StoneCraft Masonry & Chimney

"On my first visit to Eileen’s property I identified finger-width cracks in two areas. 1) The crown and 2) the mortar joints above the roof line. I described the defects to [Member Name Removed]and then immediately explained to her the real possibility that other areas could be contributing to the leak. These other areas, I told her, could be the flashing, roof, or chimney below roofline. I explained that I am targeting the most likely points of water entry and that more work may be needed to fully stop the water leak. I explained that this approach guarantees the least amount of cost to her. The tradeoff is that once in a rare while multiple rounds of work are required to solve the issue. [Member Name Removed]understood this and agreed that the crown and above-roof repairs work were prudent 1st steps. Unfortunately, after those steps were completed the leak continued. At this point [Member Name Removed]demanded either a full refund, or a repointing of the rest of the chimney for free. I reminded her of our previous conversations and of the fact that the need for further repairs was always a possibility. In order to avoid an impasse I offered a dramatically reduced cost on repointing the remaining portion of the chimney which she rejected. A water test prior to our work would have been fruitless since the finger-width cracks would have made it impossible for a water test to indicate other leaking areas. We did end up performing two courtesy water tests after the completion of our work. The 1st pointed towards leakage in the roof and flashing systems. Upon arriving for the 2nd test caulking had been applied to both those areas and they didn’t leak this time. It did produce a leak that pointed towards the remaining chimney below the roof-line. Importantly, neither water test reproduced a leak from any of the areas that we had repaired. In summary, the possible need for more work was always understood. I understand Eileen’s disappointment that the first round of work did not completely solve the issue. But her negative opinion is unfounded."

"StoneCraft is NOT an authorized Jotul dealer, nor have we ever presented ourselves as such. We purchase directly from authorized dealers at discounted rates not typically available to homeowners and pass that savings on to the homeowner. [Member Name Removed]'s stove does not leak. Unfortunately her chimney does leak. This leak presented itself for the first time after recent heavy rains. StoneCraft covered the leaking portion of the exterior chimney FOR FREE in order to protect the stove and chimney until such time that [Member Name Removed] can have the leak properly repaired."