Where shingles meet a chimney, wall or vent pipe
Flashing and Chimney Leaks in Warren, NJ
Flashing and chimney leak repair in Warren, NJ centers on the metal that seals the joints, since joints are where a roof is most vulnerable.
Call (908) 827-6709, name the chimney, wall or vent pipe above the stain, and the contractor can talk through what a visit covers.
What the contractor can look at
Call (908) 827-6709 and name the chimney, wall or vent pipe above the stain; a visit can follow.
- The base flashing, step flashing and counterflashing around a chimney can be checked one layer at a time.
- Where the roof meets a wall, the step flashing can be checked against the Department of Energy's figure of at least 4 inches up the wall and 4 along the deck.
- Vent pipes and other openings can be checked for cracked collars and lifted metal.
- Brick, mortar and the chimney cap can be looked over, and the contractor can say whether a mason is worth calling in.
- The written scope can name the metal, the sealants and the steps, with start and finish dates.
Looks from the ground
Stick to what the lawn, an upstairs window or the attic hatch shows. A ladder, or a walk over the shingles, is a roofer's job.
- Look at the chimney from the yard with binoculars. A gap at the brick, a bead of old tar or a rusty, lifted strip is worth a photograph.
- Check the ceiling near the chimney, the outside walls and any vent stack for brown stains. Stains near these spots point to the metal first.
- Look at the brick above the roofline for loose mortar or a cracked cap, and note which side of the chimney looks worst.
- Shine a flashlight at the chimney chase in the attic, looking for dark streaks on the boards or damp insulation. Stay on the ladder.
Step back and get help if
- A chimney that leans, or bricks that have come loose: keep people and cars away from the base, and call 911 if pieces are dropping.
- Smoke or a burning smell around the fireplace or flue: get everyone outside and call 911. Do not light the fireplace.
- A wire hanging near the roofline or the chimney top: stay a full 30 feet away and phone 911 or your electric company (PSE&G 1-800-436-7734, JCP&L 1-888-544-4877).
- Climbing to the chimney yourself, wet roof or dry: do not. Wet shingles slip and the footing at a chimney is narrow. Call 911 if someone falls.
Questions to put to a roofer
Ask about the metal, layer by layer
Ask which pieces of flashing will be replaced and which will stay. Ask how the new metal will be lapped with the shingles and set into or over the brick.
Ask what is planned for the mortar and the cap, and whether a mason is part of the quote. Ask for the sealants to be named in the scope, with the answers written down rather than promised at the door.
About the picture
In the picture: step flashing going on against the brick
The scene shows a roofer kneeling on a shingle roof beside a red brick chimney, pressing a new piece of metal step flashing against the brick where the shingles meet it. A hammer rests on the shingles beside him.
Each small piece sits under a shingle and over the one below, the way the Department of Energy's page describes it. The picture is a rendering and does not show a real chimney.
Questions this job raises
How urgent is a chimney or flashing leak, on a 1-to-10 scale?
Smoke or a burning smell near the flue, loose bricks or a downed wire is an 8 to 10: get clear and reach 911 or the utility. A stain near the chimney that grows with each rain is a 4 to 7, so call (908) 827-6709 this week. A faded stain that stopped growing months ago is a 1 to 3: photograph it and watch the next storm.
What are the metal pieces around a chimney?
The Department of Energy lists three: base flashing at the bottom of the chimney, step flashing along the sides and counterflashing above them. Each one is lapped over the one below so water runs down and over, the way shingles do.
How is step flashing laid along a wall?
In pieces, one per shingle course, layered like the shingles. The Department of Energy's page asks for at least 4 inches up the wall and 4 inches along the roof deck. A single long strip along the wall is not what that page describes.
How often does flashing need checking?
FEMA advises a look at least twice a year, spring and fall, and after high wind. It describes flashing that is built in with the shingles and the underlayment, so a roofer judging it looks at all three together.
Is chimney flashing work available outside Warren?
Yes. The contractor covers Warren roofing, Watchung roofing, Green Brook roofing, Bridgewater roofing, Bernards roofing and Long Hill roofing. Call (908) 827-6709 with the street address and say which chimney or wall leaks.
Parts of the roof involved
A chimney has three metal layers and each one has a job
Base flashing sits at the low side of the chimney and carries water around it. Step flashing runs up the sides in pieces. Counterflashing is set into the masonry above and laps over the others, so water running down the brick lands on metal that points it outward.
If one layer fails, the others try to cover for it. The result is a stain that appears months after the cause.
Paperwork, briefly
Reflashing and the line the state draws around fire safety
Roof covering is named on the state's ordinary-maintenance list, though the rule behind it excludes work bearing on a building's structure or on fire safety. Reflashing a chimney can fall on either side of that line depending on the job, so the town's construction office is the place to ask. Each office is on the hiring checklist.
Where this comes from (8)
- U.S. Department of Energy, Building Science Education, Step flashing at roof-wall intersections
- U.S. Department of Energy, Building Science Education, Waterproofing chimneys
- U.S. Department of Energy, Building Science Education, Water-managed roof assembly
- Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association, Assessing roof damage after Superstorm Sandy (7 Nov 2012)
- FEMA, Fact Sheet 3.3.1: Roof Systems, Sloped Roofs (Mar 2022)
- Cornell LII, N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7, Ordinary maintenance
- NIOSH, Ladder safety (reviewed 1 Mar 2024)
- PSE&G, Downed power lines
Checked 1 Nov 2026
Have these ready
Start with the street address, the room that shows water and a guess at the roof's age, then call (908) 827-6709. Renters can pass their photos to the owner, who arranges roof work.