Hello everyone, I need an opinion from an expert chimney man on some chimney work proposals. My house was built in the mid 50s and I have been here since 1971. I have never had any work done on the chimney. I noticed brick and mortar falling on the porch and in the yard and I finally figured it was coming from the chimney. I also get water inside the house where the chimney is located. Proposal # 1 1. Erect scaffolding to chimney top height. 2. Protect roofs (mine and the neighbors) around chimney with plywood and tarps. 3. Build a work platform on roof sides of chimney. 4. Remove crown and four courses of brick work from chimney top. 5. Reset two courses. 6. Drill out twelve damaged bricks from chimney sides. 7. Replace # 5 above with bricks from # 4 above. 8. Remove top section of flue liner from chimney top and install new section. 9. Form and pour a 2-tier, fiber reinforced concrete crown on chimney overhanging the sides by 1-1/2". 10. Finish crown to simulate brickwork (a 100% color and texture match is not guaranteed). 11. Cut and re-point all mortar joints on chimney sides down to counter flashing of roof. 12. Acid wash all new mortar work to remove anew mortar and dust stains. 13. Furnish and install a stainless steel cap on top of flue. 14. Clean up and remove rubble from site. This was an older man who did not come inside the house. He did his inspection with a pair of high powered binoculars from the outside of the house. He said he did not want to get up on a ladder for fear of falling. I am sure he has help for that part of the job. He said he has been in the business for thirty years. He also took pictures. His proposal is $5,735.00 Proposal #2 These last two proposals are not as detailed as #1 is. System Information: Construction-Masonry-8 brick around Fireplace opening sizes 4"X9" Comments Rebuild chimney approx 19 courses Build new concrete crown & 9X4 stainless steel rain animal guard Install 6 inch round stainless steel mflax lining system approx 30 feet in length-Direct connect to 3 inch W.M. 6" furnace This main had 2 other men with him who did a roof and furnace inspection. His proposal is: Total rebuild $1,316.00 Stainless steel liner $1,480.00 Proposal #3 Condition report 1. Height 40-satisfactory 2. Chimney cap/spark arrestor-Not applicable 3. Crown/Wash-Unsatisfactory 4. Brickwork/Mortar-Unsatisfactory 5. Flashing-Unsatisfactory 6. Flue Liner-Unsatisfactory 7. Moisture resistance-Unsatisfactory Comments: 6" Boiler-3"H.W.H At top of chimney the crown is missing and the flashing needs resealed. Looking down the chimney flue, the flue tile are flaking and falling apart. Needs liner/crown/flashing resealed Unsafe to use Of course this man and and his crew came in the house and went on the roof for inspection. He also took pictures. His proposal is $1,800.94 for the crown, flashing, liner and the permit. $528.66 for the brick and mortar work to be done at a later date (I think he wants to get the most important work done now) Is there anything that proposal number one will do that number 2 and 3 are not doing (in other words, am I getting more from #1 than the other two). I am assuming that the other 2 will clean up the debris and clean the bricks when they are finished. Thank you very much for any responses.

The printing on the picture suggests a "Crown Coat Sealant" and not "new cement". In my opinion this is a better fix than new cement. It is also something that you could do yourself if so inclined. Just apply on top of the cement. CrownCoat is a commercial product and only comes in larger quantities. The company that makes CrownCoat makes homeowner products under the name ChimneyRX and they are much cheaper. You could probably seal your chimney cap for $60.

Are you sure what you removed was plaster and not mortar? In either case, it's not really clear what you want to do. If you want to have the brick exposed and visible then you have a sizable job in front of you replacing the mortar by tuck pointing the joints- after removing any crumbling mortar bit by bit - where it has failed or been removed. This is quite a bit more than a "cosmetic repair". The mortar is what holds the chimney together. If you want to coat the entire surface with something there would seem to have been little point in removing what was already there. You would still need to do some fairly major repair work on the chimney before proceeding as well. Honestly and without wishing to be unduly alarming, the photos show a chimney in dire need of evaluation by a mason or other professional. By chipping off whatever was present, you may have seriously weakened the chimney. The mortar is in very poor condition and I would guess that there are many loose bricks. The expanding foam product shown in the bottom photo provides no strength and is unsuitable for repairing masonry. A coating of some sort and some paint is not going to fix this.

Looks like metal edge bead. It may have been cut a bit too long or there could be some flex in the framing that is causing the joint compound to crack. I would replace it with something like Aquabead. The corner bead is coated with a water-activated adhesive. Just wet it, wait a minute for the adhesive to activate and put it in place. Let dry and come back with joint compound. Super easy to use. https://www.certainteed.com/drywall/aquabead-product-spotlight-video/ If you still have a problem with cracking, then go with the trim option you mentioned.