Chimney Inspection
Cap, crown, brick, flashing and the flue inside, checked and written up.
Chimney crowns
Chimney Crown Repair in Ottawa, ON
For chimney crown repair in Ottawa, ON, Ottawa Precision Chimney Sweep patches hairline cracks, seals the surface and, when the crown is too far gone, builds a new one with a proper drip edge. The crown is the concrete or mortar lid on top of your chimney, and it is the first thing Ottawa weather attacks.
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The Lid That Does the Heavy Lifting
The crown sheds rain and snowmelt off the top of the chimney, away from the brick and the flue. When it cracks, water drops into the stack, freezes and pushes the bricks apart. A crown that overhangs the brick by about 5 cm (2 inches) and has a slight slope keeps the water moving off the chimney.
Ottawa Precision Chimney Sweep also provides crown repair, cap installation and repointing to Ottawa and nearby towns, including Nepean, Orleans, Kanata, Barrhaven and Cumberland. Most crown jobs take a day, and a rebuilt crown cures for a day or two before we cap it.
Contact UsTypes of Chimney Crown Repair We Do
Small cracks are cheap to fix and wide ones are not, which is why we like to look before the first thaw.
Crack Sealing
For hairline cracks, we clean the crown and brush on an elastic crown sealant that bridges small cracks and sheds water. It costs far less than a new crown and works on a crown that is basically sound.
Crown Patching
For cracks wide enough to slide a coin in, we grind them out and fill them with repair mortar, then seal the whole surface. This is the usual fix for a crown that is cracked but still solid.
New Poured Crown
When the crown is crumbling or has no overhang, we form and pour a new one with a drip edge and a slight slope. A new crown also gives the flue tile a clean, sealed edge to sit in.
Cap After the Crown
A crown keeps water off the brick and a cap keeps it out of the flue. Most crown jobs end with a cap fitted on top, because the two do different jobs and each needs the other.
What Chimney Crown Repair Costs in Ottawa
- Crack sealing with crown sealant: $350 to $700
- Crown patching and sealing: $500 to $1,000
- New poured crown with drip edge: $900 to $1,600
- Stainless cap added at the same visit: $150 to $450
- Scaffolding on tall chimneys: quoted with the job
Prices are before HST and depend on the size of the chimney.
What Every Crown Job Includes
- The crown cleaned and checked for the full crack pattern
- Loose material chipped back
- Repair mortar or a new pour, mixed for outdoor use
- A drip edge so water falls clear of the brick
- Sealant where the flue tile meets the crown
- Photos before and after
How Much Does Chimney Crown Repair Cost in Ottawa?
Chimney crown repair in Ottawa costs $350 to $1,600 in 2026. A sealed hairline crack sits at the low end, and a full new crown with a drip edge sits near the top. The size of the chimney and whether we need scaffolding set the final number. We write it down after we climb up.
| Repair | Typical price | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Crack sealing | $350 to $700 | Hairline cracks, solid crown |
| Patch and seal | $500 to $1,000 | Cracks wide enough for a coin |
| New poured crown | $900 to $1,600 | Crumbling crown or no overhang |
How Do I Know My Chimney Crown Is Cracked?
Look for hairline cracks across the top, a crumbling edge or white stains running down the brick below. From the ground you often see none of it, so a roof check is the sure way. Mortar crowns, which are a thin slab of mortar on the top course, crack more than poured concrete ones. In our experience, the crack is almost always wider on the north side.
Is a Cracked Crown an Emergency?
No, but it doesn't wait forever either. A hairline crack lets a little water in, and every thaw widens it. In a typical Ottawa winter the crack can double in size by spring. Fixing it in the fall costs a few hundred dollars, and fixing the bricks it ruins costs thousands. We've seen a crack double in a single March, and since 2015 we have sealed about 90 of them.
What Is the Difference Between a Chimney Crown and a Chimney Cap?
The crown is the slab of concrete or mortar across the top of the brick. The cap is the metal cover that sits over the flue opening. The crown sheds water off the brick, and the cap keeps water and animals out of the flue. A good chimney has both, and they fail in different ways.
Do I Need Both a New Crown and a New Cap?
Often yes, because the same roof visit covers both. If the crown is sound and only the cap is old, the cap alone does the job. If the crown is crumbling, we rebuild it first and fit the cap on top. We will tell you which of the two actually needs doing.
How Is a New Chimney Crown Built?
A chimney crown replacement starts with chipping off the old crown, cleaning the top course of brick and setting a form around the top. Then we pour a rich concrete mix that sheds water, sloping slightly away from the flue, with a drip edge that overhangs the brick by about 5 cm. The crown cures for a day or two before the cap goes on. We poured about 25 new crowns last year.
One detail matters more than people think: the flue tile should poke up a few centimetres above the crown, and we leave a flexible sealant gap between them. Concrete and clay expand at different rates, and a rigid joint cracks the first winter. A flexible one lets them move.
When Can a Crown Be Poured in Ottawa?
Between late April and October, when the air stays above about 5 degrees C overnight. Concrete poured in the cold cures weak and cracks. If your crown fails in January, we seal it as a stopgap and wait for spring to rebuild it, which beats a crown that fails again by Easter.
A Written Price First
We climb up, look, and send you the price in writing. If a chimney needs nothing but a sweep, that is all you pay for.
Contact UsWETT Reports, Arranged for You
Insurers and buyers sometimes ask for one on a wood stove or insert. We arrange it with a partner inspector.
Contact UsQuestions we hear
Chimney Crown Repair FAQs
How long does a chimney crown last?
A well-made poured crown lasts 20 years or more, but a thin mortar crown can crack within five. Ottawa's freeze-thaw winters shorten the life of any crown with no overhang or slope. A drip edge and a sloped top are the two details that decide how long it lasts.
Can I seal the crown myself?
You can brush on a crown sealant yourself if the crown is sound and you are comfortable on the roof. The trouble is finding the cracks you can't see from below. Most customers have us do the roof visit, because a missed crack lets the water keep coming.
Does crown repair stop a leak?
Only if the water is getting in through the crown. A leak beside the chimney could be the crown, the flashing or the cap, and we check all three on the same trip. We fix the one that is actually causing the leak first.
Is crown repair done in winter?
We can seal a cracked crown with a flexible sealant in winter as a stopgap. A new crown has to wait for warmer weather, because concrete needs temperatures above about 5 degrees C to cure. We book rebuilds for spring.
Our Other Chimney Services
Chimney Liner Installation
A new pipe inside the old flue for stoves, inserts and furnaces.
Chimney Cap Installation
Caps, rain caps and chase covers that keep water and animals out.
Chimney Repointing
Crumbling mortar chiselled out and replaced before the brick fails.
Chimney Rebuild
Partial and full rebuilds, and chimney removal when it's time.
Chimney Leak Repair
Flashing, crown and cap fixed where the water is really getting in.
Free estimate
Tell Us About Your Chimney
Leave your name, number and a line about the chimney. We call back to set up a look, and the written price follows.
- Written price before any work
- Free estimates around Ottawa
- Drop sheets and a tidy finish every visit