Natural stone chimneys last for generations, but specialists such as masonchimneyrepair.com see the same pattern again and again: the stone itself is rarely the problem, and the joints, crown and flashing around it almost always are. Stone is one of the most durable building materials there is, yet a chimney asks more of it than almost any other part of a house.
A chimney is exposed on every side, heated from within and soaked from above. It expands and contracts with each fire and each change in the …