Chimney repairs across Box, Wiltshire — lime repointing, lead flashing, flaunching and rebuilds for the stone stacks of the Hill of Stone. Conservation-grade work with NHL lime, never cement, on Box's period and listed properties. Free stack surveys.
Chimney repairs in Box, Wiltshire cost 150 to 800 pounds and up, covering repointing, lead flashing, flaunching and pot replacement. Box's stone stacks must be pointed in NHL lime mortar, never cement, which spalls the soft limestone. We survey all four faces and work to conservation standards on the village's period properties.
✓ NFRC Registered
✓ Fully Insured
✓ 10 Year Guarantee
✓ Free Quotes
✓ No Hidden Costs
✓ Conservation Specialists
Honest advice
Do You Actually Need Chimney Repairs?
Chimney trouble shows as damp on the breast inside, crumbling mortar, or a leak where the stack meets the roof. On Bath's soft stone stacks, eroded lime pointing and failed lead are the usual causes.
Damp staining on the chimney breast inside the house
Crumbling or missing mortar in the stack
A leak in the ceiling near the chimney
Loose or leaning pots
Vegetation growing from the stonework
When it is not the answer: If only the flaunching or a length of flashing has failed, you don't need a full rebuild — a targeted lime repair is far cheaper and keeps the original stack. Read the full guide.
Chimney lead weatherproofing: flashing, apron and back gutter
Chimney Repairs in Box
Repairing Box's Stone Chimney Stacks
Box's chimneys are stone, and stone chimneys on the Hill of Stone need a specialist's hand. The stacks on the village's period cottages and houses are built of the same soft oolitic limestone as the walls, and exposed at the highest, most weather-beaten point of the roof they take the worst of the By Brook valley's weather. Their mortar erodes first, their lead flashings fail, and their flaunching cracks — and every repair must respect the softness of the stone.
The commonest chimney repairs we carry out in Box are lime repointing of eroded joints, renewal of the lead flashing where the stack meets the roof, and re-flaunching to bed loose pots. On the exposed stacks of Box Hill, where the prevailing weather hits hardest, the weather-facing and north faces are always worse than the elevation you see from the lane — which is why we survey all four faces of every stack before quoting.
Never cement on a Box stack: Box stone is soft limestone that must breathe. Pointing a Box chimney in cement traps moisture and blows the stone face off within a decade or two — an irreversible failure we see too often on stacks pointed by general builders. We use NHL lime mortar throughout, matched in colour and profile to the original.
Our Process
Our Chimney Repairs Process in Box
Survey all four faces. We inspect every face of the Box stack, as the weather-facing and north sides erode fastest and are often the worst.
Rake out failed mortar. We carefully rake out eroded joints to a sound depth without damaging the soft stone arris.
Repoint in lime. We repoint in NHL lime mortar matched to the original, and renew lead flashing and flaunching as needed.
Finish and protect. We fit or renew cowls, bed the pots, and leave the stack weathertight and true to its conservation setting.
Historic England guidance: Historic England guidance requires soft limestone such as Box and Bath stone to be pointed in lime mortar, never cement — cement traps moisture and spalls the stone face, a common and irreversible failure on stacks pointed by non-specialists.
Chimney mortar crumbling or damp on the breast in Box? Get a free four-face stack survey and a fixed-price quote.
We inspect every face of the stack — the weather-facing sides erode faster than the one you see — and photograph the faults.
2. Written quote
We quote the repointing, flashing, flaunching or rebuild needed, using lime mortar for Bath's soft stone, at a fixed price.
3. Scheduling & access
We book the work and arrange the tower or scaffold access a stack needs for safe standing time.
4. The work
We rake out failed mortar, repoint in matched NHL lime, renew lead flashing and flaunching, and re-bed pots as needed.
5. Cleanup & sign-off
We clear debris, leave the stack weathertight, and hand over your guarantee.
Timescales
Job Durations at a Glance
Job
Typical duration
Re-flaunching / re-bed pots
Half a day
Lead flashing renewal
Half to full day
Stack repointing (lime)
1–2 days
Partial stack rebuild
2–3 days
Full stack rebuild
3–5 days
Lime mortar needs frost-free conditions to cure properly, so we schedule stack work around cold snaps in winter.
