By Johnathan Mason, Ace Chimney Service.
Short answer: after a serious wind or hail storm, look at your chimney from the ground the same way you look at your shingles — a leaning stack, a missing cap, or fresh brick chips on the lawn are all signs something moved. McHenry County gets straight-line winds most autumns, and a chimney is the tallest, least-supported masonry on the house. In 29 years we have seen far more storm damage found in November than in the week the storm actually hit.
Why chimneys take the worst of a storm
A chimney is a freestanding masonry column with nothing bracing its top three or four feet.
Everything below the roofline is held in place by the structure around it. Everything above it is carrying its own weight against the wind, and the mortar joints holding it together are the weak point. In an Island Lake home, where lots back onto open water and open ground, that exposed section catches wind with very little to slow it down first. Add decades of freeze and thaw softening the joints and a gust that leaves the roof untouched can still shift the crown.
What to look for from the ground
Four things are visible without a ladder, and all four are worth acting on.
Look for a chimney that no longer lines up square with the roof ridge — even a slight lean means the base or the joints have failed. Look for the cap: a missing or tilted cap is the single most common storm loss, and it leaves the flue open to rain and animals immediately. Look on the ground and in the gutters for brick fragments, mortar crumbs, or pieces of the crown. And look at the flashing where the chimney meets the roof, because wind lifts loose flashing first and water follows it in.
Damage you cannot see from the yard
The flue liner is where a storm does its quietest damage.
A falling limb or a hard enough gust can crack clay flue tiles without leaving a mark on the exterior brick. That crack is a path for exhaust and heat to reach the framing around the chimney, and there is no way to know it is there without looking inside the flue. This is the case for a camera-assisted chimney inspection after any storm that took down trees on your street — not because we expect to find damage every time, but because the one time it is there, it matters. If tiles have failed, a chimney liner restores a sound path for exhaust without rebuilding the stack.
Do it before the first fire, not after
Storm season and heating season overlap by about six weeks in northern Illinois.
The unlucky sequence is a storm in early October, a first fire in early November, and a chimney that has been open to rain for a month with a cracked tile nobody looked at. Getting the check done in the gap between the two is cheap insurance. If the cap is gone, replacing it is a same-visit job in most cases — see chimney caps and crowns for what that involves. Our full chimney services page lays out everything we handle, and pricing is published up front so there is no guessing before we arrive.
What to document for your insurer
Photograph everything before anyone touches it.
Date-stamped photos from the ground, plus a written inspection report describing what failed, is what an adjuster wants to see. We put findings in writing on every visit for exactly this reason. Do not have debris cleared away before it is photographed, and do not let anyone tell you a storm-damaged chimney has to be rebuilt before it has been looked at properly — a great many of them do not.
Ace Chimney Service is insured and bonded, prices up front, and answers the phone seven days a week from 7 AM to 7 PM. Call (815) 320-0883 and we will take a look.
Frequently asked questions
How soon after a storm should I have the chimney looked at?
Within a few weeks, and always before the first fire of the season. There is no emergency unless you can see the chimney leaning or bricks have fallen, but waiting until December means any water that got in has had months to work.
Can wind really move a masonry chimney?
Yes, if the mortar joints have already softened. Sound masonry handles normal Illinois wind without trouble. A stack with joints that have been weathering for forty years is a different structure, and that is the one that shifts.
My cap blew off. Is that urgent?
It is worth handling promptly. An open flue takes on rain directly, and rain in a flue accelerates liner damage and rusts out dampers. It is also an open invitation to birds and raccoons.
Will my homeowners insurance cover chimney storm damage?
That depends entirely on your policy and your carrier, and we cannot tell you how yours will rule. What we can do is document what we find in writing with photos, which is what most adjusters ask for.
Can you tell if a flue tile is cracked without a camera?
Not reliably. A large crack can sometimes be seen from the top or the firebox, but the middle of the flue is not visible any other way. A camera pass is how it gets confirmed.
A tree limb hit my roof but not the chimney. Do I still need a check?
It is worth doing. Impact travels through the roof deck, and flashing is often the thing that gets lifted even when the chimney itself was not struck. A quick look answers it.
Is a leaning chimney safe to use?
No. Stop using the fireplace or appliance venting into it and have it evaluated. A lean means the structure has moved, and the flue inside it has almost certainly moved with it.
Do you handle storm checks on prefab chimneys too?
Yes. Factory-built chases take storm damage differently — the chase cover dents and pools water, and the metal cap can be pulled loose. Both are checkable in the same visit.
Published October 15, 2026.