The short answer
Looking is safe from the ground, but repairing is not. A chimney stands at the very top of the house, usually above a pitched roof, and the work needs scaffold or proper edge protection. A fall is the real danger, and a ladder on its own is not enough. Study the stack from the garden with binoculars, photograph what you see, and leave work at height to a roofer.
Plenty of useful checking can be done with your feet on the ground, which is also the best place to be when you find a problem.
Why height is the problem
A chimney rises from the top of the roof, often above a steep run of slates or tiles. Getting to it means a ladder to the eaves, then a roof ladder or scaffold, then standing beside a free-standing column of old brick that may not be sound.
What goes wrong for a DIY repairer?
The ladder slips on soft ground. A slate cracks underfoot. The stack, which looked firm, shifts when you lean on it. A bucket of mortar drops onto the path. The jobs that look easy from below, like dabbing pointing on a crack or fitting a cap, put you in the riskiest position of all.
Scaffold is the safe way to work, and it is not a casual purchase for one stack. Where it obstructs the highway, it needs a scaffold licence, and Somerset Council leaves the permit application to the accredited contractor appointed for the work. An owner cannot simply order a platform for a weekend, which is another reason the stack work goes to a firm that arranges its own access.
For these reasons, repairs to the stack itself are better left to a roofer.
Checks you can make from the garden
You do not need to climb to learn a lot. Pick a dry, bright day and walk back until the whole stack sits in view. Check from the front and from the side, because a lean often shows from only one direction.
What should I look at?
See whether the stack stands straight against the sky. Note any pot that leans, mortar gone dark or hollow, bricks with missing faces and green staining on the shaft. Study the lead flashing at the foot of the stack for gaps or lifted edges. Binoculars, or the zoom on a phone camera, bring it closer.
Walk round the garden and along the gutters for fallen mortar, sand or pieces of brick. Indoors, check the chimney breast and the ceiling beside it for stains. If you have a loft hatch, a look at the brickwork inside the roof space for damp patches is safe from the hatch.
Our guide to the parts of a chimney helps you name what you see, so you can describe it when you ring.
Jobs that belong with a roofer
Nearly everything on the stack above the roof is work at height, and most of it is a two-person job: repointing, renewing the crown, replacing a pot, fitting lead flashing or taking the stack down. Several of these need skill as well as access. Lead must be cut, dressed and fixed into a groove in the brickwork. Mortar must match the brick.
Is there anything a homeowner can do?
Yes, at ground level. Photograph the problem so the roofer can see it. Keep the area below the stack clear, and move the bins, the car and the children's toys out of the fall zone. Have the flue swept if it is in use; the answer on roofer or chimney sweep sets out the split.
Do not light a fire or stove if you suspect a loose pot or a blocked flue, and do not stand beneath a stack you think is unstable.
A loose pot is a known hazard, as is a split or leaning stack, and cracks in a chimney stack explains how to tell the serious cases from the minor ones.
What happens when you ring us
We begin by surveying the stack and the slopes around it. The photographs we take show you the findings on your own roof, so you can judge the repair for yourself, and we explain each in plain words. If the stack is dangerous, we make it safe before anything else.
What does the work cost?
The price turns on the height, the access, the condition of the brick and whether scaffold is needed, which is why nobody can fairly quote from a doorstep. MyJobQuote gives typical UK ranges of £450 to £1,200 for chimney repointing and £350 to £920 for full chimney leadwork, which depends on scaffold (MyJobQuote, Oct 2026 and Sep 2026).
After the survey, the price comes to you as a single written total, with the photos beside it. If a repair is not worth doing and a rebuild is the better buy, the photos show why, and the survey shows it plainly.
Everything we take on above the roofline is listed under chimney repairs. Where a stack stands on a shared wall and the work is notifiable, such as removal, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies too.
More on stack safety
Can I patch flashing myself with a roll of lead tape?
Tape on a flashing is a temporary cover that peels in the sun and wind, and you would have to be on the roof to apply it. If water is coming in, a roofer can make it safe first and then renew the lead properly, so the repair stays put.
Is it safe to knock off loose mortar from below?
No. Pieces can come down on you, and you may disturb brickwork that is holding more than it looks. Stay clear, photograph what you see, and ask a roofer to check. Keep children and pets away from the area under the stack in the meantime.
The full picture: Chimney repairs in Taunton · More short answers