Protecting Las Colinas high-rises, Valley Ranch two-stories, and older central Irving homes from water pooling behind wide chimneys — one diverter at a time.
If you own a home with a chimney wider than about 30 inches anywhere in Irving — from the tall exposed chases along the Las Colinas skyline to the brick ranch homes near historic downtown Irving — there's a good chance you've got a design flaw working against you every time it rains. Wide chimneys shed a lot of roof water, and without a cricket (also called a saddle) to split that flow around the chimney, water and debris pool right at the back wall. Combined with Irving's hail, wind-driven rain, and the clay-soil shifting common across DFW, that pooling turns into leaks, rotted decking, and cracked mortar faster than most homeowners expect.
A chimney cricket is a small peaked structure built into the roof on the up-slope side of the chimney. Its job is simple: split rainwater and diverting it around the chimney instead of letting it dam up against the back wall. Any chimney over roughly 30 inches wide (measured across the up-slope side) is a candidate, and in Irving that includes plenty of homes in Valley Ranch and Las Colinas with wide, tall masonry or stucco chases designed as architectural statements more than functional water-sheds.
A cricket is only as good as its tie-in. It has to be sized to the actual roof pitch and chimney width, then flashed correctly into the surrounding roofing so water sheds off the cricket, down the sides, and onto the roof plane — not into a new seam. This is where chimney flashing repair and cricket work overlap; a cricket installed without proper step and counter-flashing will still leak, just in a different spot. We also check the chase cover above the chimney while we're up there, since a failing chase cover often masquerades as a cricket or flashing problem.
Irving's housing stock makes this an especially local issue. In Las Colinas and Valley Ranch, newer builds often feature tall, exposed chimney chases finished in stucco or EIFS — materials that look clean but show water intrusion damage quickly once a seal fails behind a wide chimney. Meanwhile, central and historic downtown Irving has a mix of older mid-century brick homes where the original builders sometimes skipped a cricket altogether on wide fireplaces, betting on Texas weather being kinder than it actually is. Add in Irving's hail season, wind-driven rain events, and the clay-soil movement that shifts foundations and roof lines over time, and you get chimneys that were borderline to begin with slipping into active leak territory. A cricket sized and flashed correctly is one of the more permanent fixes we install for these conditions.
Serving Las Colinas, Valley Ranch, and every Irving neighborhood in between, 7 days a week.
(214) 225-8874Homeowners usually notice a problem before they know the cause. Watch for these signs, especially after a hard Irving rainstorm:
If any of these sound familiar, it's worth pairing a cricket evaluation with a full chimney leak repair assessment so we're not just treating one symptom.
Cricket installation pricing depends on a handful of real factors: the width and pitch of your roof at the chimney, whether we're building a simple wood-framed cricket or a metal-clad version to match existing flashing, how much of the surrounding flashing needs to be replaced versus reused, and access — a steep Las Colinas roofline takes more time than a single-story Valley Ranch home. Services with us start at $99, and every job gets an up-front, written quote before any work begins, so there are no surprises once a crew is on your roof. Request a Free Online Quote and we'll walk you through exactly what your chimney needs and why, whether that's just a cricket, added flashing work, or a broader repair check first.
"Very pleased with the professionalism and promptness of service. The chimney sweep was done quickly and efficiently at significantly less cost than the first quote I got from another company. Happy to recommend Lowes Chimney Sweep to anyone in Plano!"
"Outstanding chimney sweep service from start to finish. They were punctual, courteous, and left our chimney spotless with no mess in our home. I won't use anyone else for chimney services in Dallas TX!"
More reviews from homeowners across the metroplex are on our reviews section, or learn more about our team before you book.
If your chimney is wider than about 30 inches on the up-slope side, especially the tall stucco or EIFS chases common in Las Colinas and Valley Ranch, it likely needs one. We measure width, pitch, and check existing flashing during an inspection to confirm.
Often yes, if the leak is caused by water pooling behind the chimney rather than by damaged flashing elsewhere. We'll inspect the full roof-chimney intersection first, since Irving's wind-driven rain can expose more than one issue at once.
Not always. Many mid-century homes in central and historic downtown Irving were built with wide fireplaces but no cricket, since it wasn't always standard practice at the time. We add one where the original design left it out.
Yes, we build and flash crickets to tie into your existing roofing material and finish, including stucco or EIFS chases popular in newer Las Colinas construction, so it blends rather than stands out.
Most cricket installations are completed in a single day, though timing depends on roof pitch, access, and how much flashing needs replacing. We'll give you a clear timeframe with your Free Online Quote before scheduling.
Straight answers from our DFW chimney pros before you book.
