The short answer
Yes. Roofers repair the part of a chimney that meets the roof: the lead flashing around the base, the flaunching that holds the pots, loose or crumbling brickwork above the roofline and the pointing between the bricks. Work on the flue inside the house, or a large rebuild needing matched bricks, may call for a sweep or a mason as well.
A chimney is part masonry and part roof edge. Who you call depends on which part has failed, and a look from the roof soon tells you.
The chimney jobs a roofer takes on
The stack is the brick tower that comes up through the roof, and most of the faults that let rain in sit at the point where brick meets slate or tile. That junction belongs to the roofer. Anyone who lays and mends roof coverings is already working at the foot of the stack, so the chimney above it is a natural part of the trade, and the two tend to fail together.
Which chimney repairs are roofing work?
Repointing comes first: raking out mortar that has gone soft and packing fresh joints in its place. Then renewing the flaunching, the sloping mortar collar that grips a pot. Fitting a cowl, which is a cap that stops rain and nesting birds dropping into the flue. Sealing off a flue that has no use any more. Taking down and relaying the top few courses of brick when they have come loose. Each job happens at roof height, so a roofer plans the ladders, roof ladders or scaffold before anyone climbs.
A typical UK range for repointing a chimney is £450 to £1,200, according to MyJobQuote (Oct 2026). The spread comes from how tall the stack is, how it is reached and how much of it has decayed.
Flashing, flaunching and the join with the roof
Bricks are seldom the weak point of a chimney. The trouble starts at the joints, and at the places where one material meets another.
What is chimney flashing and who fixes it?
Flashing is lead sheet folded between the brickwork and the roof covering to bridge the join. Its upper edge is tucked into a raked mortar joint on every side of the stack, and its lower edge is dressed over the slates or tiles, so water is carried out across the roof instead of creeping in beneath. Lead is a roofer's material. A brown stain on the ceiling beside a chimney breast sends us up to look at the lead before anything else. MyJobQuote puts the life of lead at over 80 years, though a strip that was badly fixed gives up far sooner.
Typical UK ranges from MyJobQuote (Sep 2026) are £150 to £250 for a patch repair to chimney leadwork and £350 to £920 for a full renewal. Scaffold, when the job needs it, moves those figures.
Is flaunching a roofer's job?
Yes. Once the collar cracks, rain has a path into the stack head and the pot above can rock loose. Renewing it is routine work at the roof edge.
When a mason or a sweep joins in
Some chimney jobs reach past the roofline, and a good roofer says so before the work starts.
When does a mason help?
A mason is a bricklayer who works in older masonry. Bring one in when a stack has to be rebuilt in matched brick, or when the work carries on inside the house. Taking out a chimney breast, the part that projects into the room, is structural. The Planning Portal advises that removing a breast is a Building Regulations matter every time, since taking one out alters the structure of the building itself. Where the breast backs on to a neighbour's home, a party wall notice may be needed as well, and our answer on party wall notices for chimney work sets out the route.
Where does the sweep fit?
A sweep cleans the flue, the passage inside the stack that carries smoke away. A sooty or blocked flue is the sweep's concern, while rain getting in around the stack belongs to the roofer. The split is covered in more detail in roofer or chimney sweep. Between them, the two trades cover the chimney from the fireplace to the pot.
Getting your chimney looked at
Start from the ground with a pair of binoculars, not a ladder. A pot at an odd angle, gaps in the pointing, a lean in the stack, white salts on the bricks and a lifting lead strip all tell us where to begin. Note what you can see and the date it first caught your eye. Binoculars show a good deal, and a roofer on the roof itself shows the rest.
What does the survey cover?
We go up, take photos of the stack, the flashing, the flaunching and the pot, and show you the pictures of your own chimney. You see which faults are roofing faults and which need a mason, and the written price that follows the survey is one total. If the stack leans or a pot is moving, read our answer on leaning chimneys before anyone goes near it.
The full range of stack work sits on our chimney repairs page. Ring 01823 297042 or use the enquiry form with a picture of the stack, and we will fix a survey visit that suits you.
More on who does what
Can a roofer rebuild a whole chimney stack?
Yes, down to the roofline and often further. We rebuild the stack from the point where it leaves the roof, fit new flashing and flaunching and refit the pot. A stack that is cracked inside the house, or one carrying a heavy flue, may need a mason or an engineer's view before we start.
Is a chimney repair a roofing job or a building job?
Both trades touch it. Anything at roof height, such as flashing, pointing, flaunching and pots, is roofing. Anything inside, such as the breast, the fireplace or the flue lining, is building work. After the survey we tell you which side your fault sits on, so you call only the trades you need.
The full picture: Chimney repairs in Taunton · More short answers