Colorado Springs Roof & Leak
Colorado Springs, Colorado

Chimney and flashing leaks in Colorado Springs

Flashing fails more often than shingles do, and the chimney is where it fails first. Masonry and roof framing move at different rates, which over years opens the joint where counter-flashing is set into the mortar. Step flashing up the sides, counter-flashing into the brick, and the cricket behind the stack are the usual suspects on a leak where the roof itself looks fine. On older chimneys the mortar joint holding the counter-flashing is often the actual failure rather than the metal.

Call (706) 696-1888 El Paso County

What the job involves

  • Inspection of step flashing, counter-flashing, apron and cricket
  • Removal and rebuild of failed flashing rather than sealant over the top
  • Check of the chimney crown and cap for separate water entry
  • Photographs of the failure before work starts

Signs you need it

  • Staining on the ceiling near the chimney breast
  • Damp on the chimney breast itself, inside the house
  • Rust streaks on the shingles below the stack

Why roofs fail in Colorado Springs and El Paso County

Colorado Springs sits in one of the most active hail corridors in the country, and hail is the roof killer here in a way that is easy to underestimate. The stone rarely punches through a shingle. It bruises the asphalt mat beneath the granule surface, leaving a soft spot that sheds water for another season or two and then fails — which is why a leak in El Paso County so often traces back to a storm the owner had stopped thinking about. Insurers know the pattern and scrutinise the gap between storm date and claim, so the roofs that get paid for are the ones that were documented when the hail fell rather than when the ceiling stained. Wind arrives with the same systems and does the quieter damage: lifting tabs, breaking the seal strip underneath, and leaving a roof that looks untouched from the driveway.

Colorado Springs has a population of about 478,961, and the housing stock here sets the pattern for what fails first on a roof.

Questions about chimney and flashing leaks in Colorado Springs

Can you just seal it rather than rebuild the flashing?

Sealant buys a season at most. It is applied over a joint that is moving, so it cracks at the first full temperature cycle. Where flashing has genuinely failed, rebuilding it is the repair; caulk is a way of paying twice.

Could the water be coming through the brickwork rather than the roof?

It can. A cracked crown, a missing cap, or spalled brick lets water into the stack and it shows up inside looking exactly like a flashing leak. Worth checking both — they are different trades and different fixes.

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You will get a straight answer on whether Colorado Springs needs someone out today or whether it can wait — before anyone quotes you for anything.

Call (706) 696-1888
Call (706) 696-1888