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 Fort Worth: What to Know First
Gelco chimney repair in Fort Worth is a core part of what we do here at Hadley Chimney Fort Worth. We’re an independent Gelco service provider, which means we work on Gelco chimney systems every week but we’re not tied to Gelco’s corporate warranty department or their installation network. Most Gelco chimney repairs in Fort Worth take a single visit, and you’ll get a written price before we touch anything. If you own a home with a Gelco chimney and you’re seeing spalling brick, crumbling mortar, or water stains inside near the firebox, call (682) 900-6393 and we’ll walk you through what’s likely happening before you spend a dime.
This page is for the Fort Worth homeowner who wants the real story on Gelco chimney systems: where they hold up, where they fail, and what a repair should actually cost in our market.
Key takeaways:
- We repair Gelco chimney systems throughout Fort Worth, from Ryan Place to Tanglewood to Saginaw.
- Gelco’s known weak points are mortar joints and flashing details, not the structural brick itself.
- Every Gelco repair comes with our 365-Day Done Right Promise: if it fails within a year, we return and fix it free.
- You get a written price before work starts. No exceptions.
How Gelco Products Fail – and How We Fix Them
Gelco makes a few different chimney product lines that show up regularly in Fort Worth homes, and we’ve learned their failure patterns by working on them across the city for years. Here’s what actually goes wrong, and what we do about it.
- Mortar joint erosion on original Gelco masonry chimneys. The mortar Gelco used in many Texas installations erodes faster than the brick, especially on homes built before 2000. Fort Worth’s freeze-thaw cycles in January and February push moisture into those joints, and the face of the mortar crumbles out. We repoint those joints by grinding out the old compound and packing in fresh mortar matched to your existing color. This isn’t cosmetic; open joints let water into the chimney chase and accelerate every other problem on this list.
- Flashing failure where Gelco chase tops meet rooflines. This is the single most common Gelco repair we do in Fort Worth, and it shows up as a water stain on the ceiling near the fireplace, not on the chimney itself. Gelco’s original flashing details from the 1990s and early 2000s used thin gauge metal that splits at the corners after a decade of Texas heat and wind. We replace it with stepped copper or heavy-gauge aluminum flashing, mechanically fastened and sealed with polyurethane caulk, not the cheap stuff.
- Spalling brick face on Gelco chimneys with concrete chimney caps. If your Gelco chimney has a concrete cap that’s cracked or pitched the wrong direction, rainwater pools on top of the chimney and saturates the top three feet of brick. When that water freezes, the face of the brick pops off in sheets. We rebuild the top courses of the chimney and pour or install a proper replacement cap with a drip edge that sheds water away from the brick.
- Creosote glaze inside Gelco flues on wood-burning fireplaces. Gelco chimneys serving wood-burning fireplaces in Fort Worth develop a hard, glassy creosote (the flammable tar byproduct of wood smoke) inside the flue, especially in homes where the fireplace gets used heavily in December and January. If you’re burning unseasoned post-oak, it builds up even faster. Our techs remove glazed creosote mechanically and with chemical treatments before it becomes a chimney fire risk, and we’ll show you photos of the before and after before you pay.
- Chase pan deterioration on Gelco factory-built chimney systems. Some Gelco systems in Fort Worth are factory-built units with a metal chase pan at the top. Those pans rust through at the seams after 15 to 20 years, and the rust staining on the siding is the tell. We fabricate and install replacement chase pans with cross breaks and proper drainage so water never sits on the metal. If the rust has eaten into the framing, we assess that too and tell you honestly whether the chase needs rebuild work or just a new pan.
What’s different about how we approach a Gelco job: we know which failures are Gelco-specific and which are just Texas weather doing what Texas weather does. That matters because it changes the repair. A mortar joint issue on a Gelco chimney gets a different mix than what we’d use on a HeatShield-lined chimney, and we’ll tell you exactly why.
Styles & brands we work with





Our Gelco Chimney Repair Process
Here’s what happens when you call us about a Gelco chimney in Fort Worth, from first call to final invoice.
- 1
You call (682) 900-6393. A live person answers, 24/7. You describe what you’re seeing: crumbling brick, a leak, a smell. We book a time that fits your schedule, and you get a tracked arrival window so you know exactly when our tech shows up.
- 2
The tech arrives and does a full inspection of the Gelco system. We check the crown, the mortar joints, the flashing at the roofline, the firebox, the damper, and the flue. Photos are taken throughout, and you see every single one before we recommend anything.
