The Short Answer
If a chimney still vents a furnace, water heater or fireplace, re-flash it and repair the masonry. If nothing uses it, and it needs new flashing plus crown or brick work, removing it below the roofline and decking over the opening is often the more permanent fix: it eliminates the leak point instead of resealing it. A mason takes down the masonry, the roof is framed, decked and shingled, and most Michigan building departments will want a permit.
Key Points
- Confirm nothing vents into the chimney first; an orphaned gas water heater still using an "unused" chimney is a carbon monoxide risk if the flue is removed.
- Re-flashing fixes the roof side only; leaks through a cracked crown, missing cap or porous brick also need a mason.
- Removal below the roofline replaces a chimney's flashing, cricket and crown with plain roof deck and shingles, which removes one of the most common leak points on a house.
- The 2015 Michigan Residential Code requires a permit to demolish or alter a building, and ordinary repairs exclude cutting structural members, so expect a permit for removal.
- In a local historic district, removing a chimney visible from the street needs approval from the historic district commission first (MCL 399.205).
Make Sure the Chimney Is Really Unused
"We don't use the fireplace" is not the same as "nothing uses the chimney." In many Michigan homes, an older furnace and a gas water heater shared one masonry flue. When the furnace was replaced with a high-efficiency model that vents through plastic pipe out the side wall, the water heater often stayed connected to the old chimney alone.
The 2015 Michigan Residential Code addresses exactly that situation. Section G2425.15 says that when an appliance is permanently disconnected from an existing chimney, the chimney has to be checked for size, condition, cleanout and clearances, and resized as needed for the appliances still using it. Section G2425.5 says abandoned inlet openings in chimneys must be closed by an approved method.
Before anyone talks about taking a chimney down, have a licensed heating contractor or the gas utility confirm what, if anything, vents into it, and where those appliances will vent afterward. Removing or capping a flue that still carries combustion gases can push carbon monoxide back into the house.
Look in the basement for any metal vent pipe running from a water heater, boiler or furnace into the masonry. If you see one, the chimney is in use.
Your Options for a Leaking Old Chimney
Re-flash and repair the masonry
Keep the chimney
New step flashing and counterflashing on the roof side, a cricket on the uphill side where required, plus crown, cap and brick repairs by a mason. This is the right path for a chimney that is in use, structurally sound, or part of the house's character.
Flashing repairRemove above the roof only
Take it down below the deck
A mason takes the chimney down to below the roof deck, caps what remains in the attic, and the opening in the roof is framed, sheathed and shingled. The lower part of the chimney stays in the house. This is the common middle path for a chimney nothing uses.
Remove the whole chimney
Basement to roof
Taking it out through every floor. This frees floor space but is a much larger structural and finish job involving several trades, and it is outside what a roofer decides. Get a contractor who handles structural work to scope it.
When Re-Flashing Is the Better Choice
- The chimney vents any appliance or a fireplace you use. Removal is off the table until venting is moved, and Section R1003.9 requires an active chimney to extend at least 3 feet above where it passes through the roof and 2 feet higher than anything within 10 feet.
- The masonry is sound: no loose bricks, no leaning, a solid crown, and the leak is clearly at the flashing.
- The house is in a local historic district, or the chimney is a defining feature of an older home and you want to keep it.
- You plan to sell soon and prefer not to take on a permit and a structural change.
- The roof is being replaced soon anyway; flashing can be renewed then, and you can decide about removal with the full roof open.
When Removal Makes More Sense
None of these alone makes the decision. A sound chimney on a roof with ten years left is often best re-flashed. A crumbling one that nothing uses usually costs less to remove once than to repair every few years.
- Nothing vents into it, confirmed by a heating contractor, and nothing will in the future.
- It needs new flashing and masonry work above the roof at the same time: a cracked crown, spalled brick, failing mortar joints or a missing cap.
- It sits low on a slope or in a valley area where snow and ice pile against its uphill side every winter.
- It has leaked, been repaired and leaked again. Every chimney is a hole in the roof with four sides of flashing and a crown to maintain; removing it removes all of that.
- A wide chimney without a cricket would need one added. Under R1003.20, chimneys wider than 30 inches parallel to the ridge need a cricket, flashed and counterflashed like the chimney itself.
