Masonry repair
Sweep & inspection
Caps & crowns
Flue relining
Gas fireplace serviceLevel 1 sweep and inspection to the NFPA 211 annual standard - flue, crown, cap, and flashing checked and photographed
Chimney sweep logs do not sweep chimneys. They loosen some creosote - which then falls where a brush and vacuum still have to collect it.
Gelco Chimney Repair in Austin: What to Know First
Gelco chimney repair in Austin typically runs $275 to $2,400 depending on what’s failing, and most jobs are completed in one visit. We’re an independent Gelco service provider, which means we repair Gelco components without being tied to factory pricing or warranty-claim delays. This page is for Austin homeowners with a Gelco chimney cap, chase cover, flashing assembly, or masonry system that’s showing signs of trouble and needs someone who actually knows the product lines, not just a guy with a caulk gun and a guess.
If you’re seeing rust streaks below a Gelco chase cover, water in the firebox, or spalling brick around the flue, call (361) 603-5116 and we’ll get you on the schedule with a written price before any work begins.
How Gelco Products Fail – and How We Fix Them
Gelco makes solid chase covers, caps, and flashing components, but any metal product exposed to Austin’s heat-and-humidity swings will eventually show its age. Here’s what we actually see in the field:
- Gelco stainless chase covers with rust at the welded corners. The cover itself is usually 24-gauge stainless, but the welds are where moisture sits and the protective oxide layer breaks down. In Austin, dew cycles plus the occasional cold front create condensation that pools right at those seams. We repair or replace the cover, and on reinstallation we add a drip edge and proper slope so water sheds instead of puddling.
- Gelco multi-flue caps with bird or squirrel entry at the mesh seam. The expanded metal mesh on Gelco caps keeps embers in and critters out, but the seam where mesh meets the frame is a known weak point. Squirrels in Austin need about half an inch of gap to get in, and we’ve found them in caps that looked fine from the ground. We rebuild the mesh seat, replace the cap if the frame is warped, and add a secondary mesh layer where it makes sense.
- Gelco chimney pans and chase flashing with failed sealant at the brick-to-metal transition. This is the biggest one. The sealant bond between Gelco metal and masonry fails after years of UV exposure and thermal movement. Once that seal breaks, water runs down behind the flashing and into the chase. You won’t see it from the yard. We pull the pan, inspect the framing beneath, replace rotted wood if needed, and reseal with an Austin-appropriate polyurethane sealant, not a big-box silicone.
- Gelco OEM flashing collars that don’t match the flue size. We run into this on 1980s and 1990s Austin builds where the original Gelco flashing was installed for a smaller clay tile flue, and a later liner install changed the diameter. The gap between flashing collar and liner gets sealed with mastic that shrinks and cracks. We fabricate a new collar or rebuild the flashing with a custom-cut boot that actually fits.
- Gelco copper-top chase covers with galvanic corrosion at the copper-to-galvanized joint. Copper and galvanized steel don’t play nice together when moisture is present, and Gelco’s copper-top option is essentially a copper cap on a galvanized base. In humid Austin air, we see the joint between the two metals degrade faster than either metal would alone. We replace the assembly with an all-stainless unit or install a dielectric isolation barrier if the homeowner wants to keep the copper look.
Styles & brands we work with





Our Gelco Chimney Repair Process
Here’s exactly what happens when you book a Gelco repair with us:
- 1
You call (361) 603-5116, a live person answers. We talk through what you’re seeing, pull up the address, and get you a tracked arrival window.
- 2
The tech shows up and does a camera scope of the whole system. Flue liner, smoke chamber, chimney cap, chase cover, flashing points, and the masonry itself. Cory Mitchell started this company with a camera scope in hand because homeowners should see what we see, not take our word for it.
- 3
You get photos and a written price before anything happens. “I’ll show you the photo first. Then we’ll talk.” That’s the rule. We explain what’s broken in plain language, what fixing it will cost, and what can wait.
- 4
We make the repair with Gelco-compatible materials and proper OEM equivalents. If an OEM Gelco part is available and makes sense for the job, we use it. If an aftermarket stainless component from a quality supplier does the same job at half the cost with the same durability, we tell you that too. You choose.
- 5
We test, photograph the finished work, and send you a digital invoice. You pay from a link. No paper, no phone tag.
- 6
Every Gelco repair carries a 365-Day Done Right Promise. If it fails within a year, we come back and fix it free. That’s in writing, not a verbal “trust us.”
See the difference
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After
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After
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AfterWhat Gelco Chimney Repair Costs in Austin
We give written prices before any work starts, but here’s what Austin homeowners should expect:
- Chase cover replacement (stainless Gelco-compatible): $450 to $900, depending on flue count and whether the chase is single-wall or multi-family.
- Flashing repair or rebuild at the roof line: $350 to $850. Steep roofs in, say, the Avery Ranch area add labor time.
- Full cap replacement (Gelco multi-flue or similar): $275 to $600 for a stock size, up to $1,100 for a custom-cut top.
- Masonry repointing and spalling repair around the flue: $600 to $2,400 depending on how many brick faces are involved and how high the repair goes.
What moves the price: roof pitch, access (two-story chases on tight lot lines cost more), whether we’re repairing an existing Gelco component or replacing a failed one, and material choice. We’ll give you the number before we touch anything. Call (361) 603-5116 for a free estimate on your specific chimney.
Why Austin Homeowners Call Hadley Chimney Austin for Gelco Work
Gelco isn’t a brand that shows up on every contractor’s truck. It’s a manufacturer we’ve worked with for years, and we know which of their components fail in this climate and which just need a good cleaning. But the bigger reason Austin homeowners call us is the way we run the job. Live arrival tracking on every visit. Before-and-after photos you can actually see. A background-checked, uniformed technician who explains the repair before making it, not after. And a written guarantee on every repair with a free second visit if it fails, because a chimney repair that fails in six months isn’t a repair. We also work across the major chimney systems in Austin, so if your Gelco cap is fine but the liner is shot, we handle DuraFlex liner installs and HeatShield ceramic resurfacing in-house without bringing in another company.
FAQs
It depends on the warranty terms on the specific component and whether the repair uses OEM parts. As an independent Gelco service provider, we don’t act as a warranty station, but we do document every repair with photos so you have evidence if a warranty issue ever comes up. We’ll also tell you if a repair is likely to fall outside warranty coverage and what your OEM replacement option would cost before you spend a dollar on aftermarket parts.
Yes, and this is most of the Gelco work we see in Austin. Older Gelco caps and flashing profiles aren’t always in current production, especially on homes built before 2000. We cross-reference the existing footprint and flue configuration and fabricate a match from stainless steel that fits without board-up gaps or flue-pipe shimming.
We schedule most Gelco repairs within five to seven business days, and emergency situations like a blown-off cap during a storm get worked into the rotation as quickly as possible. Every job gets a tracked arrival window so you’re not sitting at home guessing when we’ll show. Call (361) 603-5116 and we’ll get you a date.
If the cover has rust at more than a couple of weld points or the metal has started to thin across the face, replacement usually makes more sense than patching. We’ll show you the camera photos and give you honest numbers for both options. Sometimes the repair makes sense; sometimes you’re just delaying a replacement by 18 months and paying twice.
Written by Cory Mitchell, Owner, Hadley Chimney Austin at Hadley Chimney Austin, serving Austin and nearby areas.