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An 1890s Victorian on a side street near Battle Green needed a new crown after decades of freeze-thaw damage. We rebuilt it with period-appropriate techniques, proper overhang, and a sloped surface that will outlast the rest of the chimney.
This was a referral from a real estate agent we work with regularly. Her clients were in due diligence on an 1894 Victorian a few blocks from Battle Green, and the buyer’s inspector had flagged the chimney crown as a serious concern. The seller didn’t want to walk away from a closing over a chimney issue, so they called us for an honest assessment and a quote.
When we got up there, the inspector’s concerns were absolutely valid. The original crown was cracked completely through in two places, missing chunks at the edges, and had almost no overhang past the brickwork. That last detail is important — without a proper overhang, water runs straight down the face of the chimney instead of dripping away from it. The brick below the crown was already showing significant moisture damage from years of this.
This being a historic Lexington home — the kind where the chimney is a visible architectural feature from the street — we knew the rebuild had to look right from day one. No modern shortcuts, no concrete crown that would stand out against the original masonry. We needed to match what was there.
We removed the failing crown carefully, preserving as much of the underlying brickwork as we could. The top course of brick was reset where needed using softer lime-based mortar — the same kind of mortar the original masons would have used in 1894, and the right material for our historic-grade repointing work across Lexington.
The new crown was poured on site rather than precast, which let us shape it to match the original profile while extending the overhang an extra inch and a half past the brickwork. That extra overhang means rain water drips clear of the masonry instead of running down it — a small change that adds decades to the life of the chimney below. We sloped the surface properly so water sheds off the flue side, and applied a breathable masonry sealer rated for our New England freeze-thaw cycles.
The whole job took three days. We were quiet, we kept the property protected, and we worked with the listing timeline so the closing wouldn’t be affected. The buyer’s inspector did a follow-up visit before closing and signed off without question.
The closing went through on schedule, the new owners are happy, and the chimney now has a crown that’s both period-appropriate in appearance and built to modern longevity standards. With the proper overhang and sealer, we’d expect this crown to last 40 to 50 years before needing any significant attention.
We provided full photo documentation for the home file, a written warranty on the workmanship, and a follow-up reminder for an annual inspection. If you have similar concerns about your own historic Lexington home, see our crown repair service page or read about our work in other Lexington homes.
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TopDog Chimney provides chimney cleaning and inspections, liner and cap installation, crown repair, repointing, brick, firebox and smoke chamber repair, gas fireplace service and waterproofing — for homes across Burlington and Greater Boston. Call (781) 782-8727.