What Removal Below the Roofline Involves
- Step 1
Confirm Venting and Check With the Building Department
Get the heating contractor's confirmation in writing, then ask your city or township building department what permit the work needs. In a local historic district, ask the historic district commission too.
- Step 2
Take Down the Masonry
A mason or chimney contractor removes the brick from the top down, usually to a point below the roof deck inside the attic, and lowers the debris safely. Old chimneys are heavy and the work is done from the roof and the attic.
- Step 3
Cap the Remaining Stack
What is left in the attic is capped so it cannot take in water, air or animals. Any abandoned inlet openings lower in the chimney are closed, as G2425.5 requires.
- Step 4
Frame the Opening
The hole in the roof is framed between the rafters so the new deck is supported on all edges. If the original framing was cut or headed off around the chimney, that is checked as well.
- Step 5
Deck, Underlay and Shingle
New sheathing matching the existing thickness goes down, then underlayment and shingles woven into the surrounding roof. On a roof near an eave, ice barrier rules apply to the new section as they do anywhere else.
- Step 6
Finish Inside if Needed
If a section of chimney ran through a finished room or closet you want removed, that is carpentry, drywall and finish work by other trades.
Shingle matching is the visible trade-off: a patch where a chimney used to be will look new until it weathers, and discontinued colors cannot be matched exactly.
Who Does Which Part
This is a multi-trade job, and it goes best when everyone knows their part before the first brick comes off.
Heating contractor or gas utility
Confirms what vents into the chimney and moves or relines any venting that remains. Required before anything else happens.
Mason or chimney contractor
Takes down the masonry and caps the remaining stack, or, if you keep the chimney, rebuilds the crown, repoints mortar and replaces damaged brick.
Roofer
Frames and decks the roof opening if the carpentry is in scope, installs underlayment and shingles, and ties the patch into the existing roof. On a chimney that stays, the roofer handles step flashing, counterflashing and the cricket.
Other trades
Drywall, plaster and paint inside the house, and any structural work below the attic if the whole chimney comes out.
Stellar handles the roof side: flashing, crickets, deck repair and shingles. Chimney masonry rebuilds and demolition belong to a mason; we can work alongside yours.
Code and Permit Points in Michigan
Michigan's construction code act says a building permit is not required for ordinary repairs (MCL 125.1510(7)), and re-flashing a chimney usually falls there. Removal is different. Section R105.1 of the 2015 Michigan Residential Code requires a permit to construct, alter, repair, move or demolish a building or structure, and Section R105.2.2 says ordinary repairs do not include cutting away any portion of a wall or removing or cutting any structural beam or load-bearing support. Taking a chimney down and framing the roof opening is the kind of work a building official will usually want to see.
If you keep the chimney, Michigan's version of the code is specific about what sits on top. Section R1003.9.1 requires masonry chimneys to have a concrete, metal or stone cap sloped at least 10 degrees to shed water, with a drip edge or slot, at least 2 inches thick at the outer edge and overhanging the chimney wall by at least 2 inches. A flat mortar wash that cracks every winter does not meet that.
In a local historic district created under the Local Historic Districts Act, MCL 399.205 requires a permit and a certificate of appropriateness or notice to proceed before any work affecting the exterior appearance of a resource. Removing a chimney visible from the street is exterior work. Ask your commission before you plan around removal.
Building departments read these rules for their own jurisdiction. Confirm with yours before work starts; this is a summary, not legal advice.
Permits for roof work
What needs a permit in Michigan and what usually doesn't.
Roof repair permits in MichiganComparing the Cost Honestly
On the re-flash side, a chimney re-flash is a moderate Stellar repair, about $1,500 to $4,000, and usually a full day. A big fieldstone chimney on a steep roof can push a re-flash to $6,000 or $7,000. Masonry work on the crown, cap and brick is a separate mason's price.
On the removal side, the mason's price for taking the chimney down and capping it, the permit fee, and the roof patch make up the total. The roof portion is a deck and shingle repair priced like other Stellar repair work, and every repair starts at $500. We cannot quote the masonry, so get the mason's number in writing before you compare.
Then compare over time. A re-flash fixes the flashing; the crown, cap and brick will still need a mason's attention over the years, and Michigan's freeze-thaw cycles are hard on exposed masonry. Removal is a one-time cost that ends the maintenance on that part of the roof.
