How Much Does a Chimney Repair Cost?

Repointing means raking out crumbling mortar between the bricks of the stack and filling the joints with fresh mortar. Checkatrade's chimney repointing guide (October 2026) gives an average of around £750. A modest stack on a low, easy roof sits near £300, while a mid-terrace stack on the ridge that needs scaffold is closer to £1,000. Its separate chimney repair guide (April 2026) puts repointing at £300 to £1,000, which agrees with that spread.

Flashing is the lead strip that seals the gap where the brickwork rises through the tiles, and it is tucked into the mortar joints. Checkatrade's April 2026 table gives £250 to £1,000 for flashing work on a chimney, and its roof repair guide (June 2026) shows lead flashing repair at £50 to £70 per metre, or £80 to £120 per metre when the lead steps up the slope (Code 5). A stack has four sides, so the run of lead adds up quickly.

Treat these as yardsticks, not as our prices. VAT is worth asking about, since Checkatrade's repair figures leave it out. Our guide to chimney repointing explains what the work involves.

The pots are the clay or concrete pipes on top of the stack, and they sit in a sloping mortar bed called the flaunching. That bed sheds rain away from the flues. When it cracks, water runs into the brickwork below, so a small repair here often prevents a larger bill later.

A chimney cap, which covers a flue nobody uses now, is priced in Checkatrade's April 2026 table at £180 to £520. Flaunching is priced by the survey, because it depends on how many pots the stack carries and how far the cracks run. It is usually done in the same visit as repointing or a pot replacement, and one total covers everything done on that visit. The same goes for a cracked pot; our answer on replacing a cracked chimney pot sets out the choices.

A cap on a flue you still use needs ventilation, and a closed-off flue that is simply bricked over can build up damp inside the house. If you are not sure which situation you have, say so when you ask for a price, and the survey will settle it before any materials are ordered.

Getting safely to a stack can cost as much as the repair itself. Checkatrade's roof replacement guide (October 2026) shows scaffold at £700 to £1,300 on a whole new roof, and its repointing table puts a mid-terrace stack needing scaffold at around £1,000. Leadwork shows the effect clearly: MyJobQuote's chimney leadwork guide, last updated 22 September 2026, gives £350 to £460 without scaffold and £700 to £920 with it.

On a bungalow or a low extension, plain ladders with a ridge-hooked roof ladder may do. A tall stack rising from the centre of a house with an upper floor is different, because working on it from a ladder is not safe. Where scaffolding will stand across the public pavement or the road itself, the highway authority must licence it, and West Sussex County Council asks for at least 10 working days' notice. Scaffolding put up within your own plot needs no licence.

If gutters or fascias on that elevation also need attention, one scaffold can serve both jobs and spread its cost. Our page on scaffolding for chimney repair goes through the options.

When the brickwork itself has failed, repointing will not hold. Checkatrade's October 2026 guide gives £1,000 to £3,500 to rebuild a stack above the roofline. Signs that point towards a rebuild include a stack that leans, bricks that crumble or flake when touched, and joints so deep that the stack feels loose. A rebuild costs more because bricks are taken down, cleaned, relaid and often re-flashed in the same job.

Beyond the stack, the price depends on how many sides are affected, the height of the stack, the state of the lead and whether the pots are sound. None of this can be judged from the road. That is why we look first, share photos of your own chimney and then give one total price in writing.

To get an accurate figure, send us a clear photo of the stack from the ground, tell us whether the house is a bungalow, a semi or a terrace, and mention any damp stain on the ceiling or chimney breast. We will check the access first, since that sets the shape of the quote. Our chimney repairs page lists the other jobs that can share the same visit and the same scaffold.