Chimney pots and flaunching are almost always considered together, because they physically depend on each other — the flaunching is the mortar fillet at the top of the stack that holds the pots firmly in place and sheds rainwater away from the flue opening, and when one fails, the other is very often not far behind. For homeowners in Longwell Green dealing with either issue, it is worth understanding how closely linked the two actually are.
Flaunching takes a real beating, sitting at the very highest and most exposed point of the roof, fully open to sun, frost and driving rain. Over time it cracks, crumbles or pulls away from the pots it is meant to be securing, and once that happens, rainwater that should be running off the top of the stack instead finds its way down into the flue or between the pot and the brickwork beneath it, which is a surprisingly common and often overlooked cause of chimney leaks. Because it is out of sight for most homeowners, failing flaunching often goes unnoticed for a long time, discovered only once a leak has already caused damp lower down the chimney breast.
A pot that has come loose in failed flaunching is not just a leak risk but a safety one too, particularly on the taller stacks found on some of the older terraced properties around Longwell Green — a genuinely loose pot can shift further in high winds and, in the worst cases, come away from the stack altogether. Cracked pots carry their own separate risk of letting water straight into the flue through the crack itself, regardless of how sound the flaunching around them is.
Repair involves removing any pots that need replacing, clearing out the old, failed flaunching completely rather than patching over it, and rebuilding it properly with a mortar mix that will hold and shed water correctly, before bedding the pot or a replacement back in securely. Where the flue is disused, this is also a sensible point to consider capping it rather than leaving an open pot that serves no purpose but remains a route for water and birds to get in. A well-formed flaunching should slope away from the pots slightly so that water is directed off the stack rather than pooling around the base of them, which is a detail that a rushed repair can easily get wrong.
Because pots and flaunching sit right at the top of the stack, this work needs the same safe access as repointing or leadwork repairs, which makes it worth combining with any other stack maintenance that is due at the same time rather than arranging separate visits.
If a pot on your chimney in Longwell Green looks loose, cracked or is sitting at an odd angle, it is worth having it checked before it worsens. Brunel Roofing Bristol offers free inspections and can repair or renew pots and flaunching together, all covered by our 15-year guarantee.
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