- 3
We make the parts decision with you. For some Gelco repairs, OEM parts are the right call and we source them. For others, a quality aftermarket part performs identically without the manufacturer markup, and we’ll show you the price difference and let you decide. We never push OEM because of some warranty fiction; if your Gelco warranty is still active we’ll tell you what using aftermarket parts means for that warranty before we proceed.
- 4
We perform the repair. Mortar gets cut and pointed. Flashing gets pulled and replaced. Spalled brick gets rebuilt. Whatever the scope, the work is done by a uniformed, background-checked tech who knows Gelco chimney systems.
- 5
We test and document. Once the repair is done, we verify water shedding where relevant, check the structure, and photograph the finished work. You get a written guarantee covering the repair for 365 days, with a free second visit if anything fails.
- 6
You pay from a digital invoice. The written price you received before we started is the price you pay. No line items invented at the end. No surprises.
See the difference
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After
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AfterWhat Gelco Chimney Repair Costs in Fort Worth
Gelco chimney repair in Fort Worth typically runs $180 to $2,800 depending on the scope. Here’s the honest breakdown of what we see across the city.
| Repair Type | Typical Cost in Fort Worth |
|---|---|
| Mortar repointing (small area, up to 15 sq ft) | $180 – $450 |
| Flashing repair or replacement | $350 – $900 |
| Chimney crown or chase pan replacement | $500 – $1,200 |
| Spalling brick repair (up to 10 bricks replaced) | $400 – $1,000 |
| Partial chimney rebuild (top 3 – 5 courses) | $1,200 – $2,800 |
What moves the price? Access to the chimney (a steep roof and a second-story chimney adds time), the extent of the brick or mortar damage, and whether we’re using OEM Gelco parts or a quality aftermarket equivalent. The one thing that never moves the price is surprise fees. The number we give you in writing before we start is the number you pay. Call (682) 900-6393 for an exact quote. Estimates are free.
Why Fort Worth Homeowners Call Hadley Chimney Fort Worth for Gelco Work
Gelco chimneys are common enough in Fort Worth that plenty of chimney companies will say they can work on them. What they won’t tell you is that they’ve never opened up a Gelco chase pan, or that their “Gelco specialist” is a rotating subcontractor. We’re not going to pretend we have some official Gelco certification, because we don’t. What we have is close to two decades of hands-on experience with this brand’s failure modes in this city’s climate.
Every Gelco repair we do comes with our 365-Day Done Right Promise. If the repair fails within a year, we come back and make it right. Free. That’s a written guarantee, not a verbal promise. We carry the full trade material ecosystem too: DuraFlex flexible liner systems, HeatShield ceramic repair compound, Olympia Chimney components, Famco, and Copperfield accessories. If your Gelco chimney needs a repair that involves a product from one of those brands, we already stock it or can get it fast.
And unlike every other chimney company in Fort Worth, we run our entire operation on The Relay Visibility Guarantee. Live arrival tracking. Before and after photos. A written price before work begins. All of it standard, on every job. Call (682) 900-6393 and you’ll see what we mean.
FAQs
Not if you’re outside Gelco’s warranty period or the repair doesn’t involve the components Gelco still covers, which is rare on chimneys older than 10 years. If your Gelco chimney is still under active warranty, we’ll tell you upfront whether our repair method could affect it and let you decide how to proceed. We never touch a warranted component without telling you first.
Yes, we custom mix mortar pigments on-site to match your existing joints, and we do test patches on a small area before repointing the full section. Fort Worth sun fades brick over time, so the old mortar color and the new mortar color rarely match when wet; they settle within a few weeks of curing.
Both, depending on what’s being repaired. For Gelco chase pans, flashing, and crowns, aftermarket materials from brands like Copperfield often outperform Gelco’s original spec at a lower price. For things like damper components or specialty firebox parts, we source OEM when it’s available and when aftermarket would compromise fit. We’ll show you the price difference and let you choose, and we document which parts went into your chimney in the invoice.
Most Gelco chimney repairs in Fort Worth take one visit of two to four hours for typical mortar or flashing work. A partial rebuild takes a full day. We’ll give you a specific time estimate on the phone based on photos you text us before we even schedule, and we don’t book a repair until we’ve confirmed the scope.
A mortar joint here and there is cosmetic for a while, but once water gets into the chimney system, it accelerates fast. Spalling brick spreads, the flashing leaks into your ceiling, and a chimney that should last fifty years needs a rebuild in five. Chasing problems early is dramatically cheaper than rebuilding later. Call (682) 900-6393 and we’ll give you an honest read on what’s urgent and what can safely wait.
Written by Cory Mitchell, Owner, Hadley Chimney Fort Worth at Hadley Chimney Fort Worth, serving Fort Worth and nearby areas.