Cracked crowns letting water into the flue
Why it happens here
Elton's freeze-thaw cycle is brutal on concrete crowns. Water sits in hairline cracks, freezes overnight, and widens them until the crown is structurally broken. Most crowns here fail within 20 to 30 years.
Our approach
We pour new crowns with the correct slope and overhang rather than patching over cracks. We use a proper crown mix, not leftover mortar, and we cure it correctly so it lasts another few decades.