When Brian headed out to a beautiful home in Williamsburg, he found a situation that’s all too common in the Tidewater area. The homeowner had a wide brick chimney that was causing a bit of a headache. As it turns out, several other roofing crews had looked at this project over the years and decided to simply "skip" the most important part of the repair.

The homeowner mentioned that nobody wanted to tackle the area behind the chimney because the roof's slope changes right there, making the geometry a little complicated. Instead of doing it right, previous workers had just slapped on some surface-mounted metal and called it a day.

The Problem

The main issue here was two-fold: a missing cricket and poor flashing.

A chimney "cricket" is essentially a small, peaked roof structure built behind a chimney to divert water around it. Without one, a wide chimney acts like a dam, trapping leaves, debris, and water against the brick. To make matters worse, the existing flashing (the metal transition that keeps water from entering the gap between the brick and the shingles) was only "surface-mounted" with goopy sealant rather than being "cut-in" to the mortar joints for a permanent, watertight seal.

The Technical Why

Behind a wide chimney, you often have a "pitch transition"—which is just a fancy way of saying the roof gets steeper or flatter at that exact spot. For many crews, framing a cricket that accounts for that change in slope is too time-consuming.

At The Roofing Company, we use our specialized training to handle these transitions properly. Whether it’s an exposed copper cricket for a classic look or a framed-in version covered in shingles to match the rest of your roof, the goal is the same: keep the water moving away from the masonry.

Professional Advice

If your chimney is wider than 30 inches, a cricket isn't just a "nice to have"—it’s usually a requirement for a long-lasting roof. We recommend checking the area behind your chimney for:

  • Piles of damp leaves or pine needles.

  • Cracked sealant where the metal meets the brick.

  • Signs of "stepping" or water marks on the interior ceiling near the fireplace.

Whenever you're ready to take a closer look at a tricky spot on your roof, we're here to help. Whether you're worried about a mysterious spot on the ceiling or just want to make sure your flashing is up to snuff, give us a shout at 757-867-6600 or fill out the form on this page. We’re happy to stop by and give you an honest look.

Watch the full Roofing for Reel series.