Access
Getting Safely onto Box Roofs
Chimney work almost always needs a tower or scaffold for safe standing time at the ridge — itemised in your quote, never a hidden extra. Scaffold is specified for: nearly all stack work — safe access to the ridge is essential and always specified - always itemised in your written quote, never a hidden extra, and we arrange it.
Box's quarrymen's cottages and listed stone stock on Box Hill need lime-aware access and careful scaffold footing on the hillside. Pavement scaffold and skip permits go through Wiltshire Council; allow a few working days on streets like Albert Place, The Court, Box Hill, Laura Place where space is tight.
Pricing
What Chimney Repairs Costs in Box
Job
Typical range
Notes
Re-flaunching / re-bed pots
£150–£350
Per stack
Lead flashing renewal
£250–£600
Stack-to-roof junction
Stack repointing (lime)
£350–£850
Four faces, NHL lime
Partial stack rebuild
£800–£2,000
From roofline up
Full stack rebuild
£1,800–£4,000+
Incl. scaffold
What moves the price
Soft Bath stone requiring NHL lime mortar, never cement
How many faces of the stack have failed (weather sides worst)
Access height and scaffold vs tower for safe standing time
Whether pots, flaunching and flashing all need renewal
Worked example: Repointing all four faces of a soft-stone stack in lime plus renewing the lead flashing on a Widcombe hillside terrace: around £900 including tower access.
No deposit on smaller chimney repairs. Staged payment on rebuilds, balance on completion — nothing before materials are on site. VAT included.
Covering SN13 and surrounding postcodes.
Guarantee
Your Guarantee, Explained
Chimney workmanship is guaranteed for 10 years, extending to rebuilds and full repointing; because we use correct NHL lime, the work lasts rather than damaging the stone as cement does.
Covered: workmanship for 10 years, in writing, transferable if you sell.
On top: manufacturer warranties on materials (terms vary by product).
Not covered: storm or impact damage - that is an insurance matter, and we will document it for your claim.
If a fault appears in covered work, we come back and put it right. No quibbling, no re-charge.
Good to know
What It Is Like While We Work
Stack work means access equipment up for a few days and some mess at the base — we sheet and protect below, and clear everything on completion. You do not need to stay home for external work - we just need power and access agreed in advance.
Lime pointing waits for frost-free weather to cure; we won't point a stack into a cold snap and risk the mortar failing. Box sits high above the By Brook valley, catching prevailing weather with little shelter on its exposed stacks and slopes.
Customer Reviews
What Bath Homeowners Say
★★★★★
Our exposed stack was losing its mortar to the weather. They pointed all four faces in lime, not just the front, and renewed the flaunching. Knew exactly how to treat a Box stone chimney.
Christopher M., Box Hill
★★★★★
Previous owner had cemented the chimney and the stone was starting to blow. They raked it back to lime and saved the stack. Real heritage knowledge — a relief to find.
Diane H., Ashley
★★★★★
Repointed the stack and sorted the lead flashing that was letting water into the bedroom. Clear about what each part cost. Dry and sound now.
Robert P., Ditteridge
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Chimney repairs in Box cost 150 to 800 pounds and up depending on scope. Repointing a stack is 250 to 650, renewing flaunching 150 to 350, and lead flashing 250 to 600. Access and the four-face lime work on Box's stone stacks affect the final figure.
Box stone is soft oolitic limestone that must breathe. Cement mortar traps moisture and blows the stone face off within a decade or two, an irreversible failure. NHL lime mortar flexes with the stone and lets it breathe, so it is the only correct choice on Box's stone stacks.
Signs include crumbling or missing mortar, staining or damp on the chimney breast inside, a leaning stack or loose pots, and vegetation growing from the stonework. If mortar can be scraped out easily, the stack is due for repointing.
All four faces. On Box's exposed stacks the weather-facing and north sides erode fastest and are usually the worst, though they are hidden from the lane. We survey every face before quoting so nothing is missed.
Yes. We repair and repoint chimneys on listed and conservation-area properties in Box using lime mortar matched to the original, and advise on any listed building consent needed from Wiltshire Council for more significant work.
Flaunching is the mortar fillet that beds the chimney pots into the top of the stack. It cracks and washes out over time, letting water in and loosening the pots. If yours is cracked or missing, it should be renewed, and we do this in lime alongside repointing.
No. We provide free, no-obligation four-face stack surveys across Box and the hamlets with no call-out fee, and quote a fixed price before any work begins.
