Chimney Repair in Cottage Grove, MN
We take on chimney repair across Cottage Grove, and most of the city's older houses come from two big families of plats. Those plats are Thompson's Grove and Thompson Grove Estates, and between them they hold close to 90 percent of the city's single-family houses built before 1970.
10 Years
Workmanship warranty, in writing
Cottage Grove at a Glance for Chimney Repair
Washington County's parcel record lists 2,674 single-family houses in Cottage Grove built before 1970, and 2,399 of them sit in the Thompson's Grove and Thompson Grove Estates plats. The same record classifies 2,050 of those 2,674 as one-story frame houses and 146 as two-story frame houses. A chimney on a one-story house begins on our single-story price lines with nothing added for height, while a two-story house picks up the line for its second story. The split-level and split-foyer houses are covered in the questions further down.
Heating on that record is forced-air gas for 10,596 of the city's single-family houses and oil for 27. Where a gas furnace or water heater vents into the brick, the flue and its lining belong to an installer, and our part is the masonry around them. On August 29, 2024, the National Weather Service listed Cottage Grove among the areas with some of the most significant downburst damage, in a storm whose winds reached 75 to 85 mph in places. The City's public works director reported that 12 homes were damaged by falling trees, most of them in the same two neighborhoods. Neither report mentions a chimney.
What Our Chimney Repair Covers
- Cracked or spalled brick taken out and replaced with new brick set in fresh mortar
- Joints that have failed cut back until sound mortar shows, then refilled with fresh mortar and tooled
- Crown and raincap work at the head of the stack, including a new crown cast in place where the old one has failed
- A water test to find a leak, run in stages from the base of the stack toward the top
- A breathable water repellent, applied only over masonry that is already in good order
- Flashing repairs where the chimney meets the shingles
How a Cottage Grove Job Runs
1. Call us during business hours, and you reach a person who books Sam to come out.
2. Sam inspects the masonry on the full stack himself. When the problem is water coming in, he finds the entry point with a hose before anything is priced.
3. His estimate comes to you in writing, with the repair and, where it is defensible, the rebuild priced side by side.
4. Staging goes up, and the roof, garden beds and driveway are covered. Then the failed brick and joints are cut out, the new work is laid, and the crown is poured or sealed with the cap fitted.
5. The crew clears the site of dropped brick and mortar before leaving.
Chimney Price Lines in Cottage Grove
These figures assume a single-story house and a roof that can be reached without trouble; the older houses described above are mainly one story.
Before you call
Every figure on this page depends on square footage and on what we find when we look. They are rough guides to help you decide whether to call, not quotes. The exact number comes after the visit, and the visit is free.
Sweeping, creosote, flue liners, dampers, gas inserts, and wood stoves go to a chimney sweep or installer.
Questions From Cottage Grove Homeowners
Our house in Thompson Grove Estates is a split level. Which price line does the chimney fall on?+
It depends on how far the stack itself climbs. Sam's starting point is to count it as one story if it rises one story and two if it rises two, and he settles that once he has seen the house. The county record lists 218 split-level and 260 split-foyer houses among those built in the city before 1970.
A tree fell on our Cottage Grove lot during a storm. Will Sam look at the chimney?+
Yes. He goes over the whole stack for cracked brick, open joints, and a broken crown or cap, then writes down what he finds so you have it on paper for whatever you decide next.
Can you repair the firebox inside our fireplace too, or only the outside of the chimney?+
Both. On a masonry fireplace, the firebox and its refractory mortar are interior work we take on, and Sam can look them over when he comes out for the stack. Smoke chamber parging is the exception, and we leave it to others.
Once the work starts, how long does it run?+
Plan on one to three days on site for most repairs, counted from the morning the staging goes up. A new crown adds curing time on top of that.
We stopped using our chimney years ago. Can you take it down?+
Yes. Taking down a stack the house has stopped using is work we do, and Sam prices it after he has seen the chimney and what it still connects to. Patching the roof where it stood is left to a roofer.
What Customers Say
What appears below is our live Google feed rather than testimonials we picked out, so it shows whatever is genuinely on it.
Getting Sam to Your Cottage Grove Chimney
When you get in touch, say whether the house is a single story, a split, or two stories, and send a picture of the chimney from the street side if you can.
For active leaks, we work evenings and weekends, and urgent scheduling costs more, which we tell you before you agree. Exterior mortar work is scheduled for weather mild enough for it to cure.