Chimney Repairs · Edwinstowe NG21
Chimney Repairs In Edwinstowe
Is the chimney under those oak branches staying wet all year?
Repointing, flaunching, flashing and capping for forest-edge stacks in the old village and the colliery avenues
A stack in Edwinstowe has an awkward life. Where the oaks lean over a roof on Church Street or along Ollerton Road, the brickwork spends half the day in shade, and the sun that should dry the joints out after rain barely reaches it. Moss settles on the crown, twigs drop into open pots, and the north face goes green and soft. Most of the chimney repairs in Edwinstowe that a stack like that needs are small and fixable: open joints, a crumbling crown, a flashing that has lifted. Over in the Thoresby avenues the houses are younger, built in the late twenties, but their stacks have been out of use for a long time too.
Free chimney repairs survey in Edwinstowe
Leave your details and we'll ring you back to arrange a survey. The visit is free, you're under no obligation once we've been, and a roof that doesn't need work gets called a roof that doesn't need work.
Fully insured
Free Edwinstowe surveys
Itemised fixed prices
about 13 minutes from base
Who does the work
A chimney job gets finished, not abandoned at dusk
Chris runs the roofing side of the business. He's from round here, started on roofs as a teenager and has more than 20 years in the trade now. A stack sitting in the shade of a big tree, with moss on the crown and a damp face on the north side, is exactly the kind of problem those years have taught him to read before anyone touches a trowel.
Chimney work runs long sometimes, because the roof around the stack has to be sealed before anyone comes down. Chris has never minded the hours, and his team have the same habit. They're proud to work for a firm that rates the customer above money, perks or knocking off early, and they do the job the same way whether anybody is watching it or not.
1,000+
Repairs carried out
10 years
Workmanship guarantee, on paper
Free
Surveys, quotes and honest bad news
No upselling
A patch that will hold gets recommended as a patch
Chimney trouble Edwinstowe homeowners tend to notice first
Shade and tree litter change how a stack fails. These are the clues we'd look for on a forest-edge house, and what each usually turns out to be.
A green, spongy layer on the shaded side of the stack
Moss and algae growing in mortar joints that never dry out. Roots open the joints a little at a time, and once they're open the brick behind starts taking in water every time it rains.
Twigs, leaves or nesting material in the fireplace
An open pot under a tree is a collecting bowl. Debris and birds get in, rain follows the same route, and a cap with a mesh guard usually sorts all three at once.
Lumps of grey mortar sitting in the gutter
That's normally the flaunching around the pots breaking up. On a shaded crown it stays damp much longer, and a few frosty nights finish off what the damp started.
A brown or damp patch on the chimney breast upstairs
Water travelling down through a wet stack, often carrying old soot stain with it. A fault at the crown or in the joints is more likely than the flashing, though we check both.
How we handle stacks that live in the shade
Moss cleared by hand first
We scrape the growth off the crown and joints before judging the brickwork, because a mossy stack can look far worse, or far better, than it is underneath.
Pointing that lets brick breathe
The older stacks around St Mary's want a soft lime mix. Hard cement on that brick holds moisture in, and under trees the brick has enough moisture to deal with already.
Crowns shaped to shed water
New flaunching is laid with a proper fall away from the pots, so rain and leaf mulch run off instead of sitting in a damp ring around them.
Guards on pots under trees
Where a flue isn't used, a vented cap keeps out rain, leaves and nesting birds while still letting air move through the stack.
Lead flashings that stay put
Lead is dressed to the tiles and wedged into raked-out joints. We don't rely on a mortar fillet, which cracks within a few winters on a stack that stays damp.
Branches mentioned, not ignored
If a limb is scraping the stack or dropping onto it, we'll tell you the repair won't last until it's cut back, and that the council may need asking first.
Two kinds of Edwinstowe stack, one shared problem
Edwinstowe's chimneys come from two very different building eras. The old village around St Mary's grew slowly over centuries, and its stacks are soft brick laid in lime. Then from 1925 the Bolsover Colliery Company put up its houses for Thoresby on the far side of the High Street, three-bedroom semis in a tidy grid, built when a house was heated from the grate. Earl Manvers was fussy about how the pit looked on the Dukeries skyline, which is why Thoresby itself was built without boiler chimneys, but the houses had chimneys like anywhere else. What both halves of the village have now is tree cover. Shade keeps the brickwork wet and slows every repair from curing, so a stack here needs the right mortar and a crown that throws water off. While we're up there, the leaf-strewn flat roofs out the back deserve a look as well, since the same oaks drop onto them.
"When Edwinstowe homeowners ring us about a damp chimney breast, the stack nearly always sits in the shade of a tree, and the crown is usually where the water gets in."
From chimney repairs enquiries Roof Repairs Mansfield handles in Edwinstowe
How a chimney repair in Edwinstowe runs
We survey the stack and the loft
We get up to the chimney, check all four faces, the crown, the pots and the flashing, then look at the brickwork and timbers around it from inside the loft. The survey is free.
You see photos of what we found
Shaded faces you can't see from the garden are often the worst ones, so we photograph each side and show you exactly what needs doing and what doesn't.
One written price, itemised
The quote lists each job separately, from repointing to capping, with any scaffold or access cost shown as its own line so nothing comes as a surprise.
We do the work we quoted
Moss off, joints raked and repointed, crown renewed, flashing fitted, pots capped where you've asked. Then we photograph the finished stack and take all the debris away with us.
Your guarantee in writing
You get a written 10 year workmanship guarantee on the chimney work once it's complete, along with the before and after photos.
Ten years, in writing, before we leave the drive
Every roofer in Nottinghamshire will tell you their work is guaranteed. Ask to see the paper and the conversation often changes. Ours doesn't: work booked through Roof Repairs Mansfield carries a 10 year workmanship guarantee as a physical document, dated, signed and handed over with the completion photos - not a line in an email you'll never find again. Materials sit on top of that with their manufacturers' own cover, which differs product to product, so your paperwork names the cover that actually applies to your job.
A guarantee that long only makes commercial sense if repairs are done in a way that doesn't invite a return visit. Around Mansfield that means respecting what the housing actually is: coverings and fixings from the colliery era that fail as systems, not as single tiles, and mortar that has been quietly powdering since the pits shut. So failed material gets stripped back to something sound before new goes on, mortar gets matched to the age of the brick, and anything we can't make right on the day gets said out loud rather than covered over.
The blunt version: if water we were paid to stop finds its way back through our work inside 10 years, we return and put it right at our own cost. That promise has to be cheap to honour - and it is, because of how the work gets done the first time.
10 yrs
Written workmanship cover
1,000+
Repairs carried out
Insured
Public liability held
Named
Manufacturer cover per job
Questions to ask before anyone climbs your Edwinstowe chimney
Whoever you end up hiring, these three answers tell you a lot about how they'll treat a stack that sits under trees.
Will you check the side I can't see?
Under oaks the back or north face of a stack is usually the dampest. A price worked out from the pavement can't account for a face nobody has looked at.
What will the joints be pointed with?
On the older village stacks the answer should include lime. A strong cement mix on soft, damp brick tends to push the brick faces off a few years later.
Is a cap or guard in the price?
If the fireplace isn't used, ask how the pot will be covered. Repointing the outside while leaving the top open to rain and leaves only does half the job.
Under The Trees: Patch The Stack Or Rebuild Its Top?
A tired Edwinstowe stack doesn't automatically need taking down and building again. This is how the two choices usually compare.
| Comparison point | Repoint and reflaunch | Rebuild above the roof |
|---|---|---|
| When it suits | Sound brick with open joints and a cracked crown. | Spalled or loose brick, or a stack that's leaning badly. |
| Cost | The cheaper route, often a few hundred pounds for the crown. | Costs more, with scaffold almost always needed. |
| Original brick | Kept, so the stack still matches the house. | Reclaimed or matched brick needed to blend in. |
| Time on site | A day or so once the ladders or tower are in place. | Longer, and new mortar needs time to cure in the shade. |
| Conservation area | Like-for-like repair, no permission needed. | Worth talking to the council first if the house is in it. |
| What we'd suggest | Most stacks, most of the time. | Only when the brickwork itself has failed. |
What chimney work in Edwinstowe tends to cost
Renewing a crown and rebedding pots usually comes in at a few hundred pounds, and a full repoint and reflash is mostly in the low four figures. Where your stack lands depends on the four things below.
Access between the trees
On Church Street and the older parts of the High Street, branches and tight gardens can make ladders awkward, so some stacks need a tower or scaffold that a clear roof wouldn't.
How far the moss has got
Light growth comes off in minutes. Where roots have opened deep joints on the shaded face, there's more raking out and more pointing to do.
Lime or standard mortar
Lime pointing on the old village stacks takes a little longer to do well than a modern mix on a Thoresby-era semi, and that shows in the price.
Caps, cowls and guards
Each pot that needs covering adds a small amount. On a stack with several pots under a tree, it's money well spent.
Chimney repair questions from Edwinstowe
Do I need permission from the council to repair my chimney in Edwinstowe?
Newark & Sherwood District Council deals with planning here. Straightforward repairs such as repointing, a new crown or fresh flashing are like-for-like work and normally need no permission. Taking a stack down is a different matter inside the Edwinstowe conservation area, which covers the old core around St Mary's and Church Street and, since 1989, the main part of the High Street. If your house is there, check with the district council's conservation team before removing a chimney. The Thoresby avenues are outside the boundary.
Why does the chimney on the shaded side of my roof stay damp?
Because brickwork dries out by sun and wind, and under forest cover it gets less of both. Rain soaks in, then hangs about for days. That's what lets moss take hold and what makes mortar crumble in a frost. A soft, breathable pointing mix, a crown that sheds water and a cap on any unused pot let the stack dry out between showers.
Can you repair a chimney in Edwinstowe if a tree hangs over it?
Usually yes, but the branch matters. If it rubs the stack in the wind or keeps dropping debris into the pots, the repair won't last unless it's dealt with. We'll tell you whether that's the case. Some trees around the village may be protected, so check with the council before anyone cuts.
My fireplace was blocked up years ago. Should the chimney be capped?
Yes, with a vented cap, not a solid seal. An open pot lets rain and leaves fall straight down the flue, and a sealed one traps moisture in the breast. A vented cap stops the rain and still lets air through, and it's one of the smallest jobs we do.
Is moss on my chimney actually harmful?
A thin film isn't much to worry about. Thick moss on the crown or packed into the joints is, because it holds water against the masonry and its roots widen the gaps. We remove it by hand, then repair whatever it has opened up underneath.
What to do in Edwinstowe
If you're here for a chimney survey, it's worth staying for a walk. Three of the village's best-known places sit within easy reach of the High Street.
The Major Oak and Sherwood Forest
The Major Oak stands in the Birklands just north of the village, and is reckoned to be 800 to 1,000 years old. Trails run out to it from the RSPB's Sherwood Forest visitor centre, which opened in 2018.
Find it on Google Maps : The Major Oak and Sherwood Forest
St Mary's Church
Edwinstowe's Grade I listed parish church has stood on Church Street since about 1175, and was restored twice in the Victorian period. Legend says Robin Hood and Maid Marian married here.
Find it on Google Maps : St Mary's Church
Sherwood Forest Art & Craft Centre
Makers work and sell from the old coach house and stables of Edwinstowe Hall, with paintings, textiles, jewellery and candles on offer. There's a café and free parking, but check winter opening days first.
Find it on Google Maps : Sherwood Forest Art & Craft CentreFinding Edwinstowe
Edwinstowe is around 13 minutes from our Sandy Lane yard in Mansfield, and planning matters here go to Newark & Sherwood District Council, not Mansfield.
Word from around the town
What homeowners across the Mansfield patch made of the work, in their own words.
"The back bedroom ceiling had a mark that came and went for two years and I'd stopped even noticing it. When Babet hit it turned into a proper leak overnight. They came out two days later, found a split flashing round the chimney - nowhere near where the stain was - and had it done in a morning. Showed me photos of the fault before and after. The quote and the invoice were the same number, which I'm told is rarer than it should be."
"Ours is one of the old colliery houses and the ridge had been shedding bits of mortar onto the path for months. I expected to be told we needed a new roof - the bloke next door had been quoted for exactly that by someone else. Instead they rebedded the ridge, refixed four tiles and told me the rest of the roof was fine for years yet. Charged a fraction of what I'd braced myself for."
"Water was streaming down the front of the house whenever it rained hard and I assumed the worst about the roof. Turned out the gutter had lost its fall and was tipping everything over the edge in one spot. They reset the brackets, sorted a joint, checked the gully at the bottom and were gone within a couple of hours. Also pointed out a slate that wants watching next year rather than fixing now - appreciated that."
"Bought a 1900s terrace near the town centre and the survey flagged the chimney. Two other firms quoted to take it down entirely. These lads went up, told me the stack itself was sound and it just needed repointing with the right mortar, new flaunching and a cap on the dead flue. Three years on the chimney breast is bone dry. Kept the chimney, saved about two grand."
"The extension roof had ponded for years and every couple of winters someone would patch it and it would come back. They were the first to explain the actual problem - no fall on the deck - and quoted to sort that rather than just laying another layer of felt over it. New rubber roof, water actually runs off it now. You get told the truth, which is worth paying for on its own."
Been a customer?
A short review is the most useful thing you can give a local firm - it tells the next household in Mansfield with a dripping ceiling who they can trust with it.
Areas we cover
We look after chimneys right across Mansfield and the villages around it. Pick your town below to see the local page.
Have your Edwinstowe chimney looked at before winter
Book a free survey and we'll check the stack, the crown, the flashing and the loft, then send you photos and one written price. If it only needs the moss off and a cap, that's all we'll quote for.