495
Inspection (credited)
−$49
Typical job
$595 – $2,000
Final price quoted in writing before any work.
The craft, done properly
CHIMNEY FLASHING & LEAK REPAIR IN DETROIT, MI
Flashing on a masonry chimney is not a roofing job with a chimney nearby. The counter flashing is let into a mortar joint and sealed there, which means the work happens in the brickwork as much as on the roof — and a repair that simply caulks metal onto the face of the masonry has skipped the part that makes it last.
Pricing runs $595 to $3,495. Re-caulking flashing that is still structurally sound sits at the bottom; full replacement of step, counter, and saddle flashing on a large stack sits at the top. Where the roof cannot be worked safely from a ladder, the $1,249 access add-on applies on top of that.
Material is fixed regardless of price. Aluminum or lead-coated copper, and nothing else — no plastic and no rubber, on any job, because those fail at the first hard freeze. Step flashing runs up the sides course by course, counter flashing tucks into the masonry above it, chimney-rated elastomeric caulk seals the line, and the roof area around the base is restored afterwards. Full method on our flashing repair service page.
Counter flashing let into the mortar joint and sealed
The Work
Surface-mounted metal was always going to lift.
Counter flashing belongs in the joint, not on the face of it. Cut into the mortar, folded down, and sealed, it moves with the building. Caulked flat onto brick, it is relying on adhesive to do a mason's job, and the first hard winter takes it off.
That distinction explains most of the repeat leaks we are called to. The metal looks present from the ground, so the chimney gets blamed and the crown gets repaired while the actual entry point stays where it was. Finding it means checking every candidate in turn and photographing each, which is what the $49 visit is for.
Flashing repair in Ann Arbor and flashing repair in Troy run as separate operations, with the full Michigan coverage on the state page. Local services are on the Detroit page.
When to book
Signs Detroit chimney flashing has failed.
Flashing gives itself away indoors long before anything looks wrong outdoors, and two of these are only visible from the attic.
Number four is worth a closer look on a brick chimney. Caulk pulling away from the masonry usually means the counter flashing was surface-mounted rather than let into the joint, which is a repair that was always going to fail.
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The stain on your ceiling is almost never under the hole. Anyone who quotes a leak repair from the driveway is selling you sealant, not a solution.
Company Owner
The Brown Chimney Standard · Detroit
A brick city, and we work on the brick.
Built in 1939, on average
Almost six in ten Detroit houses went up before 1950 and four in five before 1960. The majority carry brick exteriors, and among the Depression-era stock nearly all of them do.
The chimney is part of the structure
On a solid masonry house the chimney was laid up in the same courses, from the same material, at the same time. That makes repair structural work rather than a cosmetic patch on a veneer.
Matched, not skimmed
Mortar mixed to the existing color and grain, joints tooled to the existing profile, and brick whose face has broken away replaced one unit at a time. A repointing job should disappear into the wall, not announce itself from the sidewalk.
Written, photo-backed report
Every job ends with a PDF. Great for insurance, great for selling the home, great for peace of mind.
What to expect
What happens during a Detroit leak call.
Locating the source comes before pricing anything. Roof, crown, cap, joints, and the flashing line are checked and photographed in turn. Most jobs are a single day. Where a reglet has to be cut into the masonry rather than reusing an existing one, that is scoped and shown to you before it is quoted.
01
Leak source diagnosis
Water stains rarely start where they show. We trace the actual entry point — flashing, crown, cap, or masonry — before quoting anything, because sealing the wrong spot solves nothing.
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02
Written quote before the roof is opened
You approve the exact price before anything is lifted. Chimneys wider than 30 inches at the roofline need a cricket by code — if yours does, that's identified and priced up front.
03
Old flashing removal
Failed flashing and hardened sealant come off down to sound roof deck. Any pre-existing shingle damage is documented and quoted separately rather than quietly absorbed.
04
New flashing installation
Step, counter, and saddle flashing set in aluminum or lead-coated copper — never plastic, never rubber — and sealed with chimney-rated elastomeric caulk.
05
Roof restored, photos taken
The roof area around the chimney base is restored, the work photographed before and after for your report, and covered by the 1-year workmanship warranty.
For transparency
Outside the flashing quote.
The roof itself. Shingles, decking, and anything beyond the chimney penetration get documented with photographs but belong to a roofer.
Crickets. A stack wider than 30 inches at the roofline should have a saddle behind it, and that is a small structure in its own right rather than a flashing detail.
Plaster and ceilings already marked. Stopping the water is this job; putting the inside of the house back is another trade.
FAQs
Common questions about chimney leaks in Detroit
Why does flashing on a brick chimney cost more than on a frame one?
Because the counter flashing is let into a mortar joint rather than fixed to a surface. That is masonry work as much as roofing work, and it is also why it lasts — flashing simply caulked onto the face of brick lifts within a few seasons.
It only leaks in a storm, never in ordinary rain. What does that mean?
That the water is arriving sideways rather than straight down, which rules out a good deal immediately. Wind-driven rain finds vertical seams that vertical rain never touches, so the flashing line and the weather face of the masonry are the first places to look.
Can the flashing be re-caulked instead of replaced?
If the metal itself is sound and only the sealant has failed, yes, and that is the bottom of the range. Once the flashing is lifted, bent, or corroded, re-caulking buys a season at best. The technician photographs what is actually up there so the decision is yours.
What metal do you use?
Aluminum or lead-coated copper. Never plastic and never rubber. Those appear on quick repairs because they are fast to fit, and they fail at the first hard freeze.
How do you find the leak without opening anything up?
By elimination on the roof, photographed at each stage. Crown, cap, flashing, and the joints on every face are checked in turn. The stain inside says almost nothing about location, because water travels along framing before it appears, so the search happens where it enters rather than where it shows.
Related Services
Often booked alongside Detroit flashing work.
A safer hearth — for 2026
Found first. Quoted second.
Every Brown Chimney leak call starts on the roof with photographs rather than a price. Repairs are quoted in writing and carry a 1-year workmanship warranty on structural labor. Call 248-260-5979.