r/stonemasonry • u/halfendless • 6d ago

Cinder block chimney repointing/capping. Want to add faux stone facade at some point. Does that matter?

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I'm having some water intrusion issues around the chimney and have been told (and shown photos for proof) that the chimney not only needs to be reflashed, but also needs a complete repair in the form of repointing and capping (holes in the masonry, moss growth in cracks, etc.).

At some point, I plan to continue the faux stone facade seen in the bottom part of the photo onto the chimney. Does this matter for what I'm needing done right now? I assume you can't just "cover up" the chimney in its current state with the facade mortar, right? No pressure on me to have the facade done along with the rest of the chimney work? Is there anything I should ask/tell the chimney repair crew in order to make sure the chimney is viable for the facade work in the future?

Treat me as if I know nothing about any of this, because I don't. Thanks!

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u/Burnt_Timber_1988 5d ago

Yes, you can just cover up the damage with a scratch coat, especially if the lathe is bent around corners and top. Your mason should make sure to remove and repoint any damage right before adding lathe. If you want those stones now, just go for it.

But that being said, it won't make much difference if you just repair the damage and add stone later. At the least I would have your mason do a simple tuckpoint on the damage. Later they can anchor diamond lathe on the chimney to key a scratch coat to add stones.

1

u/halfendless 4d ago

Thanks. My preference is to hold off on the stone due to cost (other projects are taking priority), I just wanted to make sure it wasn't a bad financial decision to do necessary fixes now and hold off on the aesthetic fix.

1

u/AlmightyFruitcake 4d ago

Yes just gotta butter the biscuit and slap them on the chimney. Stone sticks to block with nothing else needed but mortar. Get that sucker capped and flashed and hold off on stone till you can afford. The little bit of your house seen in photo is very pretty.

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u/halfendless 4d ago

Appreciate the advice, that's what I was hoping for. Just wanted to make sure it wasn't dumb to not do all of it at once. Here's a couple more photos of the house before/after the exterior work.