Re-Flash vs Removal at a Glance
| Question | Re-Flash and Repair | Remove Below the Roofline |
|---|---|---|
| Chimney still vents an appliance | Yes, the right path | Not until venting is moved |
| What it fixes | Flashing; masonry if a mason also works | Eliminates the chimney's flashing, cricket and crown |
| Trades involved | Roofer, often a mason | Heating contractor check, mason, roofer, sometimes others |
| Permit in Michigan | Usually not, as an ordinary repair | Usually yes; confirm locally |
| Historic district | May still need review for exterior changes | Needs commission approval first |
| Future upkeep | Flashing and masonry maintenance continues | Ordinary roof maintenance only |
| Appearance | Unchanged | Roof patch visible until it weathers |
General comparison. Your chimney's condition, your venting and your building department decide what applies.
Not Sure Whether to Keep the Chimney?
Our roof inspection is free. We look at the flashing, the crown and what the attic shows, and lay out both options: a re-flash with realistic expectations, or the roof side of a removal. Chimney re-flashes typically run $1,500 to $4,000.
Related Guides
Chimney Leak or Roof Leak?
How to tell which part of the chimney is letting water in.
Learn MoreHistoric District Roof Repairs
Certificates of appropriateness and matching materials in Michigan.
Learn MoreRepairing Roofs on Older Michigan Homes
Board sheathing, old chimneys and what changes in the repair.
Learn MoreFlashing Repair
How we replace chimney, wall and skylight flashing.
Learn MoreQuestions We Hear
Is it worth removing a chimney you don't use?
Often, if it leaks and needs both flashing and masonry work. Removal ends the flashing, crown and brick maintenance on that part of the roof. It is not worth it if the chimney still vents an appliance, if the masonry is sound and only the flashing failed, or if it is a protected feature in a historic district.
Can I just shorten my chimney instead of removing it?
Only if nothing vents through it. A chimney in use must meet Michigan Residential Code R1003.9, extending at least 3 feet above the roof where it passes through and 2 feet higher than anything within 10 feet. A chimney nothing uses can be taken down below the roof deck and capped, which is the usual form of partial removal.
What happens to the part of the chimney left in the attic?
It is capped so it cannot take in water, air or animals, and any abandoned openings lower down are closed. The Michigan Residential Code requires abandoned chimney inlet openings to be closed by an approved method (G2425.5). The masonry below stays supported as it was.
Should I remove the chimney when I replace my roof?
That is the most efficient time to decide. The roof is already open, so framing and decking the opening adds less work than doing it as a separate project. Arrange the venting check and the mason before the roofing date, and ask the building department about the permit early.
Does a chimney cricket stop leaks on its own?
A cricket diverts water and snow around the uphill side of a wide chimney, which is where most chimney leaks start. It still needs proper step flashing and counterflashing at the chimney and a sound crown on top. Michigan's code requires one where a chimney is wider than 30 inches parallel to the ridgeline.
What This Page Cites
- 2015 Michigan Residential Code, Chapter 10 Chimneys and Fireplaces, Sections R1003.9, R1003.9.1 and R1003.20, International Code Council (https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/MIRC2015P2/chapter-10-chimneys-and-fireplaces), accessed October 2026
- 2015 Michigan Residential Code, Chapter 24 Fuel Gas, Sections G2425.5 and G2425.15, International Code Council (https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/MIRC2015P2/chapter-24-fuel-gas), accessed October 2026
- 2015 Michigan Residential Code, Chapter 1 Scope and Administration, Sections R105.1 and R105.2.2, International Code Council (https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/MIRC2015P2/chapter-1-scope-and-administration), accessed October 2026
- 2015 Michigan Residential Code, Chapter 9 Roof Assemblies, Sections R903.2.1 and R903.2.2, International Code Council (https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/MIRC2015P2/chapter-9-roof-assemblies), accessed October 2026
- Stille-DeRossett-Hale Single State Construction Code Act, MCL 125.1510 (building permits; ordinary repairs), Michigan Legislature (https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-125-1510), accessed October 2026
- Local Historic Districts Act, MCL 399.205 (permit and certificate of appropriateness), Michigan Legislature (https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-399-205), accessed October 2026
- Technical Note 19B: Residential Chimneys, Design and Construction, Brick Industry Association (https://inspectapedia.com/chimneys/Residential-chimneys-design-and-construction-BIA.pdf), accessed October